Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa12230; 25 May 93 22:14 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA16537 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Tue, 25 May 1993 20:07:53 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA05749 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Tue, 25 May 1993 20:07:11 -0500 Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 20:07:11 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305260107.AA05749@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #351 TELECOM Digest Tue, 25 May 93 20:06:30 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 351 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Federal Judge Rejects Ban on Recorded Phone Solicitation (Ben Delisle) Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card (David J. Greenberger) Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card (Robert J. Woodhead) Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card (Richard Osterberg) Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card (Frederick Roeber) Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card (Peter Rukavina) Re: Hinsdale Disaster (Harold Hallikainen) Re: Hinsdale Disaster (Pat Turner) Re: AT&T Getting Desperate? (David E. Bernholdt) Re: AT&T Getting Desperate? (John Rice) Re: AT&T's Calling Card (A. Alan Toscano) Re: AT&T's Calling Card (Dave Niebuhr) Re: AT&T and Spectrum Technologies (trif@meade.u.washington.edu) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 12:37:49 -0700 From: delisle@eskimo.com (Ben Delisle) Subject: Federal Judge Rejects Ban on Recorded Phone Solicitation Organization: Eskimo North (206 367-3837) Public Access Internet. (eskimo.com) **>> The Seattle Times / Seattle Post-Intelligencer <<** **>> Sunday, May 23, 1993. Page A-9 <<** o Times News Service Federal Judge rejects ban on recorded phone solicitation. Portland Ore. - A federal judge, ruling in a lawsuit brought by a chimney sweep, has stuck down a federal privacy law that would have banned telephone messages with recorded messages. "We are extremely happy," Ron Moser, who operates the A-A-A-1 Lucky Leprechaun chimney-maintainence service, said yesterday after learning of the decision. "It's been a long fight." U.S. District Judge James Redden granted a permanent injuction Friday in a lawsuit brought by Moser and his wife, Kathryn, who have used an automated telephone calling system for seven years to solicit customers with a prerecorded message. On a typical day, Moser said the computer driven system will make 500 phone calls, producibg three to four customers. The Telephone Protection Act of 1991 was scheduled to go into effect effect Dec. 20 1992 but was enjoined Dec. 18 by Redden pending the outcome of the lawsuit. The judge found the law unconstitutional because it was aimed at a small portion of the telemarketing industry. He said evidence presented to the court showed that recorded messages make up than three percent of the marketing calls received by Americans. "Congress is attempting to ban totally a form of commercial speech for the sake of reducing only slightly the number of telephone solicitations," Ridden wrote. He also noted that the law banned recorded solicitations for commercial purposed while still allowing the same type of calls for nonprofit purposes. ---------------- delisle@eskimo.com ------------------------------ From: djg2@crux4.cit.cornell.edu (David J. Greenberger) Subject: Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card Reply-To: djg2@cornell.edu Organization: Young Israel of Cornell Date: 25 May 93 23:30:41 GMT Our Moderator notes: > [Moderator's Note: All the pre-pay 'debit card' style phone cards wind > up letting the telco (or other issuer) 'hold your money' for some period > of time. The same thing happens when you buy a money order at your bank > or from American Express to send someone: the bank or Amex gets the use > of your money for some period of time until the negotiable instrument > gets redeemed. In the case of Amex money orders, the float is several > million dollars per day that Amex uses interest free. We who sell those > cards prefer to emphasize the other side -- that the cards can be very > convenient for people who may not have the change when they want to make > a call and don't wish to be punished by the surcharge most calling cards > tack on to calls. Different strokes for different folks. PAT] Although I haven't seen the cards or the phones that accept them, I agree, such cards can be useful. However, there are two problems I see with the system in use. First, very few phones have these card receptacles. Second, the charge per call is still the same. (This is important because it's *very* easy to accidentally walk away from the phone without your card, to which you might have just added $50. There has to be something to balance that out.) Here at Cornell, the vast majority of on-campus publicly available copy machines (in fact, I only know of one exception out of a few hundred), as well as the microfilm and microfiche printers in the libraries, have so-called VendaCard receptacles. (On the other hand, only about a quarter of the machines, if that many, have coin receptacles.) Unlike the New York Telephone card, these VendaCards cost 56 cents, but copies cost 8 cents instead of 10 (microform printouts are the same 10 cents). These cards are definitely worth it, because they can be used *anywhere* on campus, they're very convenient, and the user saves 20% on copies. David J. Greenberger BBS: (212) 496-8324 HST DS Internet: djg2@cornell.edu RIME: Common, ->48 ------------------------------ From: trebor@foretune.co.jp (Robert J Woodhead) Subject: Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card Organization: Foretune Co., Ltd. Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 00:32:33 GMT schuster@Panix.Com (Michael Schuster) writes: > Yes. So New York Telephone wants you to loan them $5, at 5% simple > interest compounded once, redeemable ONLY as telephone line useage. No > thanks. These cards are common in Japan, and most public phones take them. Actually, the 5% interest is quite good; given the rate on T-Bills these days, if you use up the card in less than a year, you are ahead of the game. The real money made in phone-cards isn't from holding your money while you use the card. As NTT over here in Japan quickly found out, the real money is in convincing people NOT to use them at all. They did this by 1) ensuring that using a card defaces it (little holes are punched in them; at least one of the guys who goes around emptying confetti out of phones has become an artist, using them to make murals) and 2) making them collectible. Here in Japan, cards are used as promotional items for all sorts of products, and there are many collectors of the things -- sort of like stamp collectors, except that while stamp collectors want USED stamps, card collectors want unused ones. NTT will even make custom cards in small numbers to be used as gifts for weddings, etc. Of course, they charge a premium to make the custom cards, up to twice face value ... I'm told that the escrow account for cards issued but not redeemed is up into the multi-billions range now. Oh yeah, some telecom news. NTT plans to triple the rate for local calls from 10yen/3 minutes to 10yen/minute over the next year. Ouch! Robert J. Woodhead, Biar Games / AnimEigo, Incs. trebor@forEtune.co.jp AnimEigo US Office Email (for general questions): 72447.37@compuserve.com ------------------------------ Subject: Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card From: osterber@husc8.harvard.edu (Richard Osterberg) Date: 25 May 93 18:48:50 GMT > Yes. So New York Telephone wants you to loan them $5, at 5% simple > interest compounded once, redeemable ONLY as telephone line useage. No > thanks. Moderator responded: > cards prefer to emphasize the other side -- that the cards can be very > convenient for people who may not have the change when they want to make > a call and don't wish to be punished by the surcharge most calling cards > tack on to calls. Different strokes for different folks. PAT] Plus ... there's also a large number of people who will simply lose their cards ... if you lose your calling card, you don't lose money ... if you lose that anonymous little debit card, there's $2.75 (or whatever) down the drain ... or rather ... in their pockets. Rick Osterberg osterber@husc.harvard.edu 617-493-7784 617-493-3892 2032 Harvard Yard Mail Center Cambridge, MA 02138-7510 USA [Moderator's Note: *Except* in the case of the now infamous Talk Tickets which you know who peddles to pay his rent. Since my cards do not swipe, and since the intelligence is all in the network rather than in the phone, the serial number can! be! blacklisted! Yes ... With the $2 Talk Tickets you always have 'change for the phone'; if you lose the card there is little loss but it can be suspended if you know the serial number and promptly report it (don't misquote me on this; they are not eager to spend the time putting a stop on a lost $2 card but will do so on larger denominations). You don't have to waste time looking for a card reader phone, and if you have a good memory you don't even need to carry the card around. Lost cards reported to my office are promptly replaced *IF* you can provide a valid serial number for the lost card. You see, I get to diddle the computer a little differently than you ... I get to call the computer and void a lost card and validate a 'special issue'; that is, if your lost card had two units left, I void that serial and issue a new serial with two units for you to use. PAT] ------------------------------ From: roeber@vxcrna.cern.ch (Frederick Roeber) Subject: Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card Reply-To: roeber@cern.ch Organization: CERN -- European Organization for Nuclear Research Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 08:56:29 GMT In article , schuster@Panix.Com (Michael Schuster) writes: > In article jeffj%jiji@uunet.UU.NET > (Jeffrey Jonas) writes: >> At both sides of the Staten Island Ferry (New York), there are yellow >> New York Telephone pay phones that take only a card. The vending >> machine that dispenses the cards says that the cards cost $5, and are >> worth $5.25. > Yes. So New York Telephone wants you to loan them $5, at 5% simple > interest compounded once, redeemable ONLY as telephone line useage. No > thanks. These are rather common in Europe. I have a nearly identical one for the Swiss PTT (except it's 0% interest -- don't expect the Swiss to give anything away!), for two reasons: 1) it is often hard to find phones that accept coins, and 2) depending on where you're calling, it can be difficult to feed coins in fast enough. I'm probably going to have to buy a French one, too, because the only public phones I've seen here that take coins are private ones that add a new dimension to the phrase, 'COCOT sleaze'. I think the main reason for going to these is that it avoids having phones vandalized for the coin box. The interest they get is just gravy. The Swiss use a simple magnetic system like what is described in the quoted article. You can imagine how secure they are. The much less law-abiding French have more of a "smartcard" approach, with a little circuit imbedded in the card. Frederick G. M. Roeber | CERN -- European Center for Nuclear Research e-mail: roeber@cern.ch or roeber@caltech.edu | work: +41 22 767 31 80 r-mail: CERN/PPE, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland | home: +33 50 20 82 99 [Moderator's Note: We have so few 'card reader' phones in the USA (compared to the straight coin slot style) it made better sense here to let the network handle it and have the users punch in the digits. By now, everyone should surely have their package of Talk Tickets who ordered them in the past month. Anyone who wants more can have them. I now have a stock of them available for immediate delivery. $15 for ten tickets with two dollars in calling time on each ticket. If you want a single ticket just to try it out, send $2. Order from my office with check or money order payable to TELECOM Digest. Telecom Digest / 2241 West Howard Street #208 / Chicago, IL 60645 Thanks. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 93 18:02:35 -0300 From: caprukav@atlas.cs.upei.ca (Peter Rukavina) Subject: Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card Organization: Prince Edward Island Crafts Council > At both sides of the Staten Island Ferry (New York), there are yellow > New York Telephone pay phones that take only a card... > ...(800) 545-EASY for more information (but I'm not sure the number is > valid out of NY). The number is good (for some strange reason) from here on Prince Edward Island, Canada ... roughly 1,300 km from the nearest New York telephone. ------------------------------ From: hhallika@tuba.calpoly.edu (Harold Hallikainen) Subject: Re: Hinsdale Disaster Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 22:42:03 GMT In article Cliff Sharp writes: > From listening to the ham radio operators who had taken over > emergency services for places like Hinsdale Hospital (by special > dispensation of the local FCC Chief Engineer), it was my impression > that this was done by the use of a mobile unit/truck outside the > building. I may be wrong, but my (sometimes faulty) memory tells me > that "inside" phone service was not restored until two to three weeks > after the disaster. The "trucks" also were mentioned on the local > news services as being made available to people who were otherwise > unable to access "normal" telephone service, and very long lines of > people were reported. It does seem like telephone companies would have trucks with switches and satellite terminals in them. Just drive the truck up, plug it in and you have a few thousand lines back in service. All calls that could not be switched locally would go to the satellite. Harold Hallikainen ap621@Cleveland.Freenet.edu Hallikainen & Friends, Inc. hhallika@oboe.calpoly.edu 141 Suburban Road, Bldg E4 phone 805 541 0200 fax 544 6715 San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-7590 telex 4932775 HFI UI ------------------------------ From: turner@Dixie.Com Date: Tue, 25 May 93 16:13 EDT From: rsiatl!turner@rsiatl.UUCP Subject: Re: Hinsdale Disaster Todd Inch writes: > I would hope the critical systems (air traffic control, 911) would > have some limited microwave or radio backup? Probably not. 911, I can't discuss except to say that for many small towns the computer center may be hundreds of miles away. Usually a backup site is used. As far as CO's are concerned, if the dedicated trunks go out, there can be POTS backups. The FAA does have an extensive system of microwave links. Most towers don't have microwave to them, but are connected to the links for some of their services. The Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ATRCC's or centers) are the most vulnerable as they may cover many states. Atlanta center as an example has four microwave links coming into it. The towers themselves could make do with the radios in the building is most cases to contact the planes. In the event of a major telecom failure, cutting both the telco and telco/FAA microwave, there are HF and VHF FM radios that can be used to communicate with the centers. I would also imagine that the facilities could use their aero band transcevers to talk to the centers' frequency agile BUEC (Backup Emergency Communication) sites, sometimes (not always, lest the microwave fail) colocated with the microwave sites. As funding is available, low density microwave is being used to connect the control towers to the microwave backbone. As we speak, the FAA's leased lines are being cut over to MCI LINCS contract. The contract establishes multiple diverse trunks between the more critical facilities (centers, large TRACONS, large towers and automated flight service stations) and MCI's network hubs. There is actually more to it than just what I have mentioned, but this should give you an idea of how seriously the five thumbed people at the FAA take their communications. Not the opinion of the FAA... Pat Turner KB4GRZ FAA Telecommunications turner@dixie.com ------------------------------ Date: 26 May 1993 00:44:36 GMT From: de_bernholdt@fermi.pnl.gov Subject: Re: AT&T Getting Desperate? Organization: Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs, Richland, WA In article , co057@cleveland.Freenet. Edu (Steven H. Lichter) writes: > All of the L/D carriers are trying to get as much business as they > can. I can attest to that. I recently moved to Washington and signed with MCI for long distance. I remembered seeing a commercial that said they were offering $30 free LD for new accounts. I asked about it and was told that I could have my choice of $30 free domestic LD or $100 (!!!) free international LD. Since my wife has a job in Canada at the moment, you can guess which one I picked. I also got a certificate for $10 off. None of it cash, like AT&T appears to be doing, but just as useful to me! David E. Bernholdt, MSIN K1-90 | Email: de_bernholdt@fermi.pnl.gov Molecular Science Research Center | Phone: 509 375 4387 Pacific Northwest Laboratory, P.O.B. 999 | Fax: 509 375 6631 Richland, WA 99352 | I speak only for myself! ------------------------------ From: rice@ttd.teradyne.com Subject: Re: AT&T Getting Desperate? Organization: Teradyne Inc., Telecommunications Division Date: Wed, 26 May 93 00:45:20 GMT In article , padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson) writes: > In the "busy" circuit, I suspect that it might work a tad better if > the base and collector in Q1 were "slammed". I suspect that you're either 'confused' or that you know something that I didn't learn in school (since it worked when I built it). Could you explain this comment? John Rice K9IJ rice@ttd.teradyne.com ------------------------------ From: atoscano@speedway.net (A Alan Toscano) Subject: Re: AT&T's Calling Card Date: 25 May 1993 12:16:48 -0700 Organization: Speedway Free Access -- Dial 10288-1-503-520-2222 In article wah@zach.fit.edu (Bill Huttig) writes: > I just received a replacement card (my old one was peeling). AT&T has > stopped embossing the cards (MCI stopped on some of it's cards a long > time ago). But they are still printing the PIN. They even label it PIN > on the card now. AT&T will omit the PIN if you ask them to. This feature has been available for a few years now, but they don't publicize it for some reason! I learned of this only because my employer issued me an AT&T Corporate Calling Card with the PIN omitted, and so I called AT&T to ask if I could omit it from my residential card as well. A Alan Toscano -- P O Box 741982 -- Houston, TX 77274 -- 713 216-6616 atoscano@speedway.net ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 93 17:45:39 EDT From: dwn@dwn.ccd.bnl.gov (Dave Niebuhr) Subject: Re: AT&T's Calling Card wah@zach.fit.edu (Bill Huttig) writes: > I just received a replacement card (my old one was peeling). AT&T has > stoped embossing the cards (MCI stopped on some of it's cards a long > time ago). But they are still printing the PIN. They even label it PIN > on the card now. My AT&T card doesn't show my PIN but my NYtel card does. In the case of the latter, my phone number isn't shown. Dave Niebuhr Internet: niebuhr@bnl.gov / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, LI, NY 11973 (516)-282-3093 Senior Technical Specialist: Scientific Computer Facility ------------------------------ From: trif@mead.u.washington.edu (Trif) Subject: Re: AT&T and Spectrum Technologies Hanky Panky Date: 25 May 1993 07:42:13 GMT Organization: University of Washington, Seattle In article dwn@dwn.ccd.bnl.gov (Dave Niebuhr) writes: > Yesterday's and today's {Newsday} (5/21 and 5/22) had articles > concerning a join venture by AT&T and Spectrum Information > Technologies, Inc. about sending computer data via cellular service. > No big deal, you say. > Well, it seems that the stock of Spectrum took off and all of a sudden > it peaked well beyond what it was worth and then the decline occurred > fairly quickly. Hmm, says me; a little hanky panky going on. What happened is that Spectrum held a news conference announcing the deal with AT&T and described it as "worth hundreds of millions of dollars". So the stock took off, as it should have if this news were true. Then someone got the bright idea of asking AT&T for their opinion on the deal, and AT&T said that it was "worth a few million". So the stock dropped like a rock. > Sure enough, today's issue noted that the President of Spectrum has > been contacted by at least nine attorneys who are looking into what > went on because the stock skyrocketed and then dropped in price in > less than a week. Even the analysts are wondering what went on. If a company gives out "substantially misleading" information and the stock price suffers as a result, it is grounds for a shareholder lawsuit. > Unfortunately, there isn't that much information floating around about > this in the paper. I haven't looked at the {Wall Street Journal} or > the {New York Times} so I can't say what those papers reported. Try reading misc.invest. :) ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #351 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa15556; 25 May 93 23:56 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA00831 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Tue, 25 May 1993 21:27:44 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA13662 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Tue, 25 May 1993 21:27:02 -0500 Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 21:27:02 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305260227.AA13662@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #352 TELECOM Digest Tue, 25 May 93 21:27:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 352 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: New ScanFone Features (Smart Call Waiting?) (Pat Turner) Re: New ScanFone Features (Smart Call Waiting?) (Steve Forrette) Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (Mark Evans) Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (Fred R. Goldstein) Re: MCI Doesn't Know Czechoslovakia Has Split (Richard Budd) Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (Fritz Whittington) Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (Charles Mattair) Re: Cellular Charging? (Paul Robinson) Re: Cellular Charging? (Steve Forrette) Re: Cellular Charging? (John N. Dreystadt) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: turner@Dixie.Com Date: Tue, 25 May 93 16:13 EDT From: rsiatl!turner@rsiatl.UUCP Subject: Re: New ScanFone Features (Smart Call Waiting?) Ken Mandelberg writes: > What really caught my eye was a note in the article that the phone > could display "who's trying to reach you if you`re already using the > phone. The latter service likely would cost extra.". > What I really would like to see is a modem that could reliably detect > a call waiting signal (while running V32BIS/V42BIS). Caller-ID info > would be a bonus. I'd be happy to just be able to tell the modem to > drop the data call and switch to voice if it detects call waiting. No > modem maker seems to be interested or perhaps able to do this with the > current "in band" call waiting beeps. Perhaps the new service would > be easier to handle. There was an article in the April {IEEE Communication Magazine} on this service. Basically the article, written by a Bellcore staff member, said that features have become too numerous and complicated for most people to be able to use them effectively. The article also discussed CLID/CW interaction, saying Caller ID would be most useful if the information could be presented along with CW beep. As a solution to this problem, the article proposed sending the CLID FSK info after the CW beep. The CW beep would serve to wake up the modem. Using >1200 bps was mentioned, but dismissed due to cost of upgrading the network and increased CPE costs. There was no mention of any out of band/channel signaling methods. The bulk of the article was concerned with the use of a softkey display telephone, and it's interface with the PSTN. This interface, called Analog Display Services Interface (ADSI), also uses the Bell 202 1200 bps protocal. Not the opinions of the FAA... Pat Turner KB4GRZ FAA Telecommunications turner@dixie.com ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: New ScanFone Features (Smart Call Waiting?) Date: 26 May 1993 01:55:22 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA In article km@mathcs.emory.edu writes: > What I really would like to see is a modem that could reliably detect > a call waiting signal (while running V32BIS/V42BIS). Caller-ID info > would be a bonus. I'd be happy to just be able to tell the modem to > drop the data call and switch to voice if it detects call waiting. This one's easy. Almost all current modems support this last "feature." One of the "S" registers in a Hayes-compatible modem determines the maximum amount of time the modem will allow the carrier from the other end to disappear before deciding that the call is to be dropped. Simply set this value to a duration less that the length of the call waiting tone, and the modem will hang up when the call waiting "beep" occurs, since during the beep the other end of the call is not heard. When the telco switch sees that the original call was hung up on (by the modem), it will start to send ringing current, and then you can answer with your regular phone. Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ From: evansmp@uhura.aston.ac.uk (Mark Evans) Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows Organization: Aston University Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 12:31:27 GMT Martin Harriss (bdsgate!martin@uunet.UU.NET) wrote: > Anyway, this switch was installed in a house. Not a structure built > to look like a house, but an actual house bought for the purpose of > installing the switch. It has a nice front lawn and fence and a gate; > if you look beyond through the bay windows you can see the equipment > racks complete with the blinking lights. It must have been a large house a 10,000 line Stowger plus batteries plus PSU is not a very small piece of kit. > I heard two stories of why this came to be. On was that there was > some kind of foul-up in the design of the building, making it too > small to house the equipment. With a planned cut over date, the PO > had no option but to purchase an existing building, to wit a house. They would have had to make quite a few modifications, like solid concrete floor. > The STD code for Mogador was 0737 83 (Redhill 83.) By now it's > probably an electronic switch of some kind with 6-digit numbers, > linked numbering with Redhill. Or simply replace the original with a concentrator unit, no need to reroute most of the wiring. Mark Evans evansmp@uhura.aston.ac.uk +(44) 21 429 9199 (Home) evansmp@cs.aston.ac.uk +(44) 21 359 6531 x4039 (Office) ------------------------------ From: goldstein@isdnip.lkg.dec.com (Fred R. Goldstein) Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows Reply-To: goldstein@carafe.tay2.dec.com Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 03:49:17 GMT The exception proves the rule. Back in the 1930s, office buildings had no central air conditioning, just huge windows in their stone walls. The Rutherford, NJ central office is built in that style. Sitting on a streetcorner a block off the town center, the building has huge glass windows right along the street. You can stand there and look in at the eleven-foot high wire frames that sit on the first floor. [Moderator's Note: Tell me about it! Even until the late 1950's and early 1960's, air conditioning in office buildings was not all that common with windows that actually opened to let in air and overhead ceiling fans the norm. If it started to rain, everyone was expected to go to one of the windows and close it, then open it again after the rain stopped. When I worked at the University of Chicago telephone room in those years we had no air conditioning -- just six or seven overhead ceiling fans which spun very slowly and windows we opened in the summer. If the temperature was in the nineties all day and the eighties all night, you suffered. Night workers could not sleep during the day because of the heat, and things cooled off just enough over- night to make it hard to stay awake. Two blocks down the street from my switchboard room was the Kenwood central office. It was an old building with windows everywhere. In the late evening, when things were very quiet out on the street -- not like today with gun fire and gang wars the norm on Chicago streets -- anywhere within a block you could hear the 'Kenwood Bell' chattering and clacking away. Five seconds of silence without a relay or two or three 'talking' to its neighbors and them answering back was unusual. You could tell how busy the central exchange was at any time by listening to the relays as you walked past on the sidewalk outside. Sometimes it was so busy there was never a single second of silence, but a constant clack-clack, rat-tat-tat all evening. And when thunder was heard, a minute or two later a woman wearing an operator's headset would appear in a second floor window, stick her head out and look up, then test with her hand out the window. Feeling rain, she'd walk to every window and pull it down. A switchman downstairs would be going around closing all those windows also. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 93 17:34:54 EDT From: Richard Budd Subject: Re: MCI Doesn't Know Czechoslovakia Has Split Organization: CSAV UTIA David Leibold writes in TELECOM Digest V13 #342: > While the continued presence of one country code for both the Czech > Republic and Slovakia is confusing to MCI, there is at least a way to > find out the republic based on the area code. (Details about area codes omitted) > I have not heard of any plans to set up separate country codes yet. I heard something that the Czech Republic would retain 42 and Slovakia would get 37X, a country code similar to what the Baltics and the other newly independent nations are receiving. However, it appears the Slovaks want the new country codes for both countries to be of a format 42X. All rumors from different forums. Considering the number of newly independent nations in Europe, I think the Slovak idea of three digit country codes is the better one. For anyone who's been in E. Europe, urgent doesn't mean "Had to be done yesterday", but more like "We'll get around to it the beginning of next month'. The zip codes have not changed yet either. The zip codes in Prague are 1XXXX, with other Czech Republic zip codes beginning with 2-7. Bratislava's zip code is 8XXXX with other Slovak Republic zip codes beginning with either 9 or 0. (See my signature for an example). There are no new zip codes for either country on the horizon. What with the complaints about reunited Germany's new zip code system, I can under- stand why no one wants to fool around with the zip codes anytime soon. in March, the programmers began splitting the Internet into a .CZ domain for a new CZEARN based in Prague and an .SQ domain for SQEARN based in Bratislava. It has been a slow process and the network rerouters are not all together pleased about tearing up the network. The result is three domains (.CS, .CZ, .SQ) and some fancy addressing to communicate with Palacky University in Olomouc last month on my part. And georg@lise.physik.tu-berlin.de (Georg Schwarz) writes in TELECOM Digest V13 #349: > I'm just curious: do they still list EAST and WEST Germany? No. It's just Germany with a single country code (49). The former East Germany's country code (37) is being given out with an extra digit to all the new nations in Europe becoming independent: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Ukraine, etc. Richard Budd USA 139 S. Hamilton St. klub@maristb.bitnet Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 CZ Kolackova 8/1905 budd@cspgas11.bitnet 18 200 Praha 8 budd@vmtcp.utia.cas.cs SQ ul. L. Kossutha 69 07 701 Kral' Chlmec [Moderator's Note: The former 'West Germans' were very kind and generous to their greatly expanded 'family', weren't they? The consolidation was a real bummer financially for the western government. There was a tremendous cost involved in absorbing the eastern part in, converting the money, assuming all the obligations they did, etc. And how long did it take to upgrade the phone network in the east, and at what cost? Has that been completed yet? Maybe a German reader can update us on the status of east <=> west German telecommunications. For quite some time after the consolidation, east <=> west telecom was virtually non- existent. I know the upgrade must have been a financial killer. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 93 13:37:29 CDT From: fritz@mirage.hc.ti.com (Fritz Whittington) Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? In comp.dcom.telecom varney@ihlpl.att.com writes: > Dallas is one of those places where I think SWB has a "Railroad > Commission" (whatever their PUC is) directive to allow intra-LATA IXC > calls in LATAs where the Intra-LATA TOLL rates do not subsidize > Residential phone rates. (Such subsidies are the usual reason that > PUCs mention for prohibiting IXC intra-LATA calls; in effect, the PUC > is taxing intra-LATA Toll users via the TELCo to keep local monthly > rates lower.) Just to set the record straight, the Texas Railroad Commission does *not* set telephone rates or regulate the telephone industry. That would be pretty stupid. The Texas Railroad Commission has the task of regulating how much oil and gas can be pumped from various wells in the state. As far as I know, they don't have any regulatory power over the railroads. And before you ask, I don't know why! Fritz Whittington Texas Instruments, P.O. Box 655474, MS 446 Dallas, TX 75265 Shipping address: 13510 North Central Expressway, MS 446 Dallas, TX 75243 fritz@ti.com Office: +1 214 995 0397 FAX: +1 214 995 6194 Since I am not an official TI spokesperson, these opinions contain no spokes. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 93 12:41:38 CDT From: mattair@synercom.hounix.org (Charles Mattair) Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? Organization: Synercom Technology, Inc., Houston, TX In article deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (david.g.lewis) writes: > Alas, Pat has again fallen victim to the common practice of > extrapolating the behavior of one LEC in one state to that of all LECs > in the entire US. > Some states permit IXCs to carry intraLATA traffic if the customer > enters a carrier access code. Some states don't. It appears that > Texas does, and Illinois doesn't. If the state permits IXCs to carry > intraLATA traffic, the LEC is obligated to deliver a call dialed with > 10XXX prepended to the selected IXC, regardless of the dialed digits; Be careful of extrapolations. Agreed, Texas permits IXC's to carry intraLATA traffic if dialed with a PIC. However, it apparently does not mandate it. SWB in Houston, and in Dallas/Fort Worth as someone reported, will pass an intraLATA call to an IXC if the call is dialed with an access code. However, GTE (call them a telephone company for sake of argument) in the Clear Lake/League City area (halfway between Houston and the coast) will not. Dialing 102880 + 7D or 102880 + 10D gets you " GTE" for an intraLATA call; 1028800 gets you an AT&T operator. Obtopic: is there any rational explanation for the wide disparity between SWBs rates and IXC rates for the same intraLATA calls? Charles Mattair (work) mattair@synercom.hounix.org (home) cgm@elmat.synercom.hounix.org [Moderator's Note: In Texas, when AT&T gets a call dumped on them which 'rightfully' belongs to GTE or SWB, do they handle the call 'as agent for GTE/SWB' like they do here? PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 20:27:15 -0400 (EDT) From: Paul Robinson Reply-To: Paul Robinson Subject: Re: Cellular Charging? Laurence Chiu wrote: > I just began to investigate getting cellular service in the > Bay Area and was rather surprised to find that one gets charged > not only when making calls, but when receiving them also. > Presumably this is old hat to Americans but as someone who > arrived from New Zealand it was a surprise. This is generally the way charging is done here. The companies that provide service are the local telephone company and a separate company. As such, the companies generally are selling to an "affluent" or "business" crowd and as such, are charging what they think they can get away with. Wireline telephone service has many more customers who are more insistent about complaing to the local PUC about the cost of service; until cellular customers do this, the rates will be higher than wired telephony. (I am assuming that the cost of providing service for cellular customers is not higher than telephone companies running wire all over the place.) > Why should I have to foot the bill for someone calling me? I > don't in my domestic phone service, why in cellular? Was there > some technical reason it was implemented this way? Is this the > same throughout the US? Some carriers, as they see the possibility of more customers, have gone to offering nights and weekends with no airtime charge. But this is the way things are done because they can do this. > In New Zealand one only pays for outgoing calls, callers pay > to call you. Granted we are not a big country, New Zealand has about 3.1 million people in a group of small islands almost exactly equal to the land area of Colorado. As it is much more heavily Socialist than the United States, the number of wealthy people are bound to be a smaller number in absolute and relative terms than say a U.S. metro area of about that size (City of Los Angeles, Chicago, DC, Atlanta). As such, the funds probably aren't there to charge the higher rates that U.S. companies do. > but all cellular phones are assigned a specific area code(s). Had the U.S. had a single (government owned) company running all the telephone service here, that could have been done, such as assigning certain prefixes in each area code for cellular phones, or in very heavy traffic areas, assign single area codes only to cellular phones, such as Southern California; New York/New Jersey/Connecticut; Gary Ind/Chicago/Milwaukee. But we don't so it wasn't. Also if it had, we would have Post Office levels of phone service, i.e. worse than GTE. > It is the same rate to call anywhere in NZ from a cell phone > though this is not a technical restriction, more a policy. > It is clear from the number that you are calling that > it is a cellular phone and you know up front what the charges > will be (around US$0.40/minute anytime of the day). We had the same thing when area code 900 numbers were all 50c a call. > Telecom NZ recognizing that some people might be reluctant to > call you to seek your services because of that cost, also > offer local numbers which actually ring on your cell phone. > The caller pays no charges if calling local, you pay a monthly > charge for the number and some charge per minute for the calls. > The caller has no idea that he or she is calling a cell phone. We have this with 1-800 numbers or call-forwarded local numbers. You can route a 1-800 number to a cellular phone, if you wanted to do so, or get one of those numbers that can be re-routed on request. ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: Cellular Charging? Date: 25 May 1993 02:27:46 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA In article LCHIU@HOLONET.NET writes: > I just began to investigate getting cellular service in the Bay Area > and was rather surprised to find that one gets charged not only when > making calls, but when receiving them also. Presumably this is old hat > to Americans but as someone who arrived from New Zealand it was a > surprise. > Why should I have to foot the bill for someone calling me? I don't in > my domestic phone service, why in cellular? Was there some technical > reason it was implemented this way? Is this the same throughout the > US? The problem is how to implement the billing. The situation in the US is much more complicated than in just about any other country. The cellular carriers are independant of the local carriers and the long distance carriers (although they are sometimes owned by a local or long distance company). How would collection of the airtime revenue work since the caller could be calling from any of several hundred local telephone companies, and possibly also over any of several hundred long distance companies? The procedures for collecting charges for regular long distnace calls is well-established, but I just don't think it is feasable to try to do this with cellular in the US. There are a couple of cellular companies that have experminted with "caller pays" as an option, but there are limitations. I believe those that have done so are only able to collect the extra revenue if the caller is in the same LATA and using the LEC to place the call. The cellular carrier can then either block all other calls (making the cellular phone uncallable from anywhere outside of the LATA - not very good), make the cellular subscriber pay airtime anyway for inbound calls from outside of the LATA (this would be silly - why would someone sign up for caller-pays service if many times they would have to pay anyway, and not know at the time of the call if they were paying for it), or just eat the airtime charges for inbound inter-LATA calls (which the cellular carrier is not likely to want to do). Also, considering how high the cellular rates can be, it would be likely that they would be blocked from many company/hotel PBX's. Then there's the case of COCOTs -- how would billing work from them? Again, I just don't think this is feasable in the US. Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ From: dreystadt@LAA.COM (john n. dreystadt) Subject: Re: Cellular Charging? Date: 25 May 1993 17:44:50 GMT Organization: Lynn-Arthur Associates, Ann Arbor, MI Reply-To: dreystadt@LAA.COM The reasons have much to do with how cellular in the U.S. came to pass. Our cellular carriers often have little to do with the land line carriers. This makes billing the land line phone an extra charge for calling a cellular phone very difficult. We could have set up a system where the caller pays if both parties are cellular but then you have to try to explain this exception to the users. Who pays what charges for cellular service depend on the local customs mostly. It can be argued that the U.S. system is fairest in that the receiver of the call is still tying up one channel in a cell. Who pays for an international call made to a cellular phone in New Zealand? The international rates are set by mutual agreement between the national carriers. I am not aware of special rates to call New Zealand cellular phones. I am interested in how other countries do the billing. I know that Mexico does something similar to the U.S. system. The exception is roamers. If a roamer comes into your current region and your carrier recognizes this and directs the call to the roamer without going out of region, the call is local. In the U.S., normally all billing to the originating party is based on the number dialed and not on the location of the terminating party. I believe that Norway uses the same scheme that New Zealand does. Anyone know the rules in other countries? John N. Dreystadt Lynn-Arthur Associates dreystadt@laa.com Home:313-878-9719 Work:313-995-5590 These are personal opinions not corporate opinions. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #352 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa02162; 26 May 93 7:31 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA15406 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Wed, 26 May 1993 05:15:45 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA14833 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Wed, 26 May 1993 05:15:05 -0500 Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 05:15:05 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305261015.AA14833@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #353 TELECOM Digest Wed, 26 May 93 05:15:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 353 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis (J. Eric Townsend) Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis (Steven J. Tucker) Re: Singapore Airlines Begins In-Flight Fax Service (Mark Evans) Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing (Justin Leavens) Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing (Christopher Sims) Re: Want a Good Phone (Stan Hall) Re: Strange Prefix (Carl Oppedahl) Re: Help Needed Getting Internet Connection (Carl Oppedahl) Re: Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc. (Harold Hallikainen) Re: Oops, You Didn't Hear That (David H. Close) Re: Telecom History (John A. Shriver) Re: Opinions Wanted: Future of Healthcare Telecom (Harold Hallikainen) Re: Message Length on Display Pagers (Rich Greenberg) Re: Stocks VIA Internet (Steve Forrette) Re: Auto-Callback Offered, Without Caller-ID! (Arthur Rubin) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: jet@nas.nasa.gov (J. Eric Townsend) Subject: Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis Organization: NASA Ames Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 17:56:11 GMT William.K.Kessler writes: > It appears that Indianapolis is being plagued by an automated > telephone dialer (possibly a trolling FAX machine or > cracker). > I received a call to my home number on April 24th at 3:31 AM. > The call was some type of machine that beeped at about one > second intervals. The call was from 317-471-XXXY. Quite probably a fax. Suggestion from a friend (when I had a similar problem): beg/borrow a fax machine and set it up overnight. Find out who the faxer is. Have them removed from the face of the planet. J. Eric Townsend jet@nas.nasa.gov 415.604.4311 NASA Ames Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation | play: jet@well.sf.ca.us Parallel Systems Support, CM-5 POC | '92 R100R / DoD# 0378 PGP2.1 public key available upon request or finger jet@simeon.nas.nasa.gov ------------------------------ From: dh395@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Steven J Tucker) Subject: Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis Date: 25 May 1993 20:45:29 GMT Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA) Reply-To: dh395@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Steven J Tucker) In a previous article, William.K.Kessler@att.com says: > I hung up and then received a second call about one minute later. The > second call also was a beeping sound. > The pest has been active for about a month. I complained to Indiana > Bell and the Sheriff's department two weeks ago. I received a > follow-up call asking what crime was committed. It's not clear what > laws if any have been violated. > I just received a another call to my home number so it appears that > the pest is making a second pass through the CO. > This time I complained to the Utility Regulatory Commission. The > consumer affairs representative said that they would talk to Indiana > Bell. What you got was probably a telemarketing-fax machine, many companies use them to try and find every fax machine they can and send their crap through it (you've probably gotten weird faxes at work, ads, etc). If it was a cracker/hacker, scanning for dialtones (PBX) or for carriers (computer), you would have heard nothing since the modem would have been in dial mode, not originate mode. All fax machines emit a shot BEEP at regular intervals if they dont get a carrier right way, modems don't. Steven J Tucker dh395@cleveland.Freenet.edu P.O.Box 33475 North Royalton Ohio 44133-0475 [Moderator's Note: I hope you agree with the assessment of both Eric Townsend and myself however that the company -- or whoever owns the fax -- needs to be put out of business when they are located. PAT] ------------------------------ From: evansmp@uhura.aston.ac.uk (Mark Evans) Subject: Re: Singapore Airlines Begins In-Flight Fax Service Organization: Aston University Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 12:38:00 GMT > [Moderator's Note: I would think those fax machines would work the > same way as the airfones and have outgoing service only. Of course Looks like the film "Die hard 2" got it wrong then. or maybe its possible for the service company or the airline only to make incoming calls to the phones. > someone on board could send a fax to the nearest airport saying the > plane had been taken over in a hostage situation or something. > Wouldn't that be cute, watching them try to figure out who sent the > fax later on, particularly if it can accept cash money as payment. PAT] Or were using a stolen credit card. Mark Evans |evansmp@uhura.aston.ac.uk +(44) 21 429 9199 (Home) evansmp@cs.aston.ac.uk +(44) 21 359 6531 x4039 (Office) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 10:42:39 -0800 From: leavens@bmf.usc.edu (Justin Leavens) Subject: Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing Although the message did not specifically mention the data format, it did mention that you could use your spreadsheet to analyze the data. Also, it doesn't mention any type of "viewer" software or startup kit, so I can only assume you get a PC disk with an ASCII file from PacBell. Justin Leavens : Microcomputer Specialist : University of Southern California leavens@bmf.usc.edu My opinion is that my opinions are my opinions ------------------------------ Date: 25 May 1993 19:25:16 +1000 From: Christopher.Sims@cswamp.apana.org.au (Christopher Sims) Subject: Re: Pacific Bell Offering Computer Disk Billing Reply-To: Christopher.Sims@cswamp.apana.org.au Organization: Camelot Swamp bulletin board, Hawthorndene Sth Australia >> An note on my latest phone bill from Pacific Bell announced that >> Pacific Bell will now provide billing to customers by IBM compatible 3 >> 1/2" computer disk (which can be read by Macintosh computers with the >> proper software) for a $15 monthly fee. For a short time, they will be >> waiving the $100 start-up fee. > I am surprised that none of these companies have offered to fax the > phone bills rather than mail them out. When Sprint sends me my phone > bill it costs them about $0.45 in postage, in addition to the printing I am supprised that it has taken companies so long to think of such an idea. Better still why don't they give you an id and have custemers who want to be billed through their modems call a special number loggon and then look at their bill that way. I would say that such a system could symply be linked in with the existing public access systems that telecom would already have in place. Catch you later. Voice +618-3772082 Email address chris@cleese.apana.org.au Origin: Camelot Swamp, Hawthorndene, South Australia (8:7000/8) Camelot Swamp bbs, data: +61-8-370-2133 reply to user@cswamp.apana.org.au ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Want a Good Phone From: kilgore@wuntvor.pillar.com (Stan Hall) Date: Tue, 25 May 93 15:52:44 CDT Organization: The Eternal Apprentice BBS, Oklahoma City, Ok Terry Kennedy writes: > It wasn't uncommon to get a phone in the late 70's and even the > early 80's which used a base, switchhook, and network from the 50's. > Of course, the plastic and cords were changed to accomodate Touch-Tone > dialing, and (later) modular cords. You could easily tell these phones > as the underside was paint- ed black and had a red date code (with an > R for refurbished). You could get a general idea as to the age of the > original unit by looking to see if the feet were round, triangular, or > square, or you could stare at the paint to see if you could make out > the old date. For those of us who really wanted to tempt Ma Bell 8-), > we'd open the top and look at the dates on the ringer and network. Now its time for me to talk about my favorite phone in the house. Of course it is black rotary W/E. This is a classy phone, with its black metal dial wheel and its leather feet, very nice. I just went to check the date on it and underneath the sticker with "C/D 500 11/72" I found the original stamp of "C/D 500 6/54". Best of all I paid about $5 at a thrift store for a 39 year old antique. What it could use is a little bit of buffing up. It surface it covered in light scratches that looks like someone took some steel wool after it. Does anyone what would be the best thing to buff the scratches out with? kilgore@wuntvor.pillar.com (Stan Hall) The Eternal Apprentice BBS, Oklahoma City, OK -- +1 405 942 8794 [Moderator's Note: You do have a wonderful old phone, but 39 years is not an antique in the phone business. Try 50 years or more. since a 40 year life-span is not at all unusual for the old Western Electric units that the Bell System distributed for a century. A couple years ago I found a 'French-style' WE phone with the manufacturing date of May, 1931 stamped on the inside. These were the phones with the round, fat base, the stubby little neck and the four fingers which formed the resting place for the receiver. These phones had no bell in the base, and required a 'side-ringer' in the box on the wall if you recall them, which is also where the 'network' (or the majority of the phone's innards) were located. The phone itself just had a couple relays in it and a faceplate where the dial would go. Brown uncurled, cloth cord connected the receiver to the base, and the same brown cloth cord went from the phone to the wall box where the ringer was located. The phone was *still in service* through a manual PBX cordboard when I found it in an obscure location -- the elevator 'penthouse' (rooftop elevator machinery room) -- of a northside residential hotel. Of course I graciously offered to replace it with a 500 set I happened to have with me, and the building manager was happy to make the trade. PAT] ------------------------------ From: oppedahl@Panix.Com (Carl Oppedahl) Subject: Re: Strange Prefix Date: 25 May 1993 17:34:00 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC In cantor@mv.com (David A. Cantor) writes: > I stayed overnight in Mystic, Connecticut, and was perusing the local > telephone directory. It is SNET territory. There were several > references to prefixes (office codes?) 111 and 112. 111 was listed as > Ledyard, CT, and I don't remember where 112 was. 111 was identified > as a Ledyard prefix in the section on what exchanges you can dial from > where, and in the numerical list of prefixes for the state. 112 was > also in the numerical list. > Pity I couldn't find any 111 listings. I would have tried to dial one > from home if I had found any. > Does anyone have a clue how such a prefix can exist? Can anyone > confirm or deny the actual existence of 111-xxxx numbers? > [Moderator's Note: I rather suspect it was a misprint. PAT] Or, one of those "spikes" that publishers put in to catch people who copy the data ... Carl Oppedahl AA2KW (intellectual property lawyer) 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112-0228 voice 212-408-2578 fax 212-765-2519 [Moderator's Note: Illinois Bell does that sort of thing but in a more realistic way. They put 'ringers' in the book which look like legitimate people and numbers. Then they sue the copy-cats who grab the listings for their own directories, etc. PAT] ------------------------------ From: oppedahl@Panix.Com (Carl Oppedahl) Subject: Re: Help Needed Getting Internet Connection Date: 25 May 1993 17:45:53 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC In mcginnis@bu.edu (Kelly McGinnis) writes: > I was just wondering where (other than universities), I can gain > access to the e-mail system the schools use. > [Moderator's Note: By 'email system the schools use' I assume you are > referring to the Internet and its affiliated networks -- what you are > connected to and reading now. There are many 'public access unix > sites' you can subscribe to. I suggest checking out the 'nixpub' file; > you may also wish to investigate the Free Net sites; Portal > Communications in San Jose, CA (they have a PC Pursuit/Sprintnet > link); or Chinet in Chicago (chinet.chi.il.us) operated by Randy Suess. > Another good public access site here is 'Gagme' (gagme.chi.il.us) oper- > rated by Greg Gulick. There are plenty of places where you can sign > up for modest fees. PAT] There is a newsgroup which you might not know about, called alt.internet.access.wanted. It is perfect for your query. (I realize you may not have access to that group, in which case that would be why you did not post to it.) Anyway, if you can I suggest you post to that group. If you are not able to post to that group directly, you may wish to consider using one of the services that lets you post via email. For example, you could post to: alt.internet.access.wanted.usenet@decwrl.dec.com and state in your posting that you would like to get responses via email. Best of luck. Carl Oppedahl AA2KW (intellectual property lawyer) 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112-0228 voice 212-408-2578 fax 212-765-2519 ------------------------------ From: hhallika@tuba.calpoly.edu (Harold Hallikainen) Subject: Re: Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc. Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 22:32:44 GMT In article John_David_Galt@cup.portal. com writes: > 1. If you hold up the plugs at BOTH ends of a standard modular cable, > in the same orientation, you will find that the correspondence between > wire colors and plug pins is reversed; that is, if red is pin three on > one plug, it will be pin four on the other. > This is not a wiring mistake. All modular cables intended for phone > use are "reversed" in this way. Likewise, any gadget that plugs into > the line between telephone and wall should be "reversed" if-and-only-if > its two connectors are the same gender. Which reminds me, why don't we have an RS232 serial connector standard for modular connectors? I'd suggest something symmetrical, probably using the two center pins for ground. Then, all equipment would be wired exactly the same. We'd use reversing cables to connect anything to anything (no more DTE DCE problems!). Of course, not all wires have a symmetrical opposite ... for example TxD and RxD would generally be swapped, RTS and CTS, DTR and DSR, but what do you do with DCD and RI? Anyway, it seems I'm forever making custom serial data cables. A standard would be nice! Harold Hallikainen ap621@Cleveland.Freenet.edu Hallikainen & Friends, Inc. hhallika@oboe.calpoly.edu 141 Suburban Road, Bldg E4 phone 805 541 0200 fax 544 6715 San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-7590 telex 4932775 HFI UI ------------------------------ From: dhclose@cco.caltech.edu (David H. Close) Subject: Re: Oops, You Didn't Hear That Date: 26 May 1993 04:27:51 GMT Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena I don't recall anyone reporting here the long article in the {Los Angeles Times} about one or two months ago in which: An oil tanker captain sent a confidential report on some safety problems to his head office by fax. For some reason, the fax was misdirected and delivered to the US Coast Guard instead. When the ship arrived in LA, the captain was charged with violations after an inspection. The company is protesting on grounds that the report was intended for internal, confidential use. (Hope I don't have my memory too screwed up!) If this hasn't been previous discussed, I'll try to dig out the original article and send more details. Dave Close, BS'66 Ec dhclose@alumni.caltech.edu dave@compata.attmail.com [Moderator's Note: Yes, please send it along, we have not seen it yet here that I can recall. The company will lose however; as long as the government did not use false pretenses to get the fax, or seize it without a warrant, etc, they are entitled to read it. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 May 93 00:53:47 EDT From: jas@proteon.com (John A. Shriver) Subject: Re: Telecom History The dial telephones in Chicago in the teens are related to a most interesting story. They were not the "Bell" telephone supplier in Chicago, but a competitor. They are the folks who dug the (now mostly abandoned) tunnels under Chicago that flooded last year. Their original charter was to build a dial telephone system, but they exceeded the charter and made the tunnels large enough for a two foot guage freight railroad. The system was also advertised as "secret", since there was no operator to know who you were calling, nor to spy on your call. After several recieverships (the freight business barely made money, the phones never did), the phone system became part of the "Bell" telephone company. First thing they did was rip out all the Automatic Electric Strowger switches and put in switchboards and operators. The freight railroad finally shut down in 1957. Their last business was hauling out ashes from furnace basements. The city had owned the tunnels since the 1930's, and their failure in the 1990's to maintain the ones that crossed the river led to the floods. For details, see the book "Forty Feet Below". There was a new seventh printing last year. ------------------------------ From: hhallika@tuba.calpoly.edu (Harold Hallikainen) Subject: Re: Opinions Wanted: Future of Healthcare Telecom Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 21:56:47 GMT I have limited contact with the health care industry, so my perceptions may be way off. However, it appears that doctors seem to work very independently. It seems that they would benefit from newsgroups (like this) where one can say "I've got a patient with these symptoms, any comment?" My supervisor (where I teach part time) did a lot of computer research on what was ailing his wife. It took a week or so before the local doctors could figure out what the problem was. The community we have thru Usenet is really great! Doctors otta use it! Harold Hallikainen ap621@Cleveland.Freenet.edu Hallikainen & Friends, Inc. hhallika@oboe.calpoly.edu 141 Suburban Road, Bldg E4 phone 805 541 0200 fax 544 6715 San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-7590 telex 4932775 HFI UI ------------------------------ From: richgr@netcom.com (Rich Greenberg) Subject: Re: Message Length on Display Pagers Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) Date: Tue, 25 May 1993 23:17:25 GMT In article Steven Warner writes: > Bonnie J Johnson writes: > Steve wanted to know if the bravo could handle longer than 20 > character message [thru programming...?] I am almost certain that my > old bravo plus could to 24 characters, but I cannot confirm this. I just got a new Bravo Plus, and actually read the directions. It has a 160 character memory, shared between up to 16 messages, with no message being longer than 20 digits. Rich Greenberg Work: rmg50@juts.ccc.amdahl.com 310-417-8999 N6LRT Play: richgr@netcom.com 310-649-0238 What? Me speak for Amdahl? Surely you jest.... ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: Stocks VIA Internet Date: 24 May 1993 01:50:10 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA In article mperlman@nyx.cs.du.edu (Marshal Perlman) writes: > Anyone know of any stock purchasing companies that are computer linked > to the internet ... where I could buy and sell stocks with my > computer? > I 'm sure it would be a tad cheaper then using my broker who just > punches what I say to him into a computer and charges me $50 for 'his > help'. I don't know about you, but I sure wouldn't want to send my trading instructions over the Internet for every site in the path to see (and perhaps generate their own under my name!). If you are interested in computer trading, Charles Schwab has a program whereby you can do your trades via computer and modem. You get special software from them, enter all of your trades offline, then ask it to dial in and execute your batch of trades. They take 10% off their standard commission rates when you use the computer instead of talking to a person. Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Auto-Callback Offered, Without Caller-ID! From: a_rubin%dsg4.dse.beckman.com (Arthur Rubin) Date: 25 May 93 17:45:02 GMT Reply-To: a_rubin@dsg4.dse.beckman.com (Arthur Rubin) In carlp@rainbow.mentorg.com (Carl Page @ DAD) writes: > California allows Last Call return but not Caller ID? Amazing. > Oregon made the opposite decision! And for good reasons. > Last call return (or Auto-callback) is NOT offered in Oregon, even > though Caller ID is being offered! > Moderator's Note: Every telco seems to have their own philosophy on > this. IBT offers both Caller-ID and Auto-callback, or Return Last > Call. They could care less that numbers otherwise blocked on the ID > display are still returnable via *69. PAT] I haven't requested it yet, but PacBell (at least in Southern California) says that the last (two or four -- I don't remember) digits will be X'd out on the phone bill for a "Call Return"'d call. Arthur L. Rubin: a_rubin@dsg4.dse.beckman.com (work) Beckman Instruments/Brea 216-5888@mcimail.com 70707.453@compuserve.com arthur@pnet01.cts.com (personal) My opinions are my own, and do not represent those of my employer. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #353 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa26990; 26 May 93 19:12 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA02526 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Wed, 26 May 1993 16:56:26 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA25558 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Wed, 26 May 1993 16:55:35 -0500 Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 16:55:35 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305262155.AA25558@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #354 TELECOM Digest Wed, 26 May 93 16:55:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 354 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Cellular Telephone Privacy (Philip Mulivor) Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (James R. Saker Jr.) Re: MCI Doesn't Know Czechoslovakia Has Split (James R. Saker Jr.) Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card (Sergio Gelato) Winnipeg BBSes Seized (Nigel Allen) Re: Prodigy Digicom 96/14.4 (Ed Ravin) Re: Scalable Coherent Interface (Fritz Whittington) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 02:14:46 -0400 From: mulivor@orion.crc.monroecc.edu Subject: Cellular Telephone Privacy This article first appeared in the {Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle}, Sunday, April 22, 1990, pg. 1F, circulation 255,000. Copyright 1990 Philip Mulivor. This work may be freely copied and distributed. Kindly include author's name and e-mail address: Philip Mulivor Internet: MULIVOR@ORION.CRC.MONROECC.EDU CompuServe: 71762,2440 WHAT'S HAPPENING TO PHONE PRIVACY? `IT'S A VOYEUR'S PARADISE' FOR SNOOPERS OF CELLULAR CALLS, FAXES By Philip Mulivor Some of Rochester's newest on-air personalities don't realize how popular they've become. In fact, they don't even know they've been on the air. If you use a cellular telephone, you might be one of them. Cellular eavesdropping has become a thriving hobby, complete with its own how-to books, according to Tom Kneitel, editor of {Popular Communications} magazine. "It's a voyeur's paradise," said Kneitel. "Television is just so much hokum compared to what really happens in people's lives over cellular telephones." Kneitel thinks listeners tune in cellular calls for one reason: "Americans are great snoops." "It's a real fascination," said Paul Kolacki, who monitors local cellular conversations from his home in Rochester. Kolacki said he's just naturally curious about other people's lives. Local listeners who scan Rochester's estimated 10,000 cellular telephones report hearing everything from drug deals to stock market tips and medical diagnoses. "You hear some revealing business conversations during the day," Kolacki said. "At night, it's married guys calling their girlfriends." Martin Pittinger of Greece has been monitoring cellular conversations for several years. "I can feel the intensity of someone's lifestyle just by listening," he said. "People who use cellular telephones have to come to grips with the fact that their conversations are entertainment for other people. "We haven't progressed too far beyond the old telephone operator with all the cables plugged in -- at least as far as privacy is concerned." Cellular telephones send calls over public radio frequencies which many newer scanners are designed to receive. Scanners are radios that have been popular for monitoring police and fire services since the early 1970s. A few keystrokes on a modern scanner's control panel will command the unit to search radio channels in the cellular telephone band (located just above the UHF television band). When the scanner detects a conversation on a cellular channel, it stops and makes that conversation audible to the listener. Another keystroke lets the search continue for the next interesting conversation. But listening to an entire cellular conversation is not always easy. A single call can hop among any of the 832 radio channels in the cellular band. A scanner listener tuned to one cellular channel might hear only a fragment of conversation before the call jumps to another channel. Channel-switching isn't done to discourage eavesdroppers; it happens as the cellular company's computer constantly tries to find the clearest channel for the moving phone. On command from the computer, the cellular phone switches channels without the user's knowledge. Some listeners own receivers able to scan hundreds of channels per minute. For them, channel-hopping is easier to follow because their radios perform a high-speed search to relocate conversations. But this isn't always necessary. Many calls come from parked cars, where conversations also get parked -- on a single channel. It may sound fun, but listening to cellular telephone calls is illegal. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), a federal law passed in 1986, outlaws monitoring cellular calls. However, it does not bar scanner manufacturers from including cellular channels in their products. Both Rochester Telephone Corp. and Genesee Telephone Co., the area's cellular service providers, sometimes discuss the ECPA with customers who ask about cellular privacy. But {Popular Communications} magazine has said this law is unenforceable, serving only as a sales gimmick for cellular services. "I don't think the intent of this law is to prosecute the hobbyist," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian McCarthy, a federal prosecutor in Rochester. "Someone listening in for grins doesn't have to worry about the authorities knocking at his door." And Senior FBI Agent Dale Anderson said his Rochester office "has not been involved in any enforcement action for cellular phone listening so far." Curiously, the Federal Communications Commission has nothing to do with the ECPA. "It's not an FCC regulation, and we have no jurisdic- tion one way or the other," said FCC engineer Ed Kelly from Buffalo. Some cellular users said it's easy to forget about privacy risks because their phones look and operate like ordinary telephones. It's often difficult for someone receiving a call at home or in the office to know if that call is from a cellular phone. Scanner listeners hear both parties. The California Public Utilities Commission recently asked cellular users to advise people they call that the conversation might not be private. And Pacific Bell, a large cellular provider in California, has mailed a special notice to warn customers that their calls might be scanned by third parties. In Rochester, several cellular customers have taken precautions. "We tell all our cellular users to be careful," said Paul Allen, a spokesman for Eastman Kodak Co. "No one should be discussing confidential information on a cellular phone or any two-way radio." But neither the Monroe County Bar Association or Medical Society has sent advice to members about cellular privacy. Spokesmen for those groups said the problem is left to members to recognize and solve. "I got a call from a doctor who said he was on a cellular phone," said Edna Venturo, a nurse at Rochester General Hospital. He was calling about a particular patient and went into details about that patient." Cellular snoops admit their listening days are numbered. Cellular providers eventually will convert to digital radio signals, rendering cellular conversations unintelligible through scanners. But eavesdroppers anticipate several more years of provocative listening -- and viewing. Cellular fax machines are beginning to pop up, and aggressive listeners are already equipped for document interceptions. All they need is a scanner and a fax machine. "Fax transmissions sent over cellular phones are just as vulnerable as conversations," said Jim Stefano, police officer and radio communications specialist for the Fairport Police Department. "Cellular users have no privacy, and none can be expected." END OF STORY ------------------------------ From: jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu (James R. Saker Jr.) Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 04:55:24 GMT deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (david.g.lewis) writes: > Some states permit IXCs to carry intraLATA traffic if the customer > enters a carrier access code. Some states don't. It appears that > Texas does, and Illinois doesn't. [more deleted] David's comment is right on target -- as a former costing analyst for an IXC, there were many markets which allowed our customers to 10xxx (pronounced "ten-triple-x") to us, effectively bypassing their LEC -- such as Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, and possibly Florida (I'm not 100% sure on that one). However, our customers in California are blocked from 10xxx. Why would you want to 10xxx and bypass your LEC (if your intrastate general exchange tariff allows for it)? Instead of paying the steep LEC intra rates (often ranging between $.18 and $.35 per minute standard residential), you can utilize the cheaper $.10 to $.18 per minute standard IXC rates. Additionally, if you have volume discounts applicable with your IXC, all of your intrastate volume usually applies. What can you do if you live in a state which doesn't allow for 10xxx bypass? Call up your IXC and ask for feature group B access -- also frequently called 950 access. Since it costs your IXC less than a 1+ call (in most instances), they're usually quite receptive (unless they happen to be one of the big three, which means they will charge you their much more expensive 800-access rates simply because they don't wish to maintain two seperate products). For example, I lived in a FGB (feature group B) only area 30 miles north of Omaha for two years. They wanted $.28/min daytime where I could get $.14/min daytime through my IXC. By dialing 950-xxxx to access my IXC and entering the usual auth code and number, I cut my LD in half. Fortunately, you can obtain FGB access in most states which don't allow for 10xxx bypass (such as California). Interesting sidenote: Has anyone been following US West's recent FCC tariff submissions regarding 10xxx blocking? They've introduced 10xxx blocking as a "service" for subscribers in states including North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa -- with the Iowa submission resulting in a suit filed by MCI opposing the introduction. According to the tariff, US West will offer a new subscriber the ability to block 10xxx calls from their line in the same manner they can block 900 calls -- and presumably offered at the same time in their sales pitch. Has anyone ordered service in any of these states and been offered this service? (I believe Wyoming may have just been added to the list two weeks ago as well). It appears US West may have found a way around unreceptive public utilities commissions (or in Nebraska's case, practically-nonexistant PUCs;-) ). Jamie Saker jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu Systems Engineer Business/MIS Major Telenational Communications Univ. Nebraska at Omaha voice: (402) 392-7548 fax: (402) 391-7283 ------------------------------ From: jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu (James R. Saker Jr.) Subject: Re: MCI Doesn't Know Czechoslovakia Has Split Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 05:17:27 GMT Richard Budd writes: > David Leibold writes in TELECOM Digest V13 #342: > I heard something that the Czech Republic would retain 42 and Slovakia > would get 37X, a country code similar to what the Baltics and the > other newly independent nations are receiving. However, it appears > the Slovaks want the new country codes for both countries to be of a > format 42X. All rumors from different forums. Speaking of rumors ... has anyone heard if any of the former Soviet republics (Latvia, Kyrg., etc.) are direct dialable yet? According to Sprint, AT&T and Worldcom's tariffs, they're listed independently to allow for billing breakouts, but are still accessed by country-code 7. Last I heard, Moscow was the only direct-dialable part of the former USSR. Jamie Saker jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu Systems Engineer Business/MIS Major Telenational Communications Univ. Nebraska at Omaha (402) 392-7548 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 93 01:13:20 EDT From: gelato@astrosun.TN.CORNELL.EDU (Sergio Gelato) Subject: Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card > [Moderator's Note: *Except* in the case of the now infamous Talk > Tickets which you know who peddles to pay his rent. Since my cards do > not swipe, and since the intelligence is all in the network rather > than in the phone, the serial number can! be! blacklisted! Yes ... > With the $2 Talk Tickets you always have 'change for the phone'; if > you lose the card there is little loss but it can be suspended if you > know the serial number and promptly report it (don't misquote me on > this; they are not eager to spend the time putting a stop on a lost $2 > card but will do so on larger denominations). You don't have to waste > time looking for a card reader phone, and if you have a good memory > you don't even need to carry the card around. Lost cards reported to > my office are promptly replaced *IF* you can provide a valid serial > number for the lost card. You see, I get to diddle the computer a > little differently than you ... I get to call the computer and void a > lost card and validate a 'special issue'; that is, if your lost card > had two units left, I void that serial and issue a new serial with two > units for you to use. PAT] What happens if the person who finds the card calls you before the one who lost it, and requests the "special issue" for him/herself? Or is it necessary to report the loss to the point of sale where the card was bought in the first place? If the latter, what if I bought the card from a random newsstand at the other end of the country? The Federal Reserve would never issue a refund for a lost $100 bill, even if one calls in with a valid serial number. Travelers cheques, on the other hand, are refundable under certain conditions (a proof of purchase must be presented, an ID must be shown). Even this is only possible because the cheques are "fingerprinted" with their owner's signature. There is no signature on your Talk Tickets (the serial number does not count, since anyone who sees it can reproduce it perfectly, unlike a real signature). Blocking is easier, of course, but cannot take effect retroactively: if someone else uses the ticket before the loss is reported, there can be no refund (unless the issuer is willing to pay for a large number of fraudulent loss claims). About the only way left to verify the legitimity of a claim is to keep track of the identity of the original purchaser. Or at the very least of the claimant. And I thought anonymity was one of the tickets' main advantages over calling cards ... Don't misread me: I do think there is a real need for these tickets. What I find vain is this idea of offering refunds. I am quite happy to treat prepaid debit cards as cash ("never carry more than you need"), and would rather see the phone company lower its rates than spend money on processing loss claims. Sergio Gelato gelato@astrosun.tn.cornell.edu [Moderator's Note: You can't have it both ways. If you want anonymous sales, fine, I can handle that also. Cash or money orders are accepted to fill orders. If you want to register the order when you buy it, that is, give me a valid name and record of the serial numbers, then in the even someone calls and comes up with the same name and serial numbers as my records show, if they state the card is lost then I will call the computer, poll the computer for the value remaining, cancel the old serial and issue a new one for the remaining value. What more do you want, for me to set up a branch office in London in the event you happen to be there when you want to buy a ticket or lose one? For two dollars? I go further with customer service on this plan than any other vendor of similar tickets. What more should I do? You tell me. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 93 23:58:27 EDT From: ae446@freenet.carleton.ca (Nigel Allen) Subject: Winnipeg BBSes Seized Reply-To: ae446@freenet.carleton.ca Originally posted in the can.general newsgroup by derek.hay@mwcsinc.muug.mb.ca (Derek Hay). Contact Mr. Hay directly if you would like more information. Winnipeg Free Press Saturday, May 22, 1993 Police seized $100,000.00 of computer equipment from eight computer bulletin boards systems (BBS) operators who where distributing obscene material to their members along with legitimate educational programming. It is the first such seizure in Canada. ..... Some of the material police accessed in their sting included scenes of bondage and bestiality. It is illegal to possess obscene material if it is intended for distribution. Winnipeg Police were first alerted to the distribution of computer pornography last fall after a 12 year old girl was discovered watching it on a personal computer. The Manitoba Telephone System was alerted by the parents, which in turn contacted the police. Police estimate that three-quarters of the 400 BBS's in Winnipeg offer some degree of pornographic material. Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada ae446@freenet.carleton.ca ------------------------------ From: elr%trintex@uunet.UU.NET (Ed Ravin) Subject: Re: Prodigy Digicom 96/14.4 Organization: Prodigy Services Company Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 01:54:34 GMT In article gt7610c@prism.gatech.edu (TEAGUE, John Edward) writes: > Ok, I've seen the deal on Prodigy, but now I was wondering if this can > be had by anyone. Ie someone who does not have Prodigy service (like > me) eligible? And PAT inserts his $.02: > Moderator's Note: That deal is intended as an inducement to get > people to join Prodigy. It is much like the book club deals where you > get a bunch of free books if you join the club and promise to buy more > at the standard rate. My understanding is that Prodigy is only offering the modems to people who are already users of their service -- the intention is to help people upgrade from slow modems to fast ones, with the hope that the newly upgraded users will have a more enjoyable time using Prodigy (the Prodigy software is fairly sluggish until you run it at 9600 bps or faster). J.E. Teague also writes: > And most importantly, are these modems any good? Has anyone tried > them? Impressions, feelings, (dis)likes, etc. The modem is almost the same as a Digicom Scout+, (slightly different ROM chips, the modems' default setup is configured for running the Prodigy software), which is available (ask around on comp.dcom.modems) for almost as good a price as what Prodigy sells their version for. It's a perfectly decent modem, though if you're heavy on receiving faxes I would steer away from it, since I've heard that some users have trouble doing so (the fax software supplied with it is Winfax Lite, and you get customer support from Digicom). disclaimer: I work for Prodigy as a telecommunications programmer, but I'm noway nohow any kind of spokescritter for them. Ed Ravin Prodigy Services Co. White Plains, NY 10601 +1-914-993-4737 elr@trintex.uucp or elr%trintex@uunet.uu.net ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 93 12:53:18 CDT From: fritz@mirage.hc.ti.com (Fritz Whittington) Subject: Re: Scalable Coherent Interface In comp.dcom.telecom is written: > Does anyone have any information regarding a high-speed, data > communications system known as "Scalable Coherent Interface?" Or can > anyone point me in the right direction to sources of information > regarding SCI? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. It's an IEEE standard, 1596-1992, approved in March 1992 by the IEEE and by ANSI as a national standard last October. Should be available from where you normally order such standards. There are some other WGs for related standards, such as 1596.1 (VME/SCI bridge), 1596.2 (Cache Optimizations), and others. There is a mail reflector, and some on-line documents available via ftp, however, you might have to join the WG in order to get access to these. For further information, contact the 1596 Chair, Dave Gustavson, at dbg@slac.stanford.edu. Fritz Whittington Texas Instruments, P.O. Box 655474, MS 446 Dallas, TX 75265 Shipping address: 13510 North Central Expressway, MS 446 Dallas, TX 75243 fritz@ti.com Office: +1 214 995 0397 FAX: +1 214 995 6194 Since I am not an official TI spokesperson, these opinions contain no spokes. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #354 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa10978; 27 May 93 3:13 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA01587 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Thu, 27 May 1993 00:50:39 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA09080 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Thu, 27 May 1993 00:49:45 -0500 Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 00:49:45 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305270549.AA09080@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #354 TELECOM Digest Wed, 26 May 93 16:55:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 354 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Cellular Telephone Privacy (Philip Mulivor) Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (James R. Saker Jr.) Re: MCI Doesn't Know Czechoslovakia Has Split (James R. Saker Jr.) Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card (Sergio Gelato) Winnipeg BBSes Seized (Nigel Allen) Re: Prodigy Digicom 96/14.4 (Ed Ravin) Re: Scalable Coherent Interface (Fritz Whittington) READ THIS IMPORTANT NOTICE: This issue (#354) was inadvertently sent out as #352 several hours ago. That means you should have two copies of #352 -- one from Tuesday and one from today (which is really #354). Destroy the second version of #352 sent Wednesday afternoon which has the same contents as the one you are now reading. PAT] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 02:14:46 -0400 From: mulivor@orion.crc.monroecc.edu Subject: Cellular Telephone Privacy This article first appeared in the {Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle}, Sunday, April 22, 1990, pg. 1F, circulation 255,000. Copyright 1990 Philip Mulivor. This work may be freely copied and distributed. Kindly include author's name and e-mail address: Philip Mulivor Internet: MULIVOR@ORION.CRC.MONROECC.EDU CompuServe: 71762,2440 WHAT'S HAPPENING TO PHONE PRIVACY? `IT'S A VOYEUR'S PARADISE' FOR SNOOPERS OF CELLULAR CALLS, FAXES By Philip Mulivor Some of Rochester's newest on-air personalities don't realize how popular they've become. In fact, they don't even know they've been on the air. If you use a cellular telephone, you might be one of them. Cellular eavesdropping has become a thriving hobby, complete with its own how-to books, according to Tom Kneitel, editor of {Popular Communications} magazine. "It's a voyeur's paradise," said Kneitel. "Television is just so much hokum compared to what really happens in people's lives over cellular telephones." Kneitel thinks listeners tune in cellular calls for one reason: "Americans are great snoops." "It's a real fascination," said Paul Kolacki, who monitors local cellular conversations from his home in Rochester. Kolacki said he's just naturally curious about other people's lives. Local listeners who scan Rochester's estimated 10,000 cellular telephones report hearing everything from drug deals to stock market tips and medical diagnoses. "You hear some revealing business conversations during the day," Kolacki said. "At night, it's married guys calling their girlfriends." Martin Pittinger of Greece has been monitoring cellular conversations for several years. "I can feel the intensity of someone's lifestyle just by listening," he said. "People who use cellular telephones have to come to grips with the fact that their conversations are entertainment for other people. "We haven't progressed too far beyond the old telephone operator with all the cables plugged in -- at least as far as privacy is concerned." Cellular telephones send calls over public radio frequencies which many newer scanners are designed to receive. Scanners are radios that have been popular for monitoring police and fire services since the early 1970s. A few keystrokes on a modern scanner's control panel will command the unit to search radio channels in the cellular telephone band (located just above the UHF television band). When the scanner detects a conversation on a cellular channel, it stops and makes that conversation audible to the listener. Another keystroke lets the search continue for the next interesting conversation. But listening to an entire cellular conversation is not always easy. A single call can hop among any of the 832 radio channels in the cellular band. A scanner listener tuned to one cellular channel might hear only a fragment of conversation before the call jumps to another channel. Channel-switching isn't done to discourage eavesdroppers; it happens as the cellular company's computer constantly tries to find the clearest channel for the moving phone. On command from the computer, the cellular phone switches channels without the user's knowledge. Some listeners own receivers able to scan hundreds of channels per minute. For them, channel-hopping is easier to follow because their radios perform a high-speed search to relocate conversations. But this isn't always necessary. Many calls come from parked cars, where conversations also get parked -- on a single channel. It may sound fun, but listening to cellular telephone calls is illegal. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), a federal law passed in 1986, outlaws monitoring cellular calls. However, it does not bar scanner manufacturers from including cellular channels in their products. Both Rochester Telephone Corp. and Genesee Telephone Co., the area's cellular service providers, sometimes discuss the ECPA with customers who ask about cellular privacy. But {Popular Communications} magazine has said this law is unenforceable, serving only as a sales gimmick for cellular services. "I don't think the intent of this law is to prosecute the hobbyist," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian McCarthy, a federal prosecutor in Rochester. "Someone listening in for grins doesn't have to worry about the authorities knocking at his door." And Senior FBI Agent Dale Anderson said his Rochester office "has not been involved in any enforcement action for cellular phone listening so far." Curiously, the Federal Communications Commission has nothing to do with the ECPA. "It's not an FCC regulation, and we have no jurisdic- tion one way or the other," said FCC engineer Ed Kelly from Buffalo. Some cellular users said it's easy to forget about privacy risks because their phones look and operate like ordinary telephones. It's often difficult for someone receiving a call at home or in the office to know if that call is from a cellular phone. Scanner listeners hear both parties. The California Public Utilities Commission recently asked cellular users to advise people they call that the conversation might not be private. And Pacific Bell, a large cellular provider in California, has mailed a special notice to warn customers that their calls might be scanned by third parties. In Rochester, several cellular customers have taken precautions. "We tell all our cellular users to be careful," said Paul Allen, a spokesman for Eastman Kodak Co. "No one should be discussing confidential information on a cellular phone or any two-way radio." But neither the Monroe County Bar Association or Medical Society has sent advice to members about cellular privacy. Spokesmen for those groups said the problem is left to members to recognize and solve. "I got a call from a doctor who said he was on a cellular phone," said Edna Venturo, a nurse at Rochester General Hospital. He was calling about a particular patient and went into details about that patient." Cellular snoops admit their listening days are numbered. Cellular providers eventually will convert to digital radio signals, rendering cellular conversations unintelligible through scanners. But eavesdroppers anticipate several more years of provocative listening -- and viewing. Cellular fax machines are beginning to pop up, and aggressive listeners are already equipped for document interceptions. All they need is a scanner and a fax machine. "Fax transmissions sent over cellular phones are just as vulnerable as conversations," said Jim Stefano, police officer and radio communications specialist for the Fairport Police Department. "Cellular users have no privacy, and none can be expected." END OF STORY ------------------------------ From: jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu (James R. Saker Jr.) Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 04:55:24 GMT deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (david.g.lewis) writes: > Some states permit IXCs to carry intraLATA traffic if the customer > enters a carrier access code. Some states don't. It appears that > Texas does, and Illinois doesn't. [more deleted] David's comment is right on target -- as a former costing analyst for an IXC, there were many markets which allowed our customers to 10xxx (pronounced "ten-triple-x") to us, effectively bypassing their LEC -- such as Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, and possibly Florida (I'm not 100% sure on that one). However, our customers in California are blocked from 10xxx. Why would you want to 10xxx and bypass your LEC (if your intrastate general exchange tariff allows for it)? Instead of paying the steep LEC intra rates (often ranging between $.18 and $.35 per minute standard residential), you can utilize the cheaper $.10 to $.18 per minute standard IXC rates. Additionally, if you have volume discounts applicable with your IXC, all of your intrastate volume usually applies. What can you do if you live in a state which doesn't allow for 10xxx bypass? Call up your IXC and ask for feature group B access -- also frequently called 950 access. Since it costs your IXC less than a 1+ call (in most instances), they're usually quite receptive (unless they happen to be one of the big three, which means they will charge you their much more expensive 800-access rates simply because they don't wish to maintain two seperate products). For example, I lived in a FGB (feature group B) only area 30 miles north of Omaha for two years. They wanted $.28/min daytime where I could get $.14/min daytime through my IXC. By dialing 950-xxxx to access my IXC and entering the usual auth code and number, I cut my LD in half. Fortunately, you can obtain FGB access in most states which don't allow for 10xxx bypass (such as California). Interesting sidenote: Has anyone been following US West's recent FCC tariff submissions regarding 10xxx blocking? They've introduced 10xxx blocking as a "service" for subscribers in states including North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa -- with the Iowa submission resulting in a suit filed by MCI opposing the introduction. According to the tariff, US West will offer a new subscriber the ability to block 10xxx calls from their line in the same manner they can block 900 calls -- and presumably offered at the same time in their sales pitch. Has anyone ordered service in any of these states and been offered this service? (I believe Wyoming may have just been added to the list two weeks ago as well). It appears US West may have found a way around unreceptive public utilities commissions (or in Nebraska's case, practically-nonexistant PUCs;-) ). Jamie Saker jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu Systems Engineer Business/MIS Major Telenational Communications Univ. Nebraska at Omaha voice: (402) 392-7548 fax: (402) 391-7283 ------------------------------ From: jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu (James R. Saker Jr.) Subject: Re: MCI Doesn't Know Czechoslovakia Has Split Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 05:17:27 GMT Richard Budd writes: > David Leibold writes in TELECOM Digest V13 #342: > I heard something that the Czech Republic would retain 42 and Slovakia > would get 37X, a country code similar to what the Baltics and the > other newly independent nations are receiving. However, it appears > the Slovaks want the new country codes for both countries to be of a > format 42X. All rumors from different forums. Speaking of rumors ... has anyone heard if any of the former Soviet republics (Latvia, Kyrg., etc.) are direct dialable yet? According to Sprint, AT&T and Worldcom's tariffs, they're listed independently to allow for billing breakouts, but are still accessed by country-code 7. Last I heard, Moscow was the only direct-dialable part of the former USSR. Jamie Saker jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu Systems Engineer Business/MIS Major Telenational Communications Univ. Nebraska at Omaha (402) 392-7548 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 93 01:13:20 EDT From: gelato@astrosun.TN.CORNELL.EDU (Sergio Gelato) Subject: Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card > [Moderator's Note: *Except* in the case of the now infamous Talk > Tickets which you know who peddles to pay his rent. Since my cards do > not swipe, and since the intelligence is all in the network rather > than in the phone, the serial number can! be! blacklisted! Yes ... > With the $2 Talk Tickets you always have 'change for the phone'; if > you lose the card there is little loss but it can be suspended if you > know the serial number and promptly report it (don't misquote me on > this; they are not eager to spend the time putting a stop on a lost $2 > card but will do so on larger denominations). You don't have to waste > time looking for a card reader phone, and if you have a good memory > you don't even need to carry the card around. Lost cards reported to > my office are promptly replaced *IF* you can provide a valid serial > number for the lost card. You see, I get to diddle the computer a > little differently than you ... I get to call the computer and void a > lost card and validate a 'special issue'; that is, if your lost card > had two units left, I void that serial and issue a new serial with two > units for you to use. PAT] What happens if the person who finds the card calls you before the one who lost it, and requests the "special issue" for him/herself? Or is it necessary to report the loss to the point of sale where the card was bought in the first place? If the latter, what if I bought the card from a random newsstand at the other end of the country? The Federal Reserve would never issue a refund for a lost $100 bill, even if one calls in with a valid serial number. Travelers cheques, on the other hand, are refundable under certain conditions (a proof of purchase must be presented, an ID must be shown). Even this is only possible because the cheques are "fingerprinted" with their owner's signature. There is no signature on your Talk Tickets (the serial number does not count, since anyone who sees it can reproduce it perfectly, unlike a real signature). Blocking is easier, of course, but cannot take effect retroactively: if someone else uses the ticket before the loss is reported, there can be no refund (unless the issuer is willing to pay for a large number of fraudulent loss claims). About the only way left to verify the legitimity of a claim is to keep track of the identity of the original purchaser. Or at the very least of the claimant. And I thought anonymity was one of the tickets' main advantages over calling cards ... Don't misread me: I do think there is a real need for these tickets. What I find vain is this idea of offering refunds. I am quite happy to treat prepaid debit cards as cash ("never carry more than you need"), and would rather see the phone company lower its rates than spend money on processing loss claims. Sergio Gelato gelato@astrosun.tn.cornell.edu [Moderator's Note: You can't have it both ways. If you want anonymous sales, fine, I can handle that also. Cash or money orders are accepted to fill orders. If you want to register the order when you buy it, that is, give me a valid name and record of the serial numbers, then in the even someone calls and comes up with the same name and serial numbers as my records show, if they state the card is lost then I will call the computer, poll the computer for the value remaining, cancel the old serial and issue a new one for the remaining value. What more do you want, for me to set up a branch office in London in the event you happen to be there when you want to buy a ticket or lose one? For two dollars? I go further with customer service on this plan than any other vendor of similar tickets. What more should I do? You tell me. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 93 23:58:27 EDT From: ae446@freenet.carleton.ca (Nigel Allen) Subject: Winnipeg BBSes Seized Reply-To: ae446@freenet.carleton.ca Originally posted in the can.general newsgroup by derek.hay@mwcsinc.muug.mb.ca (Derek Hay). Contact Mr. Hay directly if you would like more information. Winnipeg Free Press Saturday, May 22, 1993 Police seized $100,000.00 of computer equipment from eight computer bulletin boards systems (BBS) operators who where distributing obscene material to their members along with legitimate educational programming. It is the first such seizure in Canada. ..... Some of the material police accessed in their sting included scenes of bondage and bestiality. It is illegal to possess obscene material if it is intended for distribution. Winnipeg Police were first alerted to the distribution of computer pornography last fall after a 12 year old girl was discovered watching it on a personal computer. The Manitoba Telephone System was alerted by the parents, which in turn contacted the police. Police estimate that three-quarters of the 400 BBS's in Winnipeg offer some degree of pornographic material. Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada ae446@freenet.carleton.ca ------------------------------ From: elr%trintex@uunet.UU.NET (Ed Ravin) Subject: Re: Prodigy Digicom 96/14.4 Organization: Prodigy Services Company Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 01:54:34 GMT In article gt7610c@prism.gatech.edu (TEAGUE, John Edward) writes: > Ok, I've seen the deal on Prodigy, but now I was wondering if this can > be had by anyone. Ie someone who does not have Prodigy service (like > me) eligible? And PAT inserts his $.02: > Moderator's Note: That deal is intended as an inducement to get > people to join Prodigy. It is much like the book club deals where you > get a bunch of free books if you join the club and promise to buy more > at the standard rate. My understanding is that Prodigy is only offering the modems to people who are already users of their service -- the intention is to help people upgrade from slow modems to fast ones, with the hope that the newly upgraded users will have a more enjoyable time using Prodigy (the Prodigy software is fairly sluggish until you run it at 9600 bps or faster). J.E. Teague also writes: > And most importantly, are these modems any good? Has anyone tried > them? Impressions, feelings, (dis)likes, etc. The modem is almost the same as a Digicom Scout+, (slightly different ROM chips, the modems' default setup is configured for running the Prodigy software), which is available (ask around on comp.dcom.modems) for almost as good a price as what Prodigy sells their version for. It's a perfectly decent modem, though if you're heavy on receiving faxes I would steer away from it, since I've heard that some users have trouble doing so (the fax software supplied with it is Winfax Lite, and you get customer support from Digicom). disclaimer: I work for Prodigy as a telecommunications programmer, but I'm noway nohow any kind of spokescritter for them. Ed Ravin Prodigy Services Co. White Plains, NY 10601 +1-914-993-4737 elr@trintex.uucp or elr%trintex@uunet.uu.net ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 93 12:53:18 CDT From: fritz@mirage.hc.ti.com (Fritz Whittington) Subject: Re: Scalable Coherent Interface In comp.dcom.telecom is written: > Does anyone have any information regarding a high-speed, data > communications system known as "Scalable Coherent Interface?" Or can > anyone point me in the right direction to sources of information > regarding SCI? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. It's an IEEE standard, 1596-1992, approved in March 1992 by the IEEE and by ANSI as a national standard last October. Should be available from where you normally order such standards. There are some other WGs for related standards, such as 1596.1 (VME/SCI bridge), 1596.2 (Cache Optimizations), and others. There is a mail reflector, and some on-line documents available via ftp, however, you might have to join the WG in order to get access to these. For further information, contact the 1596 Chair, Dave Gustavson, at dbg@slac.stanford.edu. Fritz Whittington Texas Instruments, P.O. Box 655474, MS 446 Dallas, TX 75265 Shipping address: 13510 North Central Expressway, MS 446 Dallas, TX 75243 fritz@ti.com Office: +1 214 995 0397 FAX: +1 214 995 6194 Since I am not an official TI spokesperson, these opinions contain no spokes. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #354 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa14307; 27 May 93 5:01 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA29507 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Thu, 27 May 1993 02:36:37 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA03566 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Thu, 27 May 1993 02:35:52 -0500 Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 02:35:52 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305270735.AA03566@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #355 TELECOM Digest Thu, 27 May 93 02:35:50 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 355 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson AT&T Public Phone 2000 - Not Yet (Robert Eden) Can I Sue AT&T Over Slamming? (Jim Smithson) The Elusive LATA Line (David W. Tamkin) Privacy vs. Caller-ID (Mike Coyne) T1 to the Desktop Over Voice Grade Copper Pairs (Mark Alan Kuczynski) Alarm Point Telemetry Equipment (Ken Stone) 50 Miles Range Cordless Phone (Minghong Tang) Anyone Know of Greenline in Taiwan? (Harold Hallikainen) Unknown Carrier Access Code (Marcus Blankenship) Real Phones (Western Electric 500 Sets) and Bakelite (Jim Rees) Compuserve and Applelink User Wanted (Eugene B. Kotlyar) WAN From North to South America (Mr. Steve Kutzer) Modem and Phone Jacks in Amsterdam (Andrew Malis) Looking for NRZ-to-Conditioned Diphase Converter (Roy Stehle) Net Costing (Mr. John W. Shaver) Latitude/Longitude -> Distance (Raj Sanmugam) Data Over Voice/Using Phone and Modem Simulataneously (Gary Beason) Help Needed on Procom Setup (yagh@cunyvm.bitnet) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Robert Eden Subject: AT&T Public Phone 2000 - Not Yet Date: 26 May 93 10:00:36 CST Organization: Texas Utilities, Glen Rose TX I was in a Marriot Hotel in Arlington, TX (near DFW) yesterday and saw an AT&T Public Phone 2000 with keyboard. Last I read here was that keyboards were being removed until AT&T receives permission to sell this service. Well, since the keyboard wasn't removed, I decided to try it. When you select the terminal option it says "This feature is not permitted at this time" Guess we'll have to wait a bit longer. Robert Eden 817-897-0491 Glen Rose, TX Comanche Peak Steam Electric Station robert@cpvax.cpses.tu.com ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ politicese for a nuke plant ------------------------------ From: Jim Smithson Subject: Can I Sue AT&T Over Slamming? Date: Wed, 26 May 93 15:11:05 EDT I was slammed by AT&T in early April. No member of my family spoke with an AT&T sales rep, I never got a mailing telling me I was switched from MCI to AT&T. I found out by chance when I called MCI in late April to inquire about some rate information. The next day I called my local telco. The telco agreed to waive the switch fees and put me back on MCI. AT&T agreed to credit me for the difference between their rates and MCIs. Out of the $118.73 AT&T charges they gave me a credit of $23.36 for the rate difference. I'm not quite happy with that. I had to spend some time (~1 hour) with my telco, PUC, MCI and AT&T straightening this mess out. I feel entitled to a further credit for my time and trouble. Unfortunately the Florida PUC rules only require the carrier to credit the difference between the rate structures. There is no provision for "time and trouble" nor punitive damages. I'd like to sue AT&T in small claims court for my time and court costs. Has anyone else done this successfully? How about punitive damages? Maybe then they'll have some incentive to tighten up their procedures. Seems to me they have very little incentive to do that now. James Smithson [Moderator's Note: And you honestly think your small claims suit will change things? First of all, they owe you nothing for whatever time you spent with the PUC; you chose to contact the PUC, I suspect, without waiting to see if the telcos involved would resolve things in a timely way in accordance with tariff, which it appears they did. As long as AT&T followed the tariff, the tariff will serve as their successful defense. You can sue whoever you like, but you won't win anything based on 'your time spent' when your sole action needed to be calling the customer service representatives of the two companies in- volved (your local telco to be switched back) and AT&T (to ask about an adjustment in the prices to MCI's rates. No punitive damages will be awarded because neither AT&T nor your telco acted wilfully, or in bad faith. For all you know, AT&T may have had nothing to do with it; your telco got an order to change the 1+ default for some customer and a clerk at your local telco got the digits transposed tossing your account to AT&T instead. Your telco waiving the switch fees was the extra payment you are seeking. Don't take whatever real or imagined grudge you have against AT&T out on them due to a clerical error made by persons unknown at the carrier or your local telco. PAT] ------------------------------ From: dattier@genesis.mcs.com (David W. Tamkin) Subject: The Elusive LATA Line Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 15:03:21 -0500 (CDT) I had a simple desire: I wanted to know whether an area on the edge of my LATA was inside it or outside it so that I'd know which carrier to ask for the cost of the call before I dialed there. Logically, I thought, I dialed 0 for an Illinois Bell operator. The operator heard my question and wasted no time in asking me to hold and connecting me to AT&T (though AT&T is not the primary carrier for the number I was calling from and though divestiture supposedly occurred on January 1, 1984). The person who picked up for AT&T kept trying to tell me that if the number is in a different area code, the long-distance carrier handles the call. I explained that that isn't the case here because the LATA contains two entire area codes plus parts of three others, and he said he'd transfer me to another department; after five minutes of unanswered ringing I gave up. So I called Sprint's customer service department. The representative there told me that her records indicated that Sprint could carry the call, but she couldn't find out whether it was inter-LATA or permitted intra-LATA traffic, so her suggestion (of course) was to dial 10333 and make sure it would go via Sprint. Then I tried Illinois Bell's customer service department. The rep there said that her records showed it as an inter-LATA call from mine, period. Thank you. Centel's local directory for their service area near here, however, lists that prefix as inside the Chicago LATA. Maybe I should thank them instead. Either way, I still don't know. Maybe I can try it with 10288 and hope no rings precede reorder tone so that I have a chance to find out (assuming AT&T won't carry intra- LATA calls) but hang up on any ringing before the call is answered. AT&T's computers know a lot more than its employees. David W. Tamkin Box 59297 Northtown Station, Illinois 60659-0297 dattier@genesis.mcs.com CompuServe: 73720,1570 MCI Mail: 426-1818 ------------------------------ Subject: Privacy vs. Caller-ID Date: Wed, 26 May 93 15:29:12 -0600 From: Mike Coyne The proposition that a phone subscriber is entitled to know who is calling seems quite reasonable. That my phone number is none of your business is also quite reasonable. There are compelling arguments for both sides. There is, however, no compelling requirement for Caller-ID to deliver an actual dialable number. It seems to me that both requirements are satisfied if Caller-ID delivers some unique number for each origin. if a caller wants a dialable number delivered, fine. If not, it is sufficient to deliver something that no other phone will deliver. A unique number is sufficient to do customer record searching, fraud tracing, call rejection, priority ringing, call routing, or even just say "hi Joe." Telcos cannot possibly be surprised that there were privacy objections to Caller-ID. They have been offering unlisted numbers, dealing with crank calls, and the like for some time. It probably requires some additional switch programming, maybe even a lot of programming, but there is no reason why Caller-ID, call blocking, call return, and the like cannot meet both objectives. A friend lives in SW Bell territory where call blocking was test marketed. He called and requested blocking a particular neighbor. The whole thing ground to an impass because the neighbor's phone was unlisted and the friend could not supply the number to be blocked. As it happens, the neighbor is now blocked by crossbars of a sort not suited for telephone switching. ------------------------------ From: mak@pairgain.com (Mark Alan Kuczynski) Subject: T1 to the Desktop Over Voice Grade Copper Pairs Organization: PairGain Technologies, Inc Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 22:41:01 GMT In response to fanty@cse.ogi.edu (Mark Fanty) inquiring about bringing T1 to the desktop: A possible solution would be to integrate hardware that provides High bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line (HDSL) services. HDSL is a transmission standard developed by Bellcore and the T1E1.4 standards committee for the delivery of T1 data service over unconditioned copper pairs. HDSL provides standard ISDN 2B1Q line coding for T1 (1.544 Mbps) digital transmission over copper pairs for extended distances. This digital signal is generated at 10 to the minus 10 Bit Error Rate (BER) which is comparable to the transmission quality of fiber optic cable. Standard copper transmission systems will provide a signal in the range of 10 to the minus 7 BER. Therefore, with HDSL an error takes place only every six days or so, versus a bit error every six seconds or so with conventional copper transmission systems. This will provide the quality of transmission that is required for your application at T1 speeds. Another important variable to consider is the physical impact of the service to your desktop in terms of distance. Normal copper transmission systems have a wide range of parameters to consider before implementing. Generally, outside of a three to four thousand foot range for point to point or switched connections, a repeater of some sort must be engineered into the circuit. This repeater will regenerate the signal to varying degrees depending upon the hardware selected. This must be utilized with standard copper transmission systems to achieve the desired circuit loop distance between physical interfaces. With HDSL distances of five miles can be achieved without repeaters depending upon the wire gauge. As an example, the local T1 service carrier will provide services to a central demarcation point. T1 services that are to be extended to a remote or campus location from that demarcation point will require the engineering of any number of repeaters onto that circuit depending upon the actual distance. Once installed, this repeatered circuit, at best, will provide T1 at 10 to the minus 7 BER to the end user. There are other engineering costs associated with a standard copper transmission system which may include wire pair separation and binder group separation. With HDSL the transmission frequency allows for the provision of multiple T1s within the same binder group, say a cable of 50 pairs, without separation or engineering. So overall, the cost of engineering alone can in many cases justify the deployment of HDSL. Pairgain Technologies provides an HDSL product that utilizes a unique 250 MIP VLSI digital signal processor called the Campus T1. It eliminates all of the engineering mentioned above, at distances up to five miles, integration between copper and fiber with the fiber performance and a variety of interchangeable interfaces for seamless, private network friendly integration (V.35, RS449/422, DSX-1, and Mil 188/144) with CSU/DSU functionality built-in. If you need more information, feel free to send me e-mail or calling our product information line 800-638-0031 ext. 694. Mark Kuczynski mak@pairgain.com ------------------------------ Subject: Alarm Point Telemetry Equipment Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 14:35:02 -0700 From: Ken Stone I'm interested in what's available to monitor/gather alarm points (dry contact closures mostly) and bring them back to a central location and a central device that can interrogated by a UNIX based computer. We have lots of equipment in various places like microwave systems, muxes, battery backup systems, CSU's, DSU's, whatever that just present major/minor alarms. What I would like to do is gather them up and be able to tie them into existing monitoring/paging systems we have now. Any pointers on catalogs, suppliers, etc appreciated. Ken Stone ------------------------------ From: MINGHONG.TANG@gte.sprint.com Date: 26 May 93 22:05:58-0400 Subject: 50 Miles Range Cordless Phone Hi, there, My friend heard that there's a kind of cordless phones that claim to cover a 50 miles range. The base uses 72MHz and the handset uses 46MHz. There're ten digit dip switch that configure the channels for both the base and the handset. Do you know if there's such phone existing? How does it work? Is it legal to use in the States? Seems like Japan made these. Thanks a lot, ming I don't have access to usenet. Please sent to my .com account. Thanks a million! ------------------------------ From: hhallika@tuba.calpoly.edu (Harold Hallikainen) Subject: Anyone Know of Greenline in Taiwan? Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 21:12:18 GMT Can anyone tell me about the international telecommunications services provided by Greenline (in Taiwan)? Thanks! Harold Hallikainen ap621@Cleveland.Freenet.edu Hallikainen & Friends, Inc. hhallika@oboe.calpoly.edu 141 Suburban Road, Bldg E4 phone 805 541 0200 fax 544 6715 San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-7590 telex 4932775 HFI UI ------------------------------ From: cse@santafe.edu (Marcus Blankenship) Subject: Unknown Carrier Access Code Date: 26 May 1993 17:54:20 GMT Organization: The Santa Fe Institute Could someone please answer a question (I know you can) ... Which long distance carrier uses the code 10732 ? And why does it differ from normal access codes? What is it used for? Thank you, Marcus Blankenship Payphone Tech, Alpha Telcom Inc. (I do not represent my companies views/beliefs/questions) [Moderator's Note: 10732 is used by AT&T for their Software Defined Network. It is quite similar to 10288 (AT&T's main access code) but includes the additional features of the SDN which include blocking by NPA, NPA-XXX, and NPA-XXX-XXXX. It can also be configured to require authorization codes based on time of day or area code being called. It can block international and/or 809 as desired. There are numerous other features built into it including very comprehensive monthly reports which allows the subscriber complete control over the way his long distance service is used by employees, etc. One of the services I offer here is AT&T-SDN, via an aggregator/re- seller of AT&T. If your long distance bills are at least $300-400 per month, then AT&T-SDN is a very good deal, with rates much lower than what the 'public' generally pays for long distance. Naturally an 800 number can be tossed in if desired, at rates of 9-12 cents per minute nights/weekends. Anyone interested should contact me. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Jim.Rees@umich.edu Subject: Real Phones (Western Electric 500 sets) and bakelite Date: 26 May 1993 18:48:40 GMT Organization: University of Michigan CITI Was the 500 set ever produced entirely in bakelite? I've got some sets from 1956 with the G-1 (bakelite) handset, but with the ABS body shell. By 1958 they were using the G-3 ABS handset. If they had ABS in 1958, why were they still using bakelite for the handsets? [Moderator's Note: Generally they were. You may have a 'mix and match' set or two; for a period of time in that era existing supplies of the old were used up. I've seen a couple phones like that: newer style bodies but older handsets. I guess they had a large inventory of the older handsets they wanted to use up even though there had been some changes to the innards requiring a slightly different shaped housing for the phone itself; thus a logical reason to change materials since they were changing the phone covering anyway. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Ebk@tezey.munic.msk.su (Eugene B. Kotlyar) Subject: Compuserve and Applelink Users Wanted Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 12:30:57 GMT Reply-To: Ebk@tezey.munic.msk.su Organization: Information Technologies Center of The Moscow City Any AppleLink or Compuserve users please reply direct to me! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 02:00:00 CDT Subject: WAN From North to South America From: Mr. Steve Kutzer Question: I am working at the PanAmerican Health Organization, a regional office of the World Health Organization. We are responsible for information management systems here in Washington, D.C. as well as our field offices throughout Latin America. Our connections to Latin America are currently quite primitive: we asynchronously modem connect (at 2400 bps yet) to exchange mail messages several times a day. I am looking for alternatives to develop a Wide Area Network between D.C. and at least some of the larger field offices (say Buenos Aries, Sao Paolo Brazil, Mexico City and Guatemala). We are a 95% Novell NetWare 3.11 shop with the odd Unix box starting to pop up here and there. I am looking for on-demand Netware FileServer connections to allow remote administration, file transfer/sharing, cc:Mail access, as well as a way to share our soon-to-be D.C. based Internet connection. Do you have any suggestions as to how best achieve these goals in Latin America, where phone companies are a little different than here in the States :-) ?? Is SprintNet, Tymnet, or some other X.25 provider going to be able to satisfy my needs cost effectively? Are dedicated circuits from D.C. to Mexico, Mexico to Brazil, etc. too expensive or difficult to get? Thanks for your help. The international aspects of this are brand new to me. Steve Kutzer ------------------------------ Date: 26 May 1993 14:43:54 -0400 (EDT) From: Malis_A Subject: Modem and Phone Jacks in Amsterdam This summer I am going to be spending a week in Amsterdam (Netherlands) with my Powerbook. I have two questions: 1. Will my Powerbook's internal modem (Powerport/Silver V.32) be compatible with the local phone system? 2. Can I use the standard RJ11 connector, or will I need some other connector? Thanks, Andrew G. Malis malis_a@timeplex.com Ph: +1 508 266-4522 Ascom Timeplex 289 Great Rd., Acton MA 01720 USA FAX:+1 508 264-4999 ------------------------------ Subject: Looking For NRZ-to-Conditioned Diphase Converter Date: Wed, 26 May 93 14:49:34 -0700 From: stehle@erg.sri.com I am looking for suppliers of an interface box that converts NRZ data (at RS-449, RS-422 levels) into Conditioned Diphase Signals; the inverse operation is also required. Data rate is 128 kbps. Thanks, in advance, Roy Stehle, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA -- stehle@erg.sri.com ------------------------------ Date: 26 May 93 14:34:20 MST From: Mr John W Shaver Subject: Net Costing Is there a procedure for deriving a least cost network given a wide ranging network with a variety of paths and related costs? Is this a discipline which has a lot of material? The particular network which we are looking at has Bandwidth on Demand features and will have some reliability constraints which require backup links to operate quickly. The network will capability up to multiple T3 connections between some major nodes. John W. Shaver 602 538 7622 // DSN 879 7622 // FTS 658 7622 FAX 538 0656 // DSN 879 0656_// FTS 658 0656 ------------------------------ From: lmcrajy@noah.ericsson.se (Raj Sanmugam) Subject: Latitude/Longitude -> Distance Reply-To: lmcrajy@noah.ericsson.se Organization: Ericsson Communication Inc. Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 19:32:29 GMT I read a couple of items discussing V&H coordinates and latitudes and longitudes. I am currently working on a project that requires the estimation of the actual distance between two point represented by the geographical coordinates (lats and longs). This prompted me to ask the following dumb questions: What is the accepted North American (or international) representation of latitude/longitude (ie deg/min/sec etc.) How can the coordinates be acurately converted to the distance? Is there any standards for this? I would also like to receive the V&H coordinate description. Raj/// ------------------------------ From: bubba@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Gary Beason) Subject: Data Over Voice/Using Phone and Modem Simulataneously Organization: Purdue University Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 04:02:24 GMT I'm trying to find a way to use my modem while allowing use of the phone. What sort of data over voice would I look for? Can anyone suggest sources or information. Gary Beason Purdue University bubba@mace.cc.purdue.edu ------------------------------ Organization: City University of New York Date: Wednesday, 26 May 1993 00:28:17 EDT From: YAGHC@CUNYVM.BITNET Subject: Help Needed on Procom Setup Hi, I am using Procom V2.0 for my modem. I always have problems with my left cursor key. When I use the key to move the cursor to the left, it always deletes the character on the screen. I checked the menu and keymapping file; it seems OK The keymap on that key has a code ^[[OD which seems the default. Has anyone had the same experience and do you know the solution? I really appreciate any help. Thanks. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #355 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa15604; 27 May 93 5:56 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA21102 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Thu, 27 May 1993 03:40:22 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA16200 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Thu, 27 May 1993 03:39:33 -0500 Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 03:39:33 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305270839.AA16200@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #356 TELECOM Digest Thu, 27 May 93 03:39:30 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 356 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Australian Defence IT Standards Newsletter (Tom Worthington) Movable Switches (was Re: Hinsdale) (David G. Lewis) Dos-Based Paging Software Wanted? (Greg Isett) Propaganda From Ameritech: Advanced Communications Services (Nigel Allen) French Phreaking on Northern Telecom PBX (Jean-Bernard Condat) Starting a VoiceMail Service: HELP! (TJR122@psuvm.psu.edu) What Was That Publication Number Again? (Marshall Rose) Public Accomodations and 10xxx Billing (Hierophant) Will Moscow Soon Surpass USA in Quality of Phone Service? (Keith Smith) Switchless Resellers of Long Distance Service (K.B. Houser) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: tomw@ccadfa.cc.adfa.oz.au (Tom Worthington) Subject: Australian Defence IT Standards Newsletter Organization: Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, Australia Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 04:25:58 GMT Defence Information Technology policy identifies Open System standards, principally those ratified by the International Standards Organisation (ISO), as its strategic direction. Accordingly, Defence participates in the development and specification of standards through participation in Standards Australia (SA) standards committees. CIS Branch, HQADF is the coordinator of Departmental representation to those committees. Through ITS NEWS it is intended to identify the representatives, and the committees that they are members of, so that they may be a corporate reference source. It is also intended to provide reports and articles, from the representatives, on the standards that are under development. As Email expands, and more people can be connected, it is intended that the Defence representative will provide briefs on the committee current activities and issues to those people who register interest or a need to know. Excerpts from articles in the first ITs NEWS: BROADBAND ISDN - FROM DR MIKE LAI - ERL - DSTO - SALISBURY SA: Traditionally, Information Technology has been divided into Computing and Communication Technologies. As the beginning of a new century is getting nearer, network users, administrators and operators are on the brink of a new era in Information Technology services and equipments because of the merging of computing and communications, which is actually happening today. The technological investigation of B-ISDN is a part of the on- going study of CCITT SG XVIII. THE DORIC PROGRAM - FROM MR BRIAN ANDREWS - RESEARCH LEADER, MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS, DSTO Nobel prize winner A. Penzia made the following visionary observations to help in setting the direction of the world beyond digital. "In the future, if we are to make advanced integrated communications universally available, we must provide a means of combining signalling and network control traffic with digital voice, wide and narrowband video, graphics and all the other kinds of data that must be moved, switched, multiplexed, etc., in an integrated system, which is more economically attractive than a series of individually optimised solutions." Following the above challenge, public and private network planners all over the world, including those of the military, are actively planning to rebuild their respective networks. At the heart of the DORIC program is the Telecom/DSTOResearch ATM Network, which is a world class facility jointly designed and developed by Telecom Research Laboratories and the Communications Division of the DSTO. For further information, or queries on ITs News, contact: R.J. Mandy. CRAMER DDISPS, B-3-25, Russell Offices, Canberra, Australia Ext (06) 265 3722, International Ph +61 6 2653722 Fax: (06) 265 3601, International fax +61 6 2653601 X.400:C=AU;A=TELEMEMO;P=AUSGOVDEFENCENET;O=HQADF;OU=CIS.BRANCH;S=CRAMER;G= MANDY;I=RJM Internet: "/G=MANDY/S=CRAMER/OU=CIS.BRANCH/"@HQADF.ausgovdefencenet.telememo.au NOTE: A text-only copy of the full ITs News is available electronically, from the archive at archie.au in the /ACS/ directory, file "ItsNews-1993-1" via ftp and netfetch. ------------------------------ From: deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (david.g.lewis) Subject: Movable Switches (was Re: Hinsdale) Organization: AT&T Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 14:01:18 GMT In article hhallika@tuba.calpoly.edu (Harold Hallikainen) writes: > In article Cliff Sharp chi.il.us> writes: >> From listening to the ham radio operators who had taken over >> emergency services for places like Hinsdale Hospital (by special >> dispensation of the local FCC Chief Engineer), it was my impression >> that this was done by the use of a mobile unit/truck outside the >> building. > It does seem like telephone companies would have trucks with > switches and satellite terminals in them. Just drive the truck up, > plug it in and you have a few thousand lines back in service. All > calls that could not be switched locally would go to the satellite. AT&T has one or two of these trucks; latest use which got a lot of national attention was in Homestead, FL, after Hurricane Andrew. I don't believe they necessarily have satellite terminals -- if you have to splice into a few thousand copper pairs to get out to the loops, splicing into a few dozen more fibers or coax cables to get trunk-side connectivity doesn't take much more time. They're used for traveling roadshows when they're not in use somewhere for emergency response. David G Lewis AT&T Bell Laboratories david.g.lewis@att.com or !att!goofy!deej Switching & ISDN Implementation ------------------------------ From: gwi@icf.hrb.com (Gregory W. Isett) Subject: Dos-Based Paging Software Wanted Date: 26 May 93 10:42:42 EST Organization: HRB Systems, Inc. Does anyone know where I can obtain DOS-based software to accept a page from a user, connect to an alphanumeric pager switch (via ixo protocol?) and download the page? Greg Isett Internet: gwi@icf.hrb.com HRB Systems FAX : (814)234-7720 300 Science Park Road Voice : (814)238-4311 State College, Pa. USA 16804-0060 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 93 05:12:51 EDT From: ae446@freenet.carleton.ca (Nigel Allen) Subject: Propaganda From Ameritech: Advanced Communications Services Info Organization: Echo Beach Reply-To: ae446@freenet.carleton.ca Someone from Ameritech Services has posted a message in several newsgroups inviting people to request "a free, full-color issue brief" about advanced telecommunications technology. I called 1-800-786-LINK on the weekend to request the literature, and was pleasantly surprised that the number was good from Canada. Many U.S. 800 numbers are not. I haven't seen the "issue brief" yet, but I suspect that it's more an argument in favor of ending line-of-business restrictions on Bell holding and operating companies and eliminating rate-of-return regulation than it is a demonstration of what telecom technology can do. Telephone company propaganda is often interesting to read, even if you don't agree with the political agenda of the particular telephone company. Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada ae446@freenet.carleton.ca ------------------------------ From: jbcondat@attmail.com Date: 27 May 93 03:59:59 GMT Subject: French Phreaking on Northern Telecom PBX In France, I note that Northern Telecom continues an uncredible progression in the number of PBXs installed. NT will be present on the MATRA logo since some months. Some people have asked me how to prevent a phreaking process that will be described: (1) Go to a public phone in the street; never use your own private phone; (2) Dial a "numero vert" (equivalent of the 800 phone number) that go on a NT' PBX and wait for the vocal message of the Meridian Mail system. You can found this "numero vert" on all ads in newspaper for the greatest PBX: SNCF (train), VITTEL (water), Canal+ (TV), BARCLAYS (bank), EuroDisney (games), Microsoft (softwares), etc. Note that this phone call will be gratis! (3) As soon as you have the vocal message, dial "0" then "*" for having the automatic dial service; (4) Dial "0" and your asked phone number ended by "#"... some seconds after you have your communication! How can I suppress this un-credible fonction of Meridian Mail? Jean-Bernard Condat General Secretary Chaos Computer Club France, B.P. 155, 93404 St-Ouen Cedex, France Private Address: P.O. 8005, 69351 Lyon Cedex 08, France Phone: +33 1 40101764, Fax: +33 1 47877070 InterNet: jbcondat@attmail.com or cccf@altern.com [Moderator's Note: The answer probably lies in the voicemail part of the connection rather than the PBX itself. Somewhere in the mailbox system is a box whose disposition is to connect to an outside line. You need to disable that box, or at least get it disassociated from the '0*' access, which so many people seem to know about. PAT] ------------------------------ Organization: Penn State University Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 21:07:07 EDT From: TJR122@psuvm.psu.edu Subject: Starting a VoiceMail Service: HELP! I am considering starting a voicemail service in my area. I would like to offer more than just voicemail to the users, but am working with moderately limited funds. I would appreciate it if you could all just bombard me with Company/Product names/phone numbers as to where I can get a phone-answering card for my PC. I have considered Watson and VBX from Natural MicroSystems, (they are the best I've found so far), but want to make sure there isn't something twice as good for half the price that I haven't found yet. The Watson card is more in my price range for right now (around $450), but the VBX (around $2100 for four lines including software) is certainly a candidate for an upgrade. I've heard alot of bad things about Watson's "card file" programming language, but I'll live with it, because I just don't have the extra $1500 available right now for startup costs. I don't want to have to buy a $15,000 package deal (you know, the kind that includes a PC, 6 video tapes, 12 audio tapes, 8 manuals, etc.), I really just want a card. It seems that the $140 to $210 cards are little more than fancy answering machines ... whereas I need something that I can program menus, define touchtones to do certain commands, etc.) If anyone out there currently runs/uses a similar system, please E-Mail me and tell me what kinds of services are provided and what kinds of rates are charged. I know this is a tall order, but I'd really appreciate it if you could just drop me a short message with your ideas or info. Thanks in advance! Tom Rusnock, tjr122@psuvm.psu.edu [Moderator's Note: A very honest, small family-owned business I've recently located has what you are seeking. Although Computer Business Services is a full-scale 'bells and whistles' company with the 486, the tapes and etc that you said you did not want, they will also sell just the voicemail software itself if you already have the hardware. If you have a Dialogic card for example, you can buy just the soft- ware plus print-ready material to help begin advertising your service from them for about $3000, and to a limited extent they will finance some of that purchase. They are located in Sheridan, Indiana, a small town of a couple thousand people in the central part of the state. They have been in business eleven years. First I suggest you put in a call to the Postmaster at Sheridan and also the Town Clerk to get references on this firm; they are well known (and hire many of the people in town to work for them). Then call CBSI (Computer Business Services, Inc.) and speak with the owner George Douglass, his son Andrew Douglass (the president) or Mrs. Douglass. Ask for the package of information they send out on their products and services. I was very impressed with them and their honesty in business dealings. You can mention you read about them in the Digest. PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: What Was That Publication Number Again Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 08:48:17 -0700 From: Marshall Rose I seem to recall a recent posting on AT&T publication dealing with International prefixes (IDDD), etc. Does anyone recall how to order it? Sorry for the bother, mtr [Moderator's Note: The AT&T Consumer Information Center in Indianapolis, IN has the book you are seeking. You can get the same book from the AT&T International Operations Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Ask your AT&T operator to connect you to the Pittsburgh IOC, and ask the service reps there to send you a copy. The book mostly has country codes with prices, and a few city codes. For a much more detailed listing of city codes around the world visit our own Telecom Archives using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, use name@site as password, then 'cd telecom-archives/country.codes'. Have a BIG buffer ready to start capturing the data. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 93 16:08:51 -0500 From: Hierophant Subject: Public Accomodations and 10xxx Billing In TELECOM Digest Volume 13, Issue 345, Message 1 of 16, PAT notes: > Final note: The law says a 'place of public accomodation' (i.e. dorm > at a university, hotel/motel, etc -- I am not sure if a long term > psychiatric facility or prison would be included) cannot block or deny > passage of calls via 10xxx. Where can I find the official legal mumbo-jumbo that makes this so? This university still won't allow ANY 10xxx access, dorm room or no. [Moderator's Note: Someone? Anyone? What is the legalese on this and the reference numbers, etc. Thanks. PAT] ------------------------------ From: keith@ksmith.com (Keith Smith) Subject: Will Moscow Soon Surpass the USA in Quality of Phone Service? Organization: Keith's Computer, Hope Mills, NC Date: Thu, 27 May 93 01:46:04 GMT [Moderator's Note: Original article was not in the Digest. PAT] In article <1993May16.155028.18378@hq.demos.su> dvv@hq.demos.su (Dima Volodin) writes: > In <1993May10.050944.23466@ksmith.com> keith@ksmith.com (Keith > Smith) writes: >> The PEP modulation has a place, and that place is shrinking true, but >> there is still a lot of crummy phone lines in the US, not to mention >> other places like Poland, or Moscow, or whatever. > Cannot say anything about Poland, but Moscow is moving speedily out > of this category. E.g. I'm reading news and just hanging around our > host for more, than four hours now with ZyXEL at 16800. No single > retrain yet. And it's all across old dusty Moscow. Funny you should mention this. Actually you guys over in the former communist bloc are probably going to do with your Telecom what Europe did with their TV's. You will probably have much BETTER telecom in 5 years than the US simply because most of your old stuff is total junk, and you will _have_ to run new, and of course when you do you will run the current state of the art, while we will have to live with the stuff we ran five years ago, eight years ago, ten years ago, forty years ago ... It's the old baggage syndrome again. "ISDN? What's that?" - Carolina Telephone business customer assistance number. Keith Smith keith@ksmith.com 5719 Archer Rd. Digital Designs BBS 1-919-423-4216 Hope Mills, NC 28348-2201 ------------------------------ From: AlterNet@cup.portal.com Subject: Switchless Resellers of Long Distance Service Date: Wed, 26 May 93 22:39:22 PDT Long Distance at Short Rates AlterNET Marketing, agents for switchless resellers of telecommunication services can offer you substantial savings on your phone bills. (In 1990 the FCC authorized third party selling of long distance and other services. We are an alternative marketing channel for MCI, Sprint, and AT&T. Through large volume agreements, you save money and still get reliable connections through the large carriers you know already.) We offer you the following discounted services: o Travel Card up to 50% off o Dial 1 Business and Residential Long Distance Interstate up to 40% off Intra-LATA up to 30% off (where bypass is allowed) o International Calling up to 10% off Affinity Fund Travel Card The Affinity Fund travel card has a smaller surcharge than most, only $.25 for the first call, successive calls can be made by hitting the # key. Day rates are $.152 - .213 per minute, evenings, nights, and weekends are a flat $.149 per minute. Six second billing is standard. You get an 800 number for toll free access from hotels or pay phones. Three-way conference calls, a misdial feature, intra-LATA and international calling are included. You need to switch at least one line to the Affinity Fund (which is MCI). Affinity Fund Dial 1 By switching your primary carrier to the Affinity Fund you will receive the reliability of MCI at discounted rates. Dial 1 Interstate Average Rate Comparisons: AT&T MCI Sprint Affinity Fund ---- --- ------ ------------- $.26 per min $.25 per min $.24 per min $.17 per min The Affinity Fund is different from other long distance carriers: o Billing is in six second increments so you are charged closer to your actual usage, not to the next minute. (There is an 18 second minimum for the first minute.) o Day Rates (0800-1700 M-F) $.164 - .214 per minute; o Eve. Rates (1700-2300 M-F) $.1275 - .1580 per minute; o N/W Rates (2300-0800 M-F, all day Sat & Sun) $.098 - .135 per minute; o Calls are carried by MCI; o Service is guaranteed. You will be switched back for free if you are dissatisfied in the first 90 days. o By Dialing 10-222 before a number within your LATA, you can save on local long distance calls if bypass is allowed in your state. AlterNET We can analyze your phone bill to give you a personal estimate based on calls you actually made. If you are interested in these services, or would like information on 800 numbers, Hertz Tariff 12, AT&T DNS, or other telecom services please contact us. Contact us also if you would like to participate as a marketing agent for these services receiving residual commissions on sales. Please send E-mail to us at AlterNet@cup.portal.com for more information on these services. FAQ's Q: What are switchless resellers of long distance telecommunications services? A: Switchless resellers of long distance services are similar to the other carriers of long distance services, except that they do not own any facilities (i.e. call switching equipment or transmission lines). Instead, they buy long distance services from facilities-based carriers, making volume commitments on the purchase of long distance services in exchange for discounts they can pass on to businesses and residences to which they resell those long distance services; on average of 20-40% less. Q: Why haven't I heard much about this type of competitive long distance provider? A: Switchless resellers are a relatively new entrant into the competitive long distance market, emerging in 1990. Q: Why would the major long distance carriers allow their services to be resold? A: Most carriers view switchless resellers as an alternate distribution channel for their long distance services. In addition, the resale of long distance services is encouraged by FCC policy to bring about the benefits of competition in the long distance industry. Q: Why haven't I heard about this opportunity from the major long distance carrier I subscribe to now? A: While the major carriers support switchless resellers as large customers, they also view switchless resellers as competitors to their own sales force and, therefore, may not mention the availability of their services. Q: What is the quality of the long distance services offered by switchless resellers? A: Because switchless resellers typically buy long distance services from major carriers, the resold long distance services are the same quality and reliability these carriers offer all their customers. Q: If I am already receiving discounts from AT&T, MCI, or Sprint, can a switchless reseller save me more? A: Yes! The tremendous volumes of long distance purchased by a switchless reseller can ensure greater volume discounts for all but the very largest customers. Q: Who will bill me for the services I use? A: In most cases you will be billed by the switchless reseller directly. Q: What happens if the switchless reseller I subscribe to is no longer able to provide services? A: If your switchless reseller is no longer able to provide your long distance telecommunications, your service will continue uninterrupted on the network of the underlying carrier. Q: Who is AlterNET Marketing? A: AlterNET Marketing is a marketing company for switchless resellers, it is headquartered in Allentown PA. Individual sales associates, like me (K.B.Houser), provide the legwork and receive residual commissions starting at 4% of monthly telecom billings. It is a network marketing organization, associates earn overrides of 1% for their first level recruits and only after personally achieving $1000 in monthly sales. Second level overrides of 1% are earned after personally selling $10,000 per month. It is a young company, and there are presently over 200 sales associates. K.B.Houser AlterNET@cup.portal.com AlterNET Marketing FAX: 408-765-0513 5589 Winfield Blvd. #200 Voice: 408-363-3889 San Jose, CA 95123-1219 ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #356 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa14221; 27 May 93 19:28 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA21535 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Thu, 27 May 1993 16:25:37 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA29317 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Thu, 27 May 1993 16:24:36 -0500 Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 16:24:36 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305272124.AA29317@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #357 TELECOM Digest Thu, 27 May 93 16:24:30 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 357 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson GSM Frequency Range and Experiences (Juha Veijalainen) CCITT G.712 Line Interfaces (Thomas Tornblom) Sliding Window Protocols (Norbert Vohn) Ex-Soviet Republic Dialing (was Czechoslovakia Has Split) (Paul Robinson) Coded Information in Telephone Books (Paul Robinson) Hierophant's 10xxx Question (Bonnie J. Johnson) Fake TV Phone Numbers (Monty Solomon) Tariffing by Distance (Richard Cox) Gay Employee Group at AT&T Holds Conference (Tom Tilkey) Re: New Rockwell V.32bis Chip Set (Mike Oswald) Re: The Telex Machine in Popular Music (Jim Rees) Re: Great Wrong Number (was Misdialed Numbers) (Todd Inch) Re: Ugh! Call-Forwarding Cancels Hunting! (Marty Brenneis) ---------------------- TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively -- to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800 service. In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for the file 'products'. The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail- ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu. Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom. Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there, where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not require the use of our products and services. The two are separate. All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi- zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein. Send tithes and love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :) Phone: 312-465-2700. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: FNAHA!JVE@TRENGA.tredydev.unisys.com Date: 27 MAY 93 06:27 Subject: GSM Frequency Range and Experiences I've recently invested in a small handheld GSM mobile phone. No one has been able to tell me what frequency range it uses. Does someone out there know? Judging from the antenna size, frequency might be around 900 MHz or 1800 MHz. Otherwise I'm quite happy with the service. Local service (in Helsinki,Finland) is quite good for a handheld phone. Sound quality is certainly better than on analog NMT 900 phones. Battery capacity is about 15h (ready time) with normal battery, that's only about half from older NMT phones (I've been told GSM does not have energy saving functions yet). I have not yet been able to try my phone abroad, but I've checked pricing information for various countries. I was quite surprised. I've always thought finnish prices were high, but on GSM they are about lowest in Europe. Daytime charge is about 0.35 US Dollars/min in Finland (lower rate after 17:00 about 0.19 USD). For example in United Kingdom prices are about 1.25 USD/minute -- no lower rates available. Also, in most European countries lowest charge unit is a second, but in UK they (Vodaphone) charge by full minutes. I guess UK companies are either more profit conscious or have much larger operating costs. Juha Veijalainen 4ge system analyst, tel. +358 0 4528 426 Unisys Finland Internet: JVE%FNAHA@trenga.tredydev.unisys.com >> Mielipiteet omiani ** Opinions are PERSONAL, facts are suspect << ------------------------------ From: Thomas.Tornblom@Nexus.Comm.SE (Thomas Tornblom) Subject: CCITT G.712 Line Interfaces Organization: Communicator Nexus AB Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 12:32:12 GMT A colleague of mine asked me to check whether anyone on the net knows what line interfaces there are available that meets CCITT G.712 specifications. Is this RS-422 or V.11 in disguise? I have a terse paper describing the interface they are supposed to support. It only states G.712 and 600 +/- 20% ohms impedance and a picture showing two balanced pairs. So, if anyone can tell if the interface is compatible with RS-422 or V.11 drivers/receivers, or better still, recommend suitable line interfaces (manufacturer, part number) I'd be grateful. Real life: Thomas To:rnblom Email: Thomas.Tornblom@Nexus.Comm.SE Snail mail: Communicator Nexus AB Phone: +46 18 171814 Box 857 Fax: +46 18 696516 S - 751 08 Uppsala, Sweden ------------------------------ From: norbert@dfv.rwth-aachen.de (Norbert Vohn) Subject: Sliding Window Protocols Organization: Communication Networks Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 11:27:11 GMT Hello there! I'm a student of electrical engineering and just doing my masters thesis. In the scope of this I need to implement a sliding window protocol (with selective repeat) for usage in an simulation tool. (see Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Computer Networks). Maybe there exist some implementations in C++ or C? Is there anyone who knows something about it, or even knows how to implement the protocol quickly by myself? So, I would wonder if someone of you could help me! Norbert Vohn Communication Networks, Technical University of Aachen Phone: +49-241-807925 Fax: +49-241-84964 Email: norbert@dfv.rwth-aachen.de ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 11:33:12 -0400 (EDT) From: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> Reply-To: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> Subject: Ex-Soviet Republic Dialing (was Czechoslovakia Has Split) Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA > Speaking of rumors ... has anyone heard if any of the former Soviet > republics (Latvia, Kyrg., etc.) are direct dialable yet? Last night at my other office we got a call in from Kiev in the Ukraine. It took the caller a day and a half to make a connection. If I had wanted to call him, I would have dialed 9-011-7-044 and the seven-digit local nunber. In some cases I use 9-011-10222-7 or 9-011-10333-7 if AT&T has trouble getting through. Since most people are unaware that Sprint and MCI has connections into the Ex-Soviet Union/Former Iron Curtain (XSU/FIC), I can sometimes make calls there that *cannot* go through on AT&T because it doesn't have enough trunks. I was telling one of our people who does regular correspondence with Moscow Center and other places in the XSU/FIC, that an article in the {Washington Times} stated that there were plans to install two new switches (One in Kiev, and the other in St. Petersburg), of 15,000 trunks each. The article also noted that Moscow only has 1500 international trunks. Not just a mere 1500 trunks for that city (which would be a bit cramped, at that), but 1500 trunks for the WHOLE +7 AREA CODE, all 200+ million people! Paul Robinson -- TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 12:07:16 -0400 (EDT) From: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> Reply-To: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> Subject: Coded Information in Telephone Books Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA Recently, in a Moderator's Note, Pat mentioned that Illinois Bell Telephone would put coded listings in its telephone book to catch people who duplicated it. (I guess to threaten to sue them if they did not pay a licensing fee or something.) The question is whether they still bother to do this. About a year or more ago, it was reported in an article prominently mentioned in the Business or Money section of one of the local papers, a major decision of the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that telephone books, (or at least the listings of subscribers, I think), fail to contain the 'minimum creativity' necessary to be capable of having copyright protection, and thus telephone books are not copyrightable because they lack that 'bare minimum'. I may in part see the court's reasoning, since all that is done in generating a telephone white pages is the collection of names out of the company's database, then sorting that database (which is done automatically by the computer), thus it is all done automatically; there is no 'creativity' involved. Whether this is a threat to those who produce computerized databases or rent mailing lists is another issue. (It might not if the information is based on unique values and had some selection criteria, e.g. someone took some thought into the information collected and disseminated. Also, if mailing lists are rented under contractual agreement, they may constitute a 'trade secret' and thus are a separate matter.) This is a major landmark since it overturns over seventy years of established precedent, going back to the precise case back in 1913 or so, in {Pacific Telephone v. Leon} (I remember the exact case citing) it was ruled that someone could not copy a telephone book to make one's own listing of people even if the phone company wasn't making one because telephone books were copyrightable and required permission to reproduce them. A later case ruled that independent creation of the identical information created a separate copyrightable work. Paul Robinson -- TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM [Moderator's Note: A compilation copyright is still possible for phone directories to recognize the labor by the people involved in putting it all together. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 93 11:50:36 EDT From: Bonnie J Johnson Subject: Hierophant's 10xxx Question FCC ruling 92-275 issued June 23, 1992 sets the dates and intervals for aggregators (of which Universities are a part). Although there are a couple loop holes for the most part your school is/could be in violation of blocking. *The deadline passed last year.* bj [Moderator's Note: So H, advise the warden at your institution that FCC ruling 92-275 is being violated. Maybe you should get a copy of it to show him. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 04:39:24 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Fake TV Phone Numbers On tonight's LA Law they have the number 1 600 555 FONE on an infomercial. Monty Solomon / PO Box 2486 / Framingham, MA 01701-0405 monty%roscom@think.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 93 11:04 GMT0BST-1 From: Richard Cox Subject: Tariffing by Distance Reply-To: mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk I would appreciate some help with my research. For calls outside your LATA, (where 10XXX routing provides competition) just how prevalent is distance-dependant tariffing now? What are the ratios between the charges for calls to destinations at the maximum and minimum distances from the caller (within mainland USA, of course) made at the same time of day and charged on the same tariff? Does this vary much between IECs, calling plans, etc? How are calls charged when they cross the US-Canada border, even though the actual distance is very small indeed (say, from one side of Niagara to the other)? All help gratefully received. Richard D G Cox Mandarin Technology, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, CARDIFF, Wales Voice: +44 222 747111 Fax: +44 222 711111 VoiceMail: +44 399 870101 E-mail: mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk - PGP2.2 public key available. ------------------------------ From: ttilkey@attmail.com Date: 27 May 93 21:44:24 GMT Subject: Gay Employee Group at AT&T Hold Conference Having just returned from DC and attending the LEAGUE (Lesbian, Bisexual and Gay United Employees at AT&T) Professional Development Conference Wednesday through Saturday (May 19-22), I would like to share my personal experience with you. Powerful, enlightening, exciting and proud are a few of the words that come to mind when I reflect back on last week, similar to the euphoric feelings many shared upon returning from the March on Washington. I didn't realize that LEAGUE was so organized, well respected and the size of it's membership (more than 600). We heard this repeatedly from both external and internal AT&T speakers. The conference, in my opinion, was a total success. I believe we are making progress with AT&T. Other companies are beginning to ask LEAGUE and AT&T for advice on gay issues in the workplace and how to start Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual organizations. First, let me share a sad moment from last week, on Wednesday evening we were informed that our first guest speaker, the Chairman of the City Council in the District of Columbia, John Wilson had taken his life earlier in the day. His wife explained on the news that he had been suffering from depression for many years. John will be dearly missed by all who knew him. He was a strong advocate and ally of the gay community. John was scheduled to personally welcome LEAGUE to Washington, DC. We were elated when Congressman Gerry Studds and his lover showed up during our reception and banquet. He said he will write a letter to our CEO to commend him for the support of LEAGUE. Our Emcee read us a letter sent by Congresswoman Pat Schroeder of Colorado welcoming us and wishing us the best. During the three days we attended a variety of workshops and plenary sessions. Of the ones that I attended, I vividly remember Mandy Carter from the Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF). She told us about some of the tactics that our adversaries are using to oppress gay, lesbian and bisexual people. Her eloquent yet moving speech stressed how critical it is for LEAGUE to get more politically active to help influence our leaders and politicians. LEAGUE is growing with new people coming out and chapters forming. Mandy felt that we could help impact and influence the gay movement by aggressively supporting the letter writing, phone/fax in campaigns and political activities nationwide. Linda Villarosa, Senior Editor of {Essence Magazine}, shared a touching story about the "Coming Out" article she co-wrote with her mother that resulted in many awards and received more positive letters than any other article in the 23 year history of the magazine. Lotus Development Corporation sent Polly Laurelchild-Hertig who shared her exciting story about the 2 1/2 year struggle to include Domestic Partnership Benefits for gay/lesbian employees (and finally winning). Polly reflected on the triumphs and defeats, the supporters and opposition and what LEAGUE should and should not do to help escalate and institute the process at AT&T. An AT&T vice-president and his wife attended the entire conference. Also, Bob Kavner an AT&T senior executive spoke about supporting us in our quest for equal rights (Mr. Kavner was a candidate for the CEO position at IBM). We made it very clear that we need his help on the Domestic Partnership issue(s). I feel we have gained a powerful supporter. I've heard Brian McNaught speak on many occasions. It never ceases to amaze me of his ability to turn enemies into allies with his "Homophobia in the Workplace" workshop. Brian also debuted his new video called "Gay Issues in the Workplace" The 23 minute video is an excellent educational tool for all companies and organizations that are struggling with bias, bigotry and discrimination against gays and lesbians in the workplace. The video was partially filmed during LEAGUE's 1st conference in Orlando last year. During the open microphone sessions, people shared touching stories of coming out, HIV and reflected on the AIDS quilt panel that LEAGUE members made for the many AT&T employees we've lost to the deadly virus. We learned that this particular panel was one chosen to participate in the Clinton inauguration parade. John, a LEAGUE member in our marketing department thanked everyone for helping to distribute the LEAGUE brochures. He explained that of the 40,000-60,000+ that were distributed, we've received over 2,000 responses (an unusually high rate of return). This has caused AT&T marketing executives to officially form a group to specifically look at the gay market (YEA!). LEAGUE members read aloud some of the written comments from the returned brochures. After reading about 20, many attendees cheered and some wept with pride. The overwhelming majority of the comments talked about supporting and switching back to AT&T Long Distance because of it's support of LEAGUE. Some were negative as well, (e.g., the Rovira case, Planned Parenthood), but AT&T needs to hear these to so we can improve and change. On Wednesday evening, 191 of us boarded a boat in Georgetown for dinner, dancing and lots of laughs while cruising the Potomac River. The boat will never be the same. Thursday evening the banquet entertainment included the funny and talented Lynn Lavner singing, playing the piano and tell us her Cybil Sheppard story from the March on Washington. LESS MISERABLE, a gay comedy trio from Dallas kept us laughing as well. Both shows were entertaining and fun. Our 1st Conference in Orlando (1992) had 120 people in attendance, with the majority of the participants gay white males. This year's conference of over 200 attendees still had a high percentage of GWM's, but noticeable more women, people of color, hetersexual allies and many more significant others. Planning has begun for the 1994 Conference in Boston. We anticipate many more LEAGUE members, supporters, spouses, politicians, and possible our CEO to participate. I have not covered everything that happened at the conference, however, I wanted to share with you some of the activities LEAGUE is doing and possibly help your organizations influence support from management. We are hoping that the conference press release gets more coverage this time. Thanks for listening. Tom Tilkey LEAGUE & AT&T internet!ttilkey@att.com [Moderator's Note: And thank you very much for sharing. PAT] ------------------------------ From: moswald@cwis.unomaha.edu (Mike Oswald) Subject: Re: New Rockwell V.32bis Chip Set Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha Date: Thu, 26 May 1993 15:25:42 GMT alex@grian.cps.altadena.ca.us writes: > ..."additional bonus of optional 16550 UART with FIFO..." > About bleedin' time. It's not rocket science, but having just a teeny > few characters worth of buffering under Windows will sure as heck help > on total through put. Where would I need to make changes in Windows if I have 9600 v.32/v.42 external modem and I was wondering about how to help my COMM programs performance? Mike ------------------------------ From: Jim.Rees@umich.edu Subject: Re: The Telex Machine in Popular Music Date: 27 May 1993 19:01:46 GMT Organization: University of Michigan CITI In article , ae446@freenet.carleton.ca (Nigel Allen) writes: > So can anyone else think of any telex-related songs? How about "Western Union?" I forget who recorded it, but it was a hit in the 60s. The original 45 was transparent red. ------------------------------ From: toddi@mav.com (Todd Inch) Subject: Re: Great Wrong Number (was Misdialed Numbers) Organization: Maverick International Inc. Date: Thu, 27 May 93 19:27:09 GMT Before cellular phones, when I was living at home, I received a call: "Hi, this is Dad. Tell mom to get you all in the car and I'll meet you at xxxx (Dad's favorite buffet restaurant) in an hour." Me: "Okay, great. See ya." Minutes later, my (actual) dad drove up and asked what was for dinner. I felt sorry for that guy waiting for his family at the restaurant. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 93 10:27:38 PDT From: droid@kerner.com (Marty the Droid) Subject: Re: Ugh! Call-Forwarding Cancels Hunting! Organization: The Kerner Company I just did a little test with the call forwarding from my home to my office. The setup: My prime home number is one of two lines that hunt off of a #5ESS. When I go to work I do a regular call forward (72#258-XXXX) to my office line. The office line is a T1 full of DIDs into a PBX with a voice monster on it. When I called my home number from four lines at once, all four of them made it to the voicemonster together. (I mean on four different ports. :-) I haven't the time now to find what the limit is on how many I can forward at once. (I'd probably run out of DID ports first.) I think there is something hinky with the software in the switch at toad's telco. Marty 'The Droid' Brenneis ...!uupsi!kerner!droid Industrial Magician droid@kerner.com (415)258-2105 ~~~ KAE7616 - 462.700 - 162.2 ~~~ KC6YYP ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #357 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa14547; 27 May 93 19:35 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA13374 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Thu, 27 May 1993 17:07:08 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA12331 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Thu, 27 May 1993 17:06:01 -0500 Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 17:06:01 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305272206.AA12331@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #358 TELECOM Digest Thu, 27 May 93 17:06:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 358 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: Alarm Point Telemetry Equipment (Bruce Sullivan) Re: Alarm Point Telemetry Equipment (Jon Gauthier) Re: Alarm Point Telemetry Equipment (Dale Farmer) Re: Movable Switches (was Re: Hinsdale) (John Nagle) Re: Movable Switches (was Re: Hinsdale) (Al Varney) Re: Author Queries: Phone Mysteries (Andy Sherman) Re: Misdialed Numbers (Joe Markovic) Re: Ring-Detector Circuit (Joe Markovic) 800 Services Directories: Where? (Peter Rukavina) More Questions From a Newcomer (Marcus Blankenship) Multiple Voice Processing Systems (Dick Bednar) ---------------------- TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively -- to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800 service. In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for the file 'products'. The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail- ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu. Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom. Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there, where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not require the use of our products and services. The two are separate. All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi- zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein. Send tithes and love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :) Phone: 312-465-2700. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 May 93 17:35 GMT From: Bruce Sullivan Subject: Re: Alarm Point Telemetry Equipment Ken Stone writes: > I'm interested in what's available to monitor/gather alarm points (dry > contact closures mostly) and bring them back to a central location and > a central device that can interrogated by a UNIX based computer. What you're looking for is typically referred to as an 'Enterprise Management System'. Though there have been several vendors in the market in the past, I'm not sure what's going on there today. I saw AT&T's 'Accumaster Integrator' (now defunct, methinks) about three years ago, for which they wanted the tidy sum of about $400k, as I recall. The problem is that you're trying to tie together a bunch of different, often proprietary alarms. Typically, this means that the manufacturer has to either publish his alarm specs (so the EMS vendor, if they find it to be desireable, will intercept them) *or* write their alarms to some standard, such as SNMP. That said, some vendors these days (I apologize for my vagueness here) are creating SNMP alerts or traps. I know that we've looked at UPS systems that will do that, as well as CSU/DSUs. Even this isn't seemless, however: We found that, while the CSUs were *marketed* as being SNMP compliant, you really needed a PC to intercept them and send them back to your SNMP management system. While we bought the CSUs, we opted not to make the add'l expense of dedicating a PC to it. Bruce Sullivan 4544760@mcimail.com 72747.2737@compuserve.com ------------------------------ From: exujlg@exu.ericsson.se (Jon Gauthier) Subject: Re: Alarm Point Telemetry Equipment Reply-To: exujlg@exu.ericsson.se Organization: Ericsson Network Systems, Inc. Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 13:49:32 GMT In article 6@eecs.nwu.edu, ken@sdd.hp.com (Ken Stone) writes: > I'm interested in what's available to monitor/gather alarm points (dry > contact closures mostly) and bring them back to a central location and > a central device that can interrogated by a UNIX based computer. > We have lots of equipment in various places like microwave systems, > muxes, battery backup systems, CSU's, DSU's, whatever that just > present major/minor alarms. What I would like to do is gather them up > and be able to tie them into existing monitoring/paging systems we > have now. > Any pointers on catalogs, suppliers, etc appreciated. About six months ago I saw an ad in Network Management magazine for a smart telco alarm panel with an SNMP agent and ethernet port. Stupid me - I forget about it and toss the mag. Now I could really use that type of equipment so that I can monitor our voice/data multiplexers, CSU/DSU's along with our network servers, hubs and the like. The best SNMP management package can't tell you that your T1 to Los Angeles is down because your CSU is dead. Instead it tells you that you can't see a single node over there. Oh boy! Where do I begin looking for the cause? Yes -- I'd give an arm and a leg for what Ken is asking for. Does the ad for the smart alarm panel ring a bell (pun intended)? If anyone remembers, please e-mail me with the company name. Regards, Jon L. Gauthier Ericsson Network Systems, Inc EXU/IS/N Systems Programmer P.O. Box 833875 +1 214 997-0157 Richardson, TX 75083-3875 exujlg@exu.ericsson.se or exu.exujlg@memo.ericsson.se ------------------------------ From: dale@access.digex.net (Dale Farmer) Subject: Re: Alarm Point Telemetry Equipment Date: 27 May 1993 16:11:04 GMT Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA Ken Stone (ken@sdd.hp.com) wrote: > I'm interested in what's available to monitor/gather alarm points (dry > contact closures mostly) and bring them back to a central location and > a central device that can interrogated by a UNIX based computer. Sounds like you want to take a look at SNMP. Read Marshall Rose's book "The Simple Way" and call SNMP research for some literature. I think that they are in CA, but I'm not sure. Dale Farmer ------------------------------ From: nagle@netcom.com (John Nagle) Subject: Re: Movable Switches (was Re: Hinsdale) Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 16:39:33 GMT deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (david.g.lewis) writes: >> It does seem like telephone companies would have trucks with >> switches and satellite terminals in them. > AT&T has one or two of these trucks; latest use which got a lot of > national attention was in Homestead, FL, after Hurricane Andrew. > They're used for traveling roadshows when they're not in use some- > where for emergency response. Yes, they've appeared at PacTel's telecom show at Moscone Center. It's basically a 5ESS in a van. John Nagle ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 93 14:24:29 CDT From: varney@ihlpl.att.com Subject: Re: Movable Switches (was Re: Hinsdale) Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL In article deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (david.g.lewis) writes: > In article hhallika@tuba.calpoly.edu > (Harold Hallikainen) writes: [In response to Hinsdale, IL outage...] >> It does seem like telephone companies would have trucks with >> switches and satellite terminals in them. Just drive the truck up, >> plug it in and you have a few thousand lines back in service. All >> calls that could not be switched locally would go to the satellite. > AT&T has one or two of these trucks; latest use which got a lot of > national attention was in Homestead, FL, after Hurricane Andrew. I > don't believe they necessarily have satellite terminals -- if you > have to splice into a few thousand copper pairs to get out to the > loops, splicing into a few dozen more fibers or coax cables to get > trunk-side connectivity doesn't take much more time. They're used > for traveling roadshows when they're not in use somewhere for emerg- > ency response.^^^^^^^^^ (???????) Actually, the emergency 5ESS(tm) switch-on-a-trailer is used as a training lab (attached to a building) when not in use elsewhere. This lab has the advantage (over "mothballed" ones) of being in continuous use, with hardware/software upgrades installed, etc. The number of such emergencies vs. the cost of maintaining such a backup facility would put it out of any TELCo budget. You can't just park a switch somewhere (powered down) and expect it to work 15-20 years later when you need it. For one thing, the hardware would probably be discontinued (so you have to stock spares too!), no "fixes" would have been applied and support software (for quickly building the local line data base, etc.) would probably be hard to come by. For complex systems, the "backup from the vendor" method usually yields a faster, more stable replacement. This has certainly been the method used by the old Bell System, and seems to have worked out pretty well in the few emergencies that have followed the 1984 break-up. Other vendors are probably expected to provide similar methods of emergency support. I agree that "satellite" connectivity (today, anyway) is not that useful for LEC switch emergencies. The LECs (at least before U.S.West joined a cable TV corp.) do not use satellites in normal trunking, so any emergency system would add costs of other dishes and reserved transponders (and delays in conversations, echo canceller problems, etc.). On the other hand, a few trunk-mounted microwave towers with built-in power, etc. could be useful -- but costly. Al Varney - just my opinion, of course ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 93 14:55:26 EDT Subject: Re: Author Queries: Phone Mysteries From: andys@internet.sbi.com (Andy Sherman) PAT sermonized: > [Moderator's Note: Well, if you 'cannot imagine what a machine could > not monitor just as well' then you must have a poor imagination. The > Hinsdale CO burned down. The building was totally gutted. The fire > began on a Sunday afternoon in May, Mother's Day, 1988. The fire began > about 3 PM and burned unnoticed for *over an hour* before the person > monitoring the place from two hundred miles away decided to call up > to Chicago and tell someone ... and did he call the Fire Department? > Oh no ... he called a supervisor at home some miles away and asked > them to 'go over to Hinsdale and see what is going on, and shut the > alarm off if it is still malfunctioning.' So the supervisor finishes > lunch, gets in their car for a fifteen minute drive, finds the office > in flames, tries to call the Fire Department only to find the lines > all over town have already been dead for probably thirty minutes ... On 13 May 93 21:27:42 GMT, king@rtsg.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist) repiled: > Let's be fair, Pat. This doesn't show that automated warning devices > are inherently inferior to humans on-site 24 hours a day. It looks to > me like the faults lie in ... > A poorly designed alarm system that didn't differentiate > between something simple like "a trunk is down" and > something major like "the building is in flames"; and, > A human who ignored an alarm for an hour. > Both of these factors contributed to the untimely demise of Hinsdale. I seem to recall that SCCS correctly notified the monitoring center in Springfield that a fire alarm had gone off in Hinsdale. The assholes in Springfield chose to assume that it was a malfunction. AT&T folks can correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't imagine that SCCS does not distinguish between different types of alarms. Too many staff years went into developing that system for it to just say "Duh, someting happened." Now, by the time Springfield decided to deal with the alarm, I'll bet that SCCS was showing dead trunk groups in Hinsdale, since they were being burnt up by the fire. But that's not the same thing as the reckless statement that the surveillance system in use could not distinguish between a fire alarm and a trunk failure. There is nothing wrong in principle with the idea of SCCS's night folddown feature. Given an alert operator at the regional center, it is probably *more* effective than Pat's mythical $5.00/hour guard. The regional operator gets alarms from every sensor in the buildings being montiored. If the guard is moving around the building, s/he will only be aware of a limited area at any given moment, unless s/he too is watching something like a SCCS display. The lesson from Hinsdale is not that remote monitoring is bad. There are two lessons from Hinsdale: a) don't create a single point of failure in the area (i.e. don't make Hinsdale an unreplicated hub for everything in sight); b) if you use remote monitoring, you cannot afford to ignore a single alarm. All must be investigated. Andy Sherman Salomon Inc - Unix Systems Support - Rutherford, NJ (201) 896-7018 - andys@sbi.com or asherman@sbi.com "These opinions are mine, all *MINE*. My employer can't have them." ------------------------------ From: Joe Markovic Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 02:00:00 -0400 Subject: Re: Misdialed Numbers > The other day I took a wrong number on one of my inside company lines. > After anwering the line with my company name the woman caller said, > "Sorry, wrong number." > I asked the caller who she was looking for. She said that she was > calling her house. I replied, "You DO have nice furniture ...". > Wanna bet that she made a beeline home? I was having problems with one particularly stupid caller, she kept phoning my number every couple of weeks. She'd ask "is Pete there?", and would promptly hang-up whenever I told "sorry, but you've got the wrong number". It finally got to the point where she'd hang-up the moment she recognized my voice. I fooled her a couple of times by mimicing someone else, but the novelty of the situation rapidly wore thin. Since she would often make a second call within a minute or two of the first call, I decided to say something that would really throw her off track. What I did was tell her "that Pete is in bed with Sylvia", and then hung up the phone. This solution appears to have worked, as I haven't had a call from her since then. ciao, Joe CRS Online - Toronto, Ontario 416-213-6002/213-6003 ------------------------------ From: Joe Markovic Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 02:00:00 -0400 Subject: Re: Ring-Detector Circuit In article king@rtsg.mot.com writes: > I thought of making a circuit to take the phone off-hook periodically > to check for stutter tone, but decided that there was too great a > chance of someone calling in during that couple of seconds. Murphy's > Law says that I'd miss calls (well, they'd be routed to voicemail!) > when the circuit picked up to check for voicemail. Have you considered how call-waiting would help in that situation, since it would eliminate the necessity of adding the dectection circuit to every phone on the line. ciao, Joe CRS Online - Toronto, Ontario 416-213-6002/213-6003 [Moderator's Note: Call waiting would not help under those circumstances at all since a phone off hook (but having yet not dialed anything or been connected anywhere) would return a busy signal to the caller. Call waiting only works once the called number has actually gotten past the dial tone and connected to someone (or at least out of its own CO en-route to another CO). I guess it would help in the sense that the caller would not go to voicemail either during those couple seconds but would just get a busy signal. There has to be a 'true busy' -- that is, a conversation going on -- and not just a busy signal generated on account of some transaction -- off hook, dialing, etc -- going on in order for voicemail to pick up or call waiting to work. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 14:47:24 -0300 (ADT) From: Peter Rukavina Subject: 800 Services Directories: Where? I am creating a database of suppliers to crafts producers which involves a lot of phoning of suppliers for catalogue requests etc. across North America from Prince Edward Island, Canada. AT&T publishes a directory of 1-800 numbers that are reachable from Canada (phone 1-800-426-8686, cost is CDN$7.19); I assume that this directory will cover only AT&T numbers -- are readers aware of similar products (or, better yet, a "union" catalog thereof) from other US long distance companies? Stentor Canada (former Telecom Canada, consortium of Canada's old-line carriers) published its last "800 Service Directory" in 1990 -- the operator there claimed that it was going out of date too quickly to be relevant. PETER RUKAVINA * Information Manager * Prince Edward Island Crafts Council Creating a worldwide database of craft suppliers and equipment sources caprukav@upei.ca -or- prukavina@trentu.ca -or- pruk@well.sf.ca.us ------------------------------ From: cse@santafe.edu (Marcus Blankenship) Subject: More Help Needed by Newcomer Date: 27 May 1993 18:26:56 GMT Organization: The Santa Fe Institute I am very new to the world of telephony, and have a few (more) questions: A) What different types of test codes are used by the phone company? -ANAC,Ringback,Watchlines,Busy-out, ??? B) Is there a good text-file/book/magazine that covers the basic's of the language? It seem quite cryptic if you don't understand all the anacronyms ... C) What are some industry journals/ where can I subscribe to them ... D) What are some equipment catalogs that offer telephone test/lineman's equipment? I have a limited amount from my company, but not much ... I have just taken a job as a COCOT repairman, and the company is very young still ... I have to take ALL the initiave about learning/equipment. Any help would be appreciated. Marcus Blankenship Alpha Telcom Inc. blankenm@seq.oit.osshe.edu Grants Pass, OR cse@santafe.edu The questions and opionions presented here are my own.... [Moderator's Note: You might begin by purusing the Telecom Archives. We have several Glossary files which define telecom terms in great detail. Use anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu to reach the archives, then pull all the files which begin with the word 'glossary'. There are three or four of them. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: 27 May 1993 11:31:47 -0800 From: Dick Bednar Subject: Multiple Voice Processing Systems We need to install two voice processing systems behind Pac Bell Centrex and have ordered one SMSI link w/3002 data circuit and two multi-line hunt groups (one for each machine) which will report over the single SMSI link. The problem is how to wire up our end. One machine is a Rolm PhoneMail, which will do all the voice mail activity and some call processing. It is supposed to be able to recognize which UCD pilot applies to the Rolm node. It will control message waiting indicator on the Centrex lines through the SMSI link. The other system is PC-based and will be used only for call processing and announcements. It has no need to send messages to Centrex; it only needs to see the SMSI messages to pick off which ones apply to its UCD group so that it knows which port to answer with which greeting. My first inclination is to simply tap Receive Data and Signal Ground between the modem and the PhoneMail. This would be simolar to installing a line monitor (data scope) to watch the data. My memory is that the RS-232 driver chips usually have enough "oomph" to drive two receivers over short distances. By not hooking up Transmit Data, I should not interfere with the Rolm's use of SMSI back to Centrex. The questions are (1) will this work? (2) should I include any diode or other stuff? and (3) what distance can I pull off between the modem-Rolm and the other system? My second thought was to tap the 3002 data circuit with another modem that would listen only to the Centrex transmissions and ignore the PhoneMail transmissions. My sense is that this is simply impossible. There are a lot of reasons WHY I need to do this. I would appreciate some advice before wiring connectors. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #358 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa10815; 28 May 93 9:20 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA01550 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Fri, 28 May 1993 06:56:46 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA23229 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Fri, 28 May 1993 06:56:09 -0500 Date: Fri, 28 May 1993 06:56:09 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305281156.AA23229@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #359 TELECOM Digest Fri, 28 May 93 06:56:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 359 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Pac Bell Says "Not Possible" (Jeff Garber) Hospitalized U.S. Veterans Get Bedside Telephones (Nigel Allen) Modem Cannot Seize Line (J. Philip Miller) RS-232 on RJ Plugs (was Re: Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc.) (Lars Poulsen) GTE Strikes! or Can't Deliver Phone Books (Ben Delisle) French DTMF - Is it the Same as Everywhere Else? (Guy Montgomery) Re: GSM Frequency Range and Experiences (Richard Cox) Library of Congress Over Cable TV (John Pescatore) Internet in the News (Les Reeves) Non Sequitur or What? (Randy Gellens) ---------------------- TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively -- to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800 service. In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for the file 'products'. The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail- ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu. Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom. Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there, where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not require the use of our products and services. The two are separate. All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi- zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein. Send tithes and love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :) Phone: 312-465-2700. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 28 May 93 01:31 GMT From: Jeff Garber <0005075968@mcimail.com> Subject: Pac Bell Says "Not Possible" I just placed a request with Pathetic Bell and they told me it could not be done. I'm wondering what the consensus here is. The situation is that I have two phone lines in a hunt group (on a 1AESS). I use line two as an incoming line only for certain people (or when line one is busy). Normally, I want my calls to come in on line one so that is the number I give out. I make all my outgoing calls from line two because I only have an answering machine on line one. That way, if I don't want to answer an incoming call while I am on an outgoing call, I can just let the machine get it. So far, this has all been working great. Enter SS7. If I call someone (from line two) and they "Call Return" me (this is CA, so I don't have to worry about my second number being displayed), it rings line two. Since I would like all my incoming calls to ring on line one regardless of which line I used to dial the call, I called Pac Bell and asked if I could have the number that gets sent through SS7 on line two changed to line one's number, as this would solve my problem. The first person I spoke with had no idea what I was talking about (not surprising). The second person couldn't help me because she was not "trained in hunting" (I explained that my request was actually about SS7 parameters, not hunting). She had someone call me back. I explained the problem to the woman who called me back. She told me that changing the number that gets sent through SS7 could not be done. I told her that this is a default that can be changed at the CO (I'm not sure this is correct, but I thought I'd try it. I think I read here in the Digest that this is the case). When she realized that I wasn't a typical "Aunt Martha", she said she had talked to a specialist and they said it was not possible. I mentioned that they do it all the time on 1AESS switches in U.S. West and Ameritech territories (another thing I *think* I read here). She said it all depends on how the software is configured. So rather than continue to argue with her, I just told her that I would be placing all of my calls through bypass via 950 with a carrier who is not SS7 connected, and Pac Bell will be losing the revenue from my toll calls. (I wasn't asking her but) she agreed that this would solve the problem. She also mentioned that SS7 data does not get passed between Pac Bell and GTE, which I already knew. Who's right? Can the number sent out through SS7 be changed at the CO or is it "not possible", as Pac Bell insists? "Jeff Garber " ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 93 21:59:34 EDT From: ae446@freenet.carleton.ca (Nigel Allen) Subject: Hospitalized U.S. Veterans Get Bedside Telephones Organization: Echo Beach, Toronto Reply-To: ae446@freenet.carleton.ca I downloaded the following White House press release from the PR Online BBS (Pikesville, MD) at 410-363-0834. President Clinton and Vice President Gore will Place First Call to Newly Installed Veterans Bedside Phones Contact: Dave Anderson of the White House Office of Media Affairs, 202-456-7150 News Advisory: President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore will place the first call to a newly-installed bedside phone system for hospitalized veterans in Bronx, N.Y.; Albany, N.Y. and Philadelphia. Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Hershel Gober will also participate in the call. The call will take place at 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 28. Phones have been installed in the hospitals as part of a volunteer effort called PT Phone Home. The project, begun by Frank Dosio, a Vietnam veteran and the commander of a Veterans of Foreign Wars post was recently awarded the President's Volunteer Action Award, the most prestigious award of its kind. News outlets wishing to listen to or record the call should dial the following press-only number for listen-only audio: 202-296-3132. City-specific information: Bronx -- Open press Bronx Veterans Administration Medical Center/Nursing Care Unit 130 West Knightsbridge Road Participant: Eugene Young, a Vietnam veteran who is a quadriplegic from an accident at his home. Married, three sons. Philadelphia -- Open press Philadelphia VAMC/Main Entrance University and Woodland Avenues Participant: Vincent Maurio. World War II veteran who became seriously ill in 1989; entered hospital in 1991. Albany -- Open press Stratton VAMC/Third floor auditorium 113 Holland Avenue Participant: Kenneth Patenaude (Pat-uh-node), World War II veteran. A former American Legion Post commander. Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada ae446@freenet.carleton.ca ------------------------------ From: phil@wubios.wustl.edu (J. Philip Miller) Subject: Modem Cannot Seize Line Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 22:24:11 -0500 (CDT) I am puzzled by a modem problem. I have a second home that I have gotten to only a couple of times in the last month. The first time when I plugged into my regular phone jack, the modem would not seize the line, i.e. when I did an ATDTnnnnnnn command, the dial tone never appeared. i gave it up as a fluke but when I went down last weekend I came a little more prepared and tried several modems with the same result. Plugging a phone into the jack worked fine. Plugging the modem into another jack worked ok. I have been using the jack in question for modem connections many times over the last five years or so with no problems. I did notice that they recently appeared to be working on the trunk lines, I assume adding more pairs so there have been some changes between me and the CO. The CO is perhaps 10-15 miles from the house. What should I be looking at? Is it possible that tip & ring are reversed on that plug, but not others? If so why did it all of a sudden stop working? Is there something I should ask the phone company about? Any ideas would be appreciated since I installed the the jack in my preferred place to read telecom digest and if I have to to elsewhere in the house I get upset :-) J. Philip Miller, Professor, Division of Biostatistics, Box 8067 Washington University Medical School, St. Louis MO 63110 phil@wubios.WUstl.edu - (314) 362-3617 [362-2693(FAX)] ------------------------------ From: lars@spectrum.CMC.COM (Lars Poulsen) Subject: RS-232 on RJ Plugs (was Re: Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc.) Organization: CMC Network Systems (Rockwell DCD), Santa Barbara, CA, USA Date: Fri, 28 May 93 05:59:42 GMT In article hhallika@tuba.calpoly. edu (Harold Hallikainen) writes: > Which reminds me, why don't we have an RS232 serial connector > standard for modular connectors? I'd suggest something symmetrical, > probably using the two center pins for ground. Then, all equipment > would be wired exactly the same. We'd use reversing cables to connect > anything to anything (no more DTE DCE problems!). Of course, not all > wires have a symmetrical opposite ... for example TxD and RxD would > generally be swapped, RTS and CTS, DTR and DSR, but what do you do > with DCD and RI? There are several topics about computers and terminals that I have researched in excruciating depth. One of them was terminal keyboards for word processing applications. (The best I ever found was the ANSI bit-pairing arrangement on a 42-key IBM Selectric layout. It was ergonomical and easy to convert for foreign alphabet variations.) The other is cables and connectors for RS-232 and related interfaces. The company that I work for, has a TCP/IP terminal server product, and for a while I was the lead engineer for that device while we were discussing possible options for cable connectors. RJ-connectors look like they should be wonderful for asynchronous terminals, and there are in fact several standards (all incompatible, of course) on how to do it. Since I am at home, without my reference library, you will forgive me for speaking in generalities. One of the nice things about modular connectors, is that they are everywhere and they are cheap. But the real cheap stuff is all four-wire satin cord. This makes a nice system for locally attached terminals if you connect RX, TX, GND and DTR. Modems need a few more signals to process the answering handshake, and printers needs flowcontrol. ATT worked on premises distribution systems, and came up with four different pinouts for use with six-wire and eight-wire RJ-45 type connectors, and they supply fairly inexpensive RJ-45S to DB25P adapters, that work well with standard harmonics and 25-pair cables. A company called MOD-TAP has also done a lot of nice accessories for this type of system. In our company, we found that talking people through selecting the right one out of four identical-looking adapters was a loser. To do it all on one pinout, however, we needed ten wires. While you can get ten-pin RJ-connectors, five pair cable is a specialty, and our cables turned out to be rather expensive. Plus our wiring is unlike anyone elses. Most recently, the MacIntosh chose an 8-pin circular connector for its serial ports, and predictably, this became an issue when modems began to need flow control. Ask any Mac owner with a highspeed modem, and you will hear about hardware flow control cables. The problem is that once you wire the cable to support RTS/CTS, you give up DTR/DSR and can't hang up the modem unless you can recall modem command mode. In short, there does not seem to be any way around those custom cables. Lars Poulsen, SMTS Software Engineer Internet E-mail: lars@CMC.COM CMC Network Products / Rockwell Int'l Telephone: +1-805-968-4262 Santa Barbara, CA 93117-3083 TeleFAX: +1-805-968-8256 ------------------------------ From: delisle@eskimo.com (Ben Delisle) Subject: GTE Strikes! or Can't Deliver Phone Books Organization: -> ESKIMO NORTH (206) For-Ever <- Date: Fri, 28 May 1993 00:40:52 GMT ++ The fillowing is a copy of a letter I am sending to ++ GTE customer service, it explaines an event that makes me ++ unhappy. (photo not included in this post. 25-May-1993 GTE Customer Relations Director of Customer Service. RE: GTE Telephone book distribution. Bad Service. Dear Sir, I am writing you in complaint of the delivery of GTE telephone books to my house. Inclosed is a picture of what I saw when I opened my gate today. Look at the picture. Why were these four GTE telephone books haphazardly tossed over my fence? It is hardly nice or neat, very poor job. Furthermore, Yesterday I received a GTE telephone book in my mail box. Not wanting them I tried to send them back by putting the flag up on the box. I thought they were delivered by the postoffice. I called them because of today, and learned that the phone book delivery person had put it there instead. The postmaster told me that the delivery people were told to remove the remaining books from any mail box along the street, and place them elsewhere such as next to the box or at the house itself. (Our area uses boxes that are on the road, often in clusters of 3 to or more.) What I believe happened is that the book deliverer was too lazy to take the books to each house and wanted to rid themselves of some books quickly so the dumped some over my front gate that were not taken by the people whose mail boxes they were placed in yesterday. There are seven houses with boxes on driveway off the main road. Also, as I drove along the road to home today I saw several GTE phone books on, next to, or below, several mailboxes, but they seemd to be slopply placed. I don't even know why our area is getting GTE phone books, we are not in it's service area. When I received phone books from U.S. West they were neatly paced on my front door step and put in a bag as not to be ruined by the rain. I expect a reply. Benjamin deLisle ------------------------------ From: gmontgomery@sdesys1.hns.com (Guy Montgomery) Subject: French DTMF - Is it the Same as everwhere Else? Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 19:11:33 GMT Organization: Hughes Network Systems Inc. I am trying to find out whether the Frech PSTN uses "standard" DTMF for tone handsets and PBX DID connections. The feedback I am getting is that the answer is no; therefore you cannot use US phones to access French tone based services (i.e. answering machines) and vice versa, and equipment that can dial in to a US PABX may not be able to dial into a French PABX. Does anyone know if France is indeed different, if so is there a well known (e.g. CCITT) standard that describes the tone set? Is there a comprehensive listing anywhere of countries versus the handset tone system they use ? Thanks, Guy Montgomery Hughes Network Systems (HNS),Germantown, MD 20876 Tel: (301) 428-2981 Internet: gmontgomery@hns.com FAX: (301) 428-1868 Opinions are mine, and not necessarily HNS's ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 93 11:46 GMT0BST-1 From: Richard Cox Subject: Re: GSM Frequency Range and Experiences Reply-To: mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk FNAHA!JVE@TRENGA.tredydev.unis (Juha Veijalainen) said: >> For example in United Kingdom prices are about 1.25 USD/minute >> no lower rates available. UK GSM charges are 30-35 UK pence per minute, nothing like 1.25 USD/minute ! >> in UK they (Vodaphone) charge by full minutes. In the UK Vodafone (note spelling) charge by the half minute. However the minimum charge is for one minute. >> I guess UK companies are either more profit conscious >> or have much larger operating costs. We'd plump for the first of those !!! [Vodafone made a very large profit last year.] Richard D G Cox Mandarin Technology, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, CARDIFF, Wales CF4 5WF Voice: +44 222 747111 Fax: +44 222 711111 VoiceMail: +44 399 870101 E-mail: mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk - PGP2.2 public key available on request ------------------------------ From: jtp1@gte.com (John Pescatore) Subject: Library of Congress Over Cable TV Date: 28 May 93 11:27:12 GMT Organization: GTE Laboratories, Waltham MA I attended the press conference posted here a week or so ago, where Jones Intercable of Denver, CO and the Library of Congress announce a pilot program where certian LoC holdings would be available over cable TV. Essentially, Jones is installing CD ROM and laser disc players at its cable head-end. The Library of Congress is providing discs from its American Memory project, which is digitizing text, graphics, audio, and video from various areas of interest in American history. A high school outside of Denver that is wired for cable will connect a Macintosh running some Jones- developed hypercard software that can search a database to locate the American memory stuff. Text and graphics are sent over the cable to the PC at the school, and audio as well. Video can go to the PC if it has a video card, or to a standard cable-ready TV. The only interesting part of this is the use of the existing coaxial cable plant to carry data from the PC at the school back upstream to the cable head-end. Since addressabe systems are becoming fairly widespread, this is not rocket science but it amazed most of the people in attendance. Several of us tried to pin Glenn Jones (the Jones CEO) down on pricing, but he kept falling back to double-speak about only doing this for education, and bettering our society. Gee, I'm getting cynical in my old age. To whomever posted the original notice of the conference: do youget these announcements on-line? If so, how?? John Pescatore GTE Government Systems 301-294-8486 PESCATORE_JT@NCSD.GTE.COM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 18:26:00 -0400 (EDT) From: LESREEVES@delphi.com Subject: Internet in the News * Internet, a global computer network, transmitted its first movie, making history. Engineers played it on a VCR, fed it into a computer that converted it to digital form and fed it into the Internet. Although spotty at times and the soundtrack halting, the engineers felt the premier was a success. The road to interactive pictures transmitted via fiber-optics superhighways is becoming a major race between companies such as AT&T, Time Warner and Tele-Communications. ({New York Times}, "Cult film is a first on Internet," 5/24/93, p. C3) ------------------------------ From: RANDY@MPA15AB.mv-oc.Unisys.COM Date: 27 MAY 93 12:34 Subject: Non Sequitur or What? Pat, these were posted on an internal news group, and I thought people might appreciate them. I've replaced the names and the phone number with "x"s. -- Randy Date: Wed, 26 May 1993 10:09 pm PDT (Thu, 27 May 93 05:09:08 UT) From: Paul Xxxx Subject: non sequitur or what? Had a phone call this evening, conversation was ... "Hello?" "Is this Paul?" "Yes" "Sorry, wrong number." A non sequitur if I ever heard one (read "say what?"). Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 11:14 am PDT (18:14:29 UT) From: Neeraj Xxxx Subject: Re: non sequitur or what? This reminds me of the telephonic conversations I have been so used to. "Hello?" "Is this xxx-xxxx?" "Yes" A sigh of relief followed by, "Can I speak to so-and-so? [Person who is not at that number]" Some of the things I miss [in this country] are the joys of dialing a number and not knowing where I will end up, the mysteries of getting caught in a three way connection and making deals I would otherwise never dream of making, the suspense and the thrill on finding out my telephone is not (yet) dead after a wrong connection. ------- |Randy Gellens randy@mpa15ab.mv-oc.unisys.com or |A Series System Software randy%mpa15ab@trenga.tredydev.unisys.com |Unisys Corporation if mail bounces, forward to |Mission Viejo, CA rgellens@mcimail.com |Opinions are personal; facts are suspect; I speak only for myself ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #359 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa27453; 30 May 93 12:13 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA01231 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Sun, 30 May 1993 09:50:51 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA15680 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Sun, 30 May 1993 09:50:11 -0500 Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 09:50:11 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305301450.AA15680@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #360 TELECOM Digest Sun, 30 May 93 09:50:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 360 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson 16550AFN Chip (A. Padgett Peterson) Re: What Was That Publication Number Again? (Al Varney) What is a 'Trunk'? (Paul Robinson) Call-Forwarding Versus Hunting: Solved (Tony Shepps) New Rockwell V.32bis (Laurence Chiu) "Stuffing" the CLASS (John Warne) I Recomend Reading Snow Crash (Andrew Robson) ---------------------- TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively -- to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800 service. In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for the file 'products'. The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail- ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu. Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom. Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there, where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not require the use of our products and services. The two are separate. All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi- zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein. Send tithes and love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :) Phone: 312-465-2700. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 30 May 93 07:53:39 -0400 From: padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson) Subject: 16550AFN Chip 16550AFN - More than you ever wanted to know and possibly even accurate. Once upon a time, long, long ago when the IBM-PC was in design, modem communications were either at 300 baud (expensive) or "High Speed" - 1200 baud (very expensive). My first IBM-type PC, a Columbia VP-1600 came with a program called PC-Talk that could be run as interpretive BASIC and was quick enough for the Racal-Vadic 9451 modem (from memory so no guarentees). At the time, PCs were strictly single tasking and 4.77 Mhz (keep in mind that the multiple redundant digital flight controls we were designing for the F-16 ran at 4 Mhz then so the PC was "faster") was "enough". Intel had considered the need for a serial port and this task was handled by an 8450 "UART". Since the PC could process information faster than any modem at the time, no buffering was needed other than the PC's RAM. Flow control was mostly the XON/XOFF type handled by software when anyone bothered. When the sixteen bit AT came out (1985) a faster UART was needed & the 16450 made its introduction. Faster and able to support at least 19,200 kb but any buffering was still the responsibility of the PC. As 2400 baud took hold as a modem standard (c.a. 1988) a new problem began to arise, occasional dropouts. Oddly enough I only noticed a problem when typing interactively. File transfers were, in the main, troublefree but on stream ASCII received characters occasionally would be missed. Quite often these would be the character in an ANSI sequence. Nearly as often it would be a charactor in the last half of a line of text. Then we received a double whammy: Windows and v32/v32bis modems with compression. On my 386DX-25 the dropout rate increased dramatically. No difficulty with the gozouta since the mainframe on the other end had no problem, but my reception suffered. Curiously, file transfer using Kermit or Zmodem did not seem to have any trouble other than occasional line noise that was about the same as before. The problem was that with multi-tasking, the processor could not always get around to servicing the serial port before another character came in. When this happened, the first character would be lost. Much creative use of time-slices and priority setting took care of some of it but this was a kludge. Enter the 16550 chip. Eseentially this is nothing more than a 16450 with a FIFO buffer. If a second character came in before the PC was able to service the first, no problem the buffer would hold both or several. Problem was cured (almost). The first glitch arose with the initial release of the 16550. Seems the buffer did not work properly. Characters were still lost. This led to the 16550A which did work (am told the current revision is 16550AFN). Next we discovered that the buffer in the 16550 had to be told to turn on else it acted just like a 16450 8*(. Next was the revelation that the stock serial driver for Windows might not turn the buffer on either. So for reliable operation you not only had to have a 16550A but your software had to know how to use it (have only seen one package that claims to support the 16550A). Now this is a $15.00 retail chip but most board manufacturers seem to think it is made of gold. Until I came across my board at a large swap meet, I had not seen an I/O board for under $100.00 with it so when this one surfaced for half that, I grabbed it. On installation I found that the dropout problem with Procomm plus had disappeared so it appeared to be working properly. Long uuencoded files had no problem coming in and IS16550 said I was in luck. Happiness and light 8*). The next step was Windows which seemed to still have a problem. Brousing on the Supra BBS I came across WINCOMM.ZIP, billed as a 16550 "aware" com driver for Windows. I installed this driver according to the instructions (changes to SYSTEM.INI were well explained) and no problems since. IMHO the 16450 should have been put to rest at least a year ago but is aparently still being used by some PC manufacturers. Caveat y'all. Warmly, Padgett ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 May 93 00:27:06 CDT From: varney@ihlpl.att.com Subject: Re: What Was That Publication Number Again? Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL In article Marshall Rose writes: > I seem to recall a recent posting on AT&T publication dealing with > International prefixes (IDDD), etc. Does anyone recall how to order > it? > [Moderator's Note: The AT&T Consumer Information Center in Indianapolis, > IN has the book you are seeking. You can get the same book from the > AT&T International Operations Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Ask your AT&T > operator to connect you to the Pittsburgh IOC, and ask the service > reps there to send you a copy. The book mostly has country codes with > prices, and a few city codes. For a much more detailed listing of city > codes around the world visit our own Telecom Archives using anonymous > ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, use name@site as password, then > 'cd telecom-archives/country.codes'. Have a BIG buffer ready to start > capturing the data. PAT] My internal information documents show a source that's preferred over IOC or CIC. As part of AT&T's International Information Service, we publish a document called the "International Dialing Guide". You can get one by calling 1-800-874-4000 and asking for it. (PLEASE don't order unless you intend to make use of it. :-) ). The number is also intended for questions regarding International rates, dialing information, city codes, time differences, etc. This is NOT the number for International Directory Assistance (use "00" for that) or Operator assisted International calls such as Collect, Person-to-Person, etc. (use "01"). Canada and Caribbean Directory Assistance can be reached via 1 + NPA + 555-1212. Contents: 1) For each of about 250 countries, the Country Code (or area 809), popular City Codes, time zone offset from non-DST USA zones, discount and economy hours and indicators of whether or not collect calls either to/from the USA are possible, and whether AT&T Calling Card calls are possible either to/from the USA. 2) International dialing instructions FROM the USA, and a list of International prefix codes ("access codes") from many countries. 3) A list of the handful of non-dial countries (from AT&T's point of view), such as Easter Island (they allow Calling Card calls to and from the island) and Sudan (no Collect calling either way). 4) A list of other-country calling cards accepted for calls TO those countries FROM the USA via AT&T. (Operator calls only.) 5) A list of AT&T USADirect(rg) Service dial access codes for over 110 countries, and the areas supporting USADirect designated telephones (no dial code needed). This service also supports calls between 46 countries charged to your AT&T Calling Card. (the latter is called AT&T World Connect(sm) Service) 6) A wallet card with the USADirect access codes, plus contact numbers for other AT&T services: AT&T Language Line(rg) - 140+ languages AT&T CLASSIC(sm) Teleconference service AT&T Message Service AT&T Enhanced FAX 7) Other information on other AT&T services that would be useful to businesses involved in international telecom, including a FAX hotline service (via AT&T and others) on export/trade regulations, shipping information, key foreign contacts, etc. Note that other IXCs have different agreements with a different set of countries, and thus may or may not support various forms of international calling -- you'll have to ask for their "Guide" if you want that information. By the way, the Guide is a copyrighted document ... Al Varney - just my opinion ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 May 1993 11:51:11 -0400 (EDT) From: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> Reply-To: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> Subject: What is a 'Trunk'? Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA A user sent me a private message in response to an article I wrote in TELECOM Digest, so let me attempt to answer him and pass my response s on to everyone else (who can then correct me if I'm wrong.) The user asked the question, "What is a trunk?" This is probably in response to a statement of mine about the fact there are only about 1500 international trunks in Moscow. Here's my definition: A "trunk" is an actual, physical path and/or circuit available for the transmission of information in a telephone system. For example, a pair of telephone wire represents one "trunk". A fiber-optic cable, because it can multiplex many simultaneous connections, may have 10,000 "trunks" in it. What is the reason for making the distinction? Okay, I live just outside of Washington, DC. In the five counties (if I consider the city of Washington to be a county) of this area, there are perhaps 3.5 million people. According to a Guiness Book of World Records, this area has the largest penetration of telephones in the world, with 1065 telephones per 1000 people. Based on that figure, there are probably four million telephone lines running from the telephone company switches to individual houses, apartments and office buildings. Some of these "lines" are fiber optic carrying hundreds or thousands of simultaneous connections, but at the end point of someone's office or house the phone itself requires a pair of wires per line. To servce all these people would imply the phone company would have to have four million circuits available. Not so! For one thing, the cost would be too high. Second, not everyone uses the phone all of the time. Check any public area with banks of pay telephones and watch for a few minutes. Out of an area that might have ten phones, perhaps two or three are in use at any one time except for sporadic incidents when many of the phones are in use. So the phone company can use the same idea. In an area of four million telephone lines, perhaps 25% of these lines will be in use simultaneously (the actual number is probably more like 10%, but I want to make this simple), so for the four million telephone lines, there are perhaps only one million actual "circuits" or "trunks". The actual, physical means by which a connection can be made is called a "trunk". Another example: I decide to start a service where people can send a signal and a message to someone, e.g. a radiopaging service where someone calls a telephone number, waits for the beep and sends the telephone number to which the party being paged should call back. Let's say I figure I can sell 10,000 people service and assign each one of them a specific individual telephone number with which to page them. But I don't need 10,000 calling circuits; not everyone is going to be paged simultaneously; and besides that, I couldn't afford it. So instead, let's say I figure that I might receive 100 simultaneous pages. I tell the telephone company to supply me with 100 incoming "trunk" lines, and with "DID" service where they assign me a whole block of numbers, and when someone calls one of the numbers they have assigned me, the phone company will send me the four-digit number that was dialed on one of the trunks that are in use. As long as no more than 100 people try to page one of my customers, all of the pages will get through. So while to someone outside, they would see that I have 10,000 telephone "numbers", I am only using 100 "trunks". The same thing applies in an office: Let's say there are 300 people working in a medium sized company. The company can purchase 300 (or more) telephone "numbers" but only install 40 actual physical telephone "trunks" for incoming or outgoing calls. Each phone has a line running to the wire cabinet, and can make calls inside the office by dialing a three digit number. Only 40 people, however, could make (or receive) calls from outside of the office. You have "300 phone lines" inside the building, but only "40 trunks" coming from the outside. And that's the main difference between a "line" and a "trunk". Paul Robinson -- TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM ------------------------------ Subject: Call-Forwarding Versus Hunting: Solved From: toad@cellar.org Date: Sat, 29 May 93 23:34:22 EDT Organization: The Cellar BBS and public access system Exactly a week ago I posted a frantic note to comp.dcom.telecom through PAT asking for help in getting my public access system lines forwarded without losing its necessary hunting capabilities. I'm happy to say that the problem has now been solved, thanks in part to a c.d.t reader who had similar problems. After my first posting, PAT suggested that I try putting call forward, busy-no answer on the first set of lines, and removing the hunting from the lines. His explanation made sense, but it didn't work, due to a hitch. There's apparently a register at the switch (5ESS) called "group size" that regulates how many paths can happen out of one particular number. For me, that register was set to 1. Several people on c.d.t as well as two people who live in my area pointed out that they have had multiple calls forward through one number. It appears that the default group size is different in different places. As the story goes, when I told my telco to try putting call forward on busy + no answer on the line, they mis-programmed my first line, and sent all my callers to "answer call"! BBS callers found themselves bounced into a voice-mail system. And my rep then took a day off, and repair decided they couldn't make the change ... it was a terrible few days. By then the sympathetic reader had informed me about group size. My telco rep KNEW about group size, and knew that it would fix the problem. However, he explained that group size was not a tariff item in our state, and he wasn't sure whether he was even allowed to make the change for me. I pointed out that if we couldn't get something to work, I would be forced to disconnect my seven lines and move the system back to its original location, and that telco had sent an estimated 300 modem callers into voice-mail-land over the last few days. The rep had a pow-wow with the powers that be, and decided to make the change for me anyway! Now everything works perfectly, and I can even disconnect all but the first line at the original location. So: many thanks to PAT and to c.d.t for all your help! This is a wonderful newsgroup and I hope I can return it a favor sometime over the coming years. Tony Shepps toad@cellar.org The Cellar: Public access and thoughtful conversation: STILL at 215 539 3043 {Moderator's Note: I am glad readers here were able to be of help! PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: New Rockwell V.32bis From: uttsbbs!laurence.chiu@PacBell.COM (Laurence Chiu) Date: 29 May 93 18:49:00 GMT Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591 Reply-To: uttsbbs!laurence.chiu@PacBell.COM (Laurence Chiu) In a article, Mike Oswald had the following to say about New Rockwell V.32bis: > alex@grian.cps.altadena.ca.us writes: > > ..."additional bonus of optional 16550 UART with FIFO..." > > About bleedin' time. It's not rocket science, but having just a teeny > > few characters worth of buffering under Windows will sure as heck help > > on total through put. >Where would I need to make changes in Windows if I have 9600 v.32/v.42 >external modem and I was wondering about how to help my COMM programs >performance? Just change the settings on your comm program and perhaps, make changes in the Port settings in control panel. Windows usually will recognize a 16550A UART and so you don't need to do anything special. There is a setting in system.ini COMxFIFO (I think) = 1 or 0 (check your manuals) but I am sure you don't need to set if usually since the default is on. Laurence Chiu Walnut Creek,CA The Transfer Station BBS (510) 837-4610 & 837-5591 (V.32bis both lines) Danville, California, USA. 400+ MB Files & FREE public Internet Access ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 May 93 11:13:53 EST From: Warne, John <19064001%SBAC@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu> Organization: School Board of Alachua County, FL. Subject: "Stuffing" the CLASS In the TELECOM Digest Volume 13 : Issue 359, Jeff Garber <0005075968@mcimail.com> said, in part: > ... asked if I could have the number that gets sent through SS7 on > line two changed to line one's number, as this would solve my > problem. I face a similar problem with Southern Bell. Our school system has a number of "private" lines assigned to Board Members, the Superintendent, and Principals at school sites. All the individuals have published numbers, and my request to the SB team is to "stuff" the published number into the Caller ID information, thereby protecting the private number while still allowing called individuals to use all the CLASS services. The answer so far from the local SB group is "not on a DMS-100." I will be raising the issue at a DMS-100 Centrex Users Group meeting in July. Perhaps somebody else "out there" has had better results. John Warne Voice: 904-336-3522 FAX: 904-336-3744 Telecommunications Manager I-Net: 19064001%sbac@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu School Board of Alachua County CIS: 76424,2220 Fred C. Sivia, Jr. Support Center 3700-B NE 53RD Avenue Gainesville, Florida 32609 ------------------------------ From: arobson@uswnvg.com (Andrew Robson) Subject: I Recommend Reading Snow Crash Date: 29 May 93 20:49:56 GMT Organization: U S WEST NewVector Group, Inc. I just finished reading _Snow Crash_, a current bestselling paperback science fiction novel. It has a lot in it that I think will be of interest to the readers of comp.dcom.telecom. The novel is written in the cyberpunk genre, but with a humorous twist. The book follows the action science fiction idiom with fight scenes, super weapons, and a villan attempting world conquest. I noticed a lot of insider jokes for the communications industry. The villan bears a remarkable resemblance to Craig McCaw. The architecture of the world wide communications network used as the setting for much of the story is remarkably realistic. The services range from seamless cellular coverage (with the lack of coverage in deep ocean significant to the plot) to a data network with a virtual reality access metaphor that might be worth implementing. Because the hero (Hiro Protagonist) was one of the implementors, the author gets a chance to describe a lot of the technical detail that supports the setting. The background holds together remarkably well for science fiction story technology. I was reminded of DelRay's story "Nerves" from the 1940's which got him some static from the Feds. I also wondered whether some future patent applications might not go the way of the waterbed. Definitly recommended reading! Andy (N6VRP) arobson@uswnvg.com | Contents are personal opinion only ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #360 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa24651; 31 May 93 1:11 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA27976 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Sun, 30 May 1993 22:45:14 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA06414 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Sun, 30 May 1993 22:44:32 -0500 Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 22:44:32 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305310344.AA06414@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #361 TELECOM Digest Sun, 30 May 93 22:44:30 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 361 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Prices in Hong Kong (Brad Collins) Another Tibetian Report (The Tibetian Traveller) International Cell Roaming (Laurence Chiu) Glazit Telephone Refinisher (Vantz Morgan) Orange Card Opinions Wanted! (Morgoth the Mad) Telecottage'93 International Symposium - Australia (Kathy Kothmann) Dialing Change in Minnesota (John Sullivan) Friend Needs Advice on Harrassing Caller (Juan Osuna) CPSR Seeks Clipper Docs (Dave Banisar) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: brad@mach.attmail.com Date: 30 May 93 12:54:35 GMT Subject: Prices in Hong Kong > I am interested in how other countries do the billing. I know that > Mexico does something similar to the U.S. system. The exception is > roamers. If a roamer comes into your current region and your carrier > recognizes this and directs the call to the roamer without going out > of region, the call is local. In the U.S., normally all billing to > the originating party is based on the number dialed and not on the > location of the terminating party. I believe that Norway uses the > same scheme that New Zealand does. Anyone know the rules in other > countries? In Hong Kong -- everything is a local "free" call. However, mobile phones are different -- charges are by the minute, both for sending and recieving. I own a Nokia Handyman 100 (which I can't afford to use at the moment) which I would usually use when not in the office. I would forward the calls from my office to the Nokia for which I was charged. Then, if I was home or at someone's flat, I would then forward the call to the phone there and there was no charge to my account. For six months we had a secretary who worked out of her home most of the time because she couldn't leave her children. The phone from the office would be forwarded to my mobile telephone and then I would forward it to her flat. Then if she had to step out, she would page me and I would turn off the forwarding. One time, we had the phone forwarded from the office to my mobile, then to my partner's office who forwarded the call to her mobile and then forwarded it to her home! There are only two companies that offer mobile phone services in Hong Kong, the biggest being Hutchinson. They offer three plans: Plan A US$25.5/month then 64 cents a minute Plan B US$$73.70/month for the first 100 minutes then 25 cents a minute Plan B US$185.80/month for the first 600 minutes then 25 cents a minute Prices have gone up almost a third in the last year and a half. Prices are the same for both companies, along with the paging companies -- controlled by the Hong Kong Paging Association -- who meet twice a year to set prices and punish members who do not comply with the group. I have worked for a company who tried to offer a lower price for a promotion. The Association noticed the newspaper ad and demanded that they comply less than six hours after the ad hit the streets. Note: mobile phones (along with Rolex watches) are the ultimate status symbol in Hong Kong. With the pricey Motorola models having the highest status and everything else falls below. I remember being taken to a Karaoke bar about two years ago which was controlled by Hong Kong Triads (Chinese Mafia). A man, who I later learned was the head of a major crime syndicate came up to me and asked me about my phone, commenting on how small and attractive it was. He then pointed to his table where an enormous old Motorola model was standing like a book end, saying "I have a mobile, but it's a big one ..." Brad Collins brad@mach.attmail.com Hong Kong ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 01:38 EST From: The Tibetian Traveller Subject: Another Tibetian report Tibetian Telecom Tabloid Dateline: Changdu May 2, 1993 I still do not have a modem yet. However, since I do have a laptop, I thought I would type up another report from Tibet to keep from going crazy from the boredom. First topic is Chinese phone books. I managed to get a close look at one in Changchun. The length and width are about the same size as a US phone book. It had about 500 pages that were divided into three columns with about 15 names in each column. For those of you who are bad at math, that comes to 22,500 listings for a city with a population of over 1.5 million people. In addition to the listings, there were about 20 pages of colored advertisements on glossy paper. Since I can not read Chinese, I can not tell you what the advertisements were for. I finally managed to get an answer to a question that has been puzzling me since I first arrived in China. Sine the Chinese use complicated system of ideograms instead of an alphabet, I had wondered what order the names were listed and how someone found the listing they wanted. The Changchun phone book does not contain residential listings. If you want to call someone's home, they must give you their phone number. (That's one solution for those of you who hate telemarketing calls. However, it does have some obvious drawbacks.) All the listings in the Changchun phone book were businesses or government agencies. In the front of the phone book was a one page index that divided the city into areas. The section for each area had ten to twenty pages. Each section was further broken down into types of businesses or agencies (similar to our yellow pages). Each of these sections had anywere from ten to fifty listings. The process for looking up a number is as follows: First, you find the section for the area of the city that the business is located. What you do if you do not know this information is beyond me.) Then you turn to the beginning of that section and start to leaf through the section till you find the business catagory that is the same as the company you are looking for. Then you start to scan through the listings till you find the particular company that you want to call. (Does anyone know how Hong Kong, Japan, and other Asian countries have solved the listing problem?) I also got to see the "phone book" for Changdu, population 20,000 to 30,000. It looked like the little instruction book that came with my ansering machine back in the States. It was 2" X 3 1/2" and had about 27 pages. Each page was divided into two columns with ten names in each column. There also appeared to be subdivisions in this phone book although there were no advertisements or index in the front. (With only 27 pages, who needs an index?) Another interesting fact about this phone book was that my hotel room was listed in it. (Room 205's phone number is 21205). Not every room in this hotel has a phone in it. Only the Deluxe rooms come equipped with phones. (BTW, the room costs $8 a night for Chinese citizens, everyone else has to pay $16.) The hotel does not have its own switchboard. All calls are directly routed through the city's switchboard. And, of course, there is no DDD or IDD access. So theoretically, someone can directly call my room. I said theoret- ically because I had also found out that there is a problem with the local cabling and calls will not get through to my phone. I never saw a "phone book" for Mangkang. However, judging from the operator board that I described in my last posting, I would guess that it would fit on an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper. Next on the agenda is a description of the Changdu operator boards. In the operator's room, there were two operator's consoles. Each console is about eight feet across with positions for two operators. Each operator position has eight pairs of plugs with cords. The front plug is red while the back plug is black. Associated with each plug pair are two switchs. A white, two-position switch and a larger black three-position switch. In the center of the board, located between the two positions are LEDs for a digital display. There are two lights, red and yellow, assosicated with each plug pair. Also located to the left of each operator position is the normal 12 position keypad. To the right of the plugs are six more black switches. The white switch is supposed to time the call and display the length of the call on the digital display. They did not have this feature enabled so I can not describe the operation. The black switch associated with each plug pair had three positions: one was for the operator to talk to the connected party, one was for the operator to listen to the conversation on her headset, and the third was the neutral position. The red light blinks when a call is terminated. I do not know what the function of the yellow one is. Of the other six switches: one controlled whether the operator was connected to the front or back plug (this also controlled which plug the dialed digits were sent to), another sent an on-hook signal down the line (again two positions for the front plug or back plug), another sent a ringing signal down the line (again, forward or backward), and I forgot the function of the other three switches. Situated above the switches was an array of jacks (most of them unused and unlabled). On the far right, were five labled "113", which is the special number that you dial anywhere in China to get a long distance operator. Above them were two jacks labled "174". I do not know the significance of this number, but I do know that they were connected to our equipment which was located at an earth station three km away. To the the right of these were six rows of jacks. Some were labled 1 thru 20, while others were labled 1 thru 15. One row is the local lines which the operator uses to call local phones. Another row was the trunk lines to Lhasa (I think this ran over some old PCM equipment.) I do not know where the other trunks went to. And to the right of these jackfield was another jackfield that is labled "114", which is the special number for local information. As I had previously said, there are two consoles. And each console has two operator postions. However, only one was functional. The second console has no modules in it and all the jack fields are unlabled. On the other, the jackfields that I described stretch across both operator postitions. During the day, both positions are manned and the operators will have their plugs strecthed across the entire board and entwinned with each other. Fortunately, I never saw more than five calls in progess at the same time. Although I did see an operator once pull the wrong plug. Apperently, that did not cause any major concern since the people here are used to bad connections and if a call goes dead, they just call back. While I was watching the board in operation, I got to ask another question that has been troubling me. China's signalling protocal does not support ANI. As a matter of fact, all the equipment in Tibet is configured for dial pulse only, and the operator console does not identify the calling number. How do they handle billing? When a person wants to make a long distance call, they dial 113 which lights a little light above the jack. And if the ringing circuit is enabled, sets of a ring generator that is so loud that it will wake the dead, which is a good thing. The night operator pulls a 16 hour shift and has a bed next to the console where she can sleep during the late hours when nobody is using the the phone system.) The operator puts the plug into the lighted jack, flips the switch to connect it to the headset, and asks for all the necessary information: where they are calling, the number they want to call, and the number they are calling from. She writes this information on a slip of paper. She then hangs up the call, and calls the operator in the desired city, and gives her the information. The operator in the distant city than connects to the called party. When the distant connection is made, the local operator takes the second plug and connects it into a jack for the local line and calls back the original party. At this point, she disconnects the call from her headset and records the time from the clock on the wall on the same slip of paper. When the call is terminated, the red light blinks and she again records the time on the slip of paper. Then she calls back the calling party and verifies the length of the call. (Obviously, you should also time the call since you could end up paying for a longer call than you actually made if the operator isn't paying attention to her board.) And, best of all, I got to operate the board. I obviously did not talk to any subscribers because I do not speak Chinese or Tibetian. (BTW all the operators speak both languages.) The only way for me to call the States from this city was to use our equipment to connect to a switch in Beijing and dial the number as if I was dialing it from Beijing. Because it required an unorthodox numbering scheme, it was easier for me to make the call myself than try to explain to a non-English speaking operator what I wanted. For those interested, here is a list of the special three digit numbers used in China: 110-police, 119-fire, 112-used to report telephone problems, 113-LD operator, 114-local information, 116-LD information. Garnet email: gharris@lando.hns.com ------------------------------ Subject: International Cell Roaming From: uttsbbs!laurence.chiu@PacBell.COM (Laurence Chiu) Date: 30 May 93 18:49:00 GMT Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591 Reply-To: uttsbbs!laurence.chiu@PacBell.COM (Laurence Chiu) I just signed up for cellular service in the Bay Area with GTE Mobilnet. Also bought one their phones which was highly recommended by a friend who sells phones, a Nokia 121. Anyway I made inquiries about international roaming and discovered that they have a number of agreements in place with countries who have compatible systems. I was interested in New Zealand since I come from there and would likely visit regulularly. I can arrange to have roaming setup in 5 days with my local GTE Mobilnet office. The rates are not too bad considering. I will be assigned a temporary local number and it will cost me US$1.56 roaming charge and US$1.04 (approx) per minute outgoing call charge in New Zealand. However this is useful, there is no charge for receiving calls from anywhere. Since one of the points of roaming is to be able to be contactable from anywhere, the $1.56 roaming charge is very good value. Laurence Chiu Walnut Creek, CA The Transfer Station BBS (510) 837-4610 & 837-5591 (V.32bis both lines) Danville, California, USA. 400+ MB Files & FREE public Internet Access ------------------------------ From: vmorgan@gnu.ai.mit.edu Subject: Glazit Telephone Refinisher Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 02:58:00 -0500 (EDT) Stan Hall writes: > Now its time for me to talk about my favorite phone in the house. Of > course it is black rotary W/E. > What it could use is a little bit of buffing up. It surface it > covered in light scratches that looks like someone took some steel > wool after it. Does anyone what would be the best thing to buff the > scratches out with? Arrow-Magnolia offers a product called "Glazit Telephone Refinisher" for cleaning and renewing the appearance of plastic telephone housings. As listed on the side of the aerosol can, "Glazit" contains: ligroine, propane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, butane, and c8-c9 isoparaffin. Arrow-Magnolia Intl. "Glazit Telephone Refinisher" 2646 Rodney Ln. [re-order code# M-115] Dallas, TX 75229 (800) 527-2101 (214) 247-7111 Hope this helps, vantz ------------------------------ From: nsmca@acad3.alaska.edu (Morgoth the Mad) Subject: Orange Card Opinions Wanted! Organization: University of Alaska Fairbanks Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 08:42:43 GMT I am looking for info on the 'Orange Card'. I got the information from the company; I am just looking for people who have experience with it and its good and bad sides. Quyanna for any information. [Moderator's Note: The Orange Card is one of several programs here which support this Digest financially. The Orange Card is a no-surcharge, 25 cent-per-minute calling card which is particulary useful when calling from hotel rooms or payphones where a surcharge would normally be levied by the calling card provider. Although there are savings at other times, the biggest savings come from short duration (two or three minute) calls made weekdays during business hours. It is a new program which began in January, 1993. Billing is done in six second increments after the initial thirty second period. You use it like any calling card, by dialing an 800 number, then inserting the card number, the number you are calling, and the PIN. One reader has pointed out the Orange Card switch does not handle data calls very well. There is a one time $12.00 fee to establish your account. If you did not previously receive an application (or card) when I first mentioned this product back in February, please write me for your application and brochure today. Include a mailing address where it can be sent: ptownson@eecs.nwu.edu. Experiences from users are wanted here for further discussion. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 10:00:22 -0500 From: Kathy Kothmann Subject: Telecottage '93 International Symposium - Australia ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: 21 May 93 06:49:09 EDT From: MACKENZIE INFORMATION <100032.1076@compuserve.com> Subject: TELECOTTAGE'93 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM - AUSTRALIA 20 May 193 TO: All Interested People FROM: Roger MacKenzie Internet 100032.1076@Compuserve.com ADVANCE CONFERENCE NOTICE TELECOTTAGE '93 (29 November -- 1 December 1993) International Symposium "Telecottages, Teleworking, Telelearning: Road to Rural Revival" Telecottage '93 will be the first Telecottage symposium to be held in Australia and will be a land mark event. World leaders in telecottages. Teleworking and telelearning will present their latest findings on the potential benefits for rural communities in developed and developing nations. Telecottages are multipurpose work and learning centres established by rural and remote communities to provide: *Distance working opportunities *Services to the local community *Access to distance education *Aid to rural revitalization *Local training *Reduced social isolation KEY NOTE SPEAKERS (other speakers to be confirmed) Gil Gordon - U.S.A. - Telecommuting Authority . Wendy Spinks - Japan - Telecommuting Authority . Lars Engvall - International Telecottage Authority . - President International Association of Community Tele-Service Centres (CTSC). Lars Qvortrup - Denmark - Telecottage Authority. WHEN: 29 November -- 1 December 1993 WHERE: Pan Pacific Hotel, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia (Summer, beautiful beaches) SPONSORS: Telecom Australia. Telecentre Program, Department of Primary Industries and Energy, Canberra Australia. The Office of Rural Communities, Administrative Services Department, Queensland Australia. IN CONJUNCTION WITH: International Association of Community Tele-Service Centres (CTSC) CONTACT: Conference Administrator: Winkler Marketing Services Pty Ltd, P.O. Box 889, Kenmore, Queensland, 4069, Australia. Telephone + 61-7-878-3358 Fax + 61-7-878-2689 ATTENDING: I am planning to attend and look forward to meeting you at the symposium. Information supplied by: Roger MacKenzie P.O. Box 46 Warkworth New Zealand Internet 100032.1076@Compuserve.com Fax: 64-9-425-8517 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 May 93 13:46:31 CDT From: sullivan@geom.umn.edu Subject: Dialing Change in Minnesota Right now, Minnesota has three area codes (split into five calling areas). Toll calls within an area code (whether intra- or inter-LATA) are dialled with 1-nxx-xxxx. (Since the Twin Cities have a very large local calling area, I'm not sure I've ever made such a call in my three years here, but that's how I'd have to do it.) Since 612 (the area code for the Twin Cities) is getting crowded, so they've just proposed switching to 1-NPA-nxx-xxxx dialing for all toll calls within Minnesota, so that n1x and n0x exchanges could be created in 612. This change will probably happen in late 1994. There is also discussion of shrinking the boundaries of 612. John Sullivan@geom.umn.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 May 93 10:56:38 -0400 From: josuna@cs.UMD.EDU (Juan Osuna) Subject: Friend Needs Advice on Harrassing Caller I have a friend who is getting spooked by someone who calls her everyday at the same time, saying nothing and then just hanging up. This has happened over 20 times. What does the law say about just calling and hanging up? Is that harassment? Also, what are the telco's obligations for tracing calls? Assuming the call is long distance or that Caller-ID or Call-Trace has been blocked, how does one go about getting a trace for legal purposes? Juan [Moderator's Note: I assume your friend has a Caller-ID box and know for a fact the ID is being blocked? If not, try Caller-ID and see what you get. Another good tool is 'return last call', sometimes known as 'auto callback'. This will frequently work even though the ID is being blocked. Whenever your friend receives a call, she could promptly return the call in the same manner; wait until the caller answers then hang up. A time or two of this might spook the caller out and get the annoyance stopped. Telco has the obligation to see to it your friend enjoys unhindered use of the phone; something that is not possible when calls from the slimeball have to be answered all the time. Most telcos require that the subscriber notify the police, file a police report -- an official complaint -- before they will act, but they will cooperate with the police at that point in trapping the caller so your friend can prosecute. PAT] ------------------------------ Organization: CPSR Civil Liberties and Computing Project From: Dave Banisar Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 14:30:44 EST Subject: CPSR Seeks Clipper Docs PRESS RELEASE May 28, 1993 CPSR Seeks Clipper Documents - Brings Suit Against NSA and National Security Council Washington, DC -- Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility filed suit today in federal district court seeking information about the government's controversial new cryptography proposal. The "Clipper" proposal, announced by the White House at an April 16 press conference, is based on a technology developed by the National Security Agency that would allow the government to intercept computer encoded information. Law enforcement agencies say that capability this is necessary to protect court ordered wire surveill- ance. But industry groups and civil liberties organizations have raised questions about the proposal. They cite the risk of abuse, the potential loss in security and privacy, costs to US firms and consumers, and the difficulties enforcing the policy. Marc Rotenberg, CPSR Washington office director, said "The Clipper plan was developed behind a veil of secrecy. It is not enough for the White House to hold a few press conferences. We need to know why the standard was developed, what alternatives were considered, and what the impact will be on privacy." "As the proposal currently stands, Clipper looks a lot like 'desktop surveillance,'" added Rotenberg. David Sobel, CPSR Legal Counsel, said "CPSR is continuing its oversight of federal cryptography policy. These decisions are too important to made in secret, without public review by all interested parties." In previous FOIA suits, CPSR obtained records from the General Services Administration questioning the FBI's digital telephony plan, a legislative proposal to require that communications companies design wiretap capability. More recently, CPSR obtained records through the FOIA revealing the involvement of the National Security Agency in the development of unclassified technical standards in violation of federal law. CPSR is a national membership organization, based in Palo Alto, CA. Membership is open to the public. For more information about CPSR, contact CPSR, P.O. Box 717, Palo Alto, CA 9403, 415/322-3778 (tel), 415/322-3798 (fax), cpsr@cpsr.org ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #361 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa29456; 31 May 93 11:29 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA00964 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 31 May 1993 09:08:08 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA22315 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 31 May 1993 09:07:35 -0500 Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 09:07:35 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305311407.AA22315@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #362 TELECOM Digest Mon, 31 May 93 09:07:30 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 362 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson 900MHZ Digital Cordless Phone Summary (jgy@hrojr.att.com) U.S. National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (Nigel Allen) Modest PBX Wanted, New or Used (Jeff Miller) Call Alert (Stutter Tone Detector) - Discontinued (Michael D. Sullivan) ANti-Solicitor Pointer (Stephen Tihor) Remote Monitoring Information Wanted (Delavar K. Khomarlou) Bell Canada Adopts International Card Numbering (David Leibold) Bell Canada and Directory Assistance Charging Plans (David Leibold) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 30 May 93 13:58:29 EDT From: jgy@hrojr.att.com Subject: 900MHZ Digital Cordless Phone Summary Organization: AT&T On May 10th I posted a request for info on 900Mhz digital cordless phones. First of all thanks to everyone who responded. If you did respond with information and you don't see it below it's because I didn't receive it! I've left out comments directed at the Panasonic KXT-9000 which is 900mhz but is not digital. I'm including my post (with leading #'s)since it had some starting info. For each phone I'm including the relevant responses: # Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom # Subject: 900Mhz Cordless Phones # Message-ID: # Organization: AT&T # X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 13, Issue 316, Message 13 of 15 # I'd like to put together a summary of 900Mhz cordless phones unless # someone already has one! If people could email me everything they # know about any 900Mhz model, I'll put it together and post it back # here. Lets stick to models which are digital base <-> handset, this # eliminates the Panasonic which seems to be failing anyway (It's # already at Damark.) Here's what I know already (most comments are # based on previous c.d.t readings): # AT&T 9530: # Supposed to be available late spring, local phone store says # they should have it soon. Claims four times the range of regular # cordless phones. Also claims "virtually interference-free # conversations with consistent sound quality up to one mile # from the base" are these statements consistent with each other?? # Spread spectrum and auto frequency-hopping for clarity and # security. # List price $449. jgy> Went to a AT&T phone store today they now say October. 800-222- jgy> 3111 still has "late spring" in their notes. # Cincinnati Microwave: # Last August announced a 900Mhz phone, with "spread spectrum" # technology. Said it would be available in October for about $300. # A call to Cincinnati Microwave says it not out yet.. "later this # month" (sound like it was canned to me!). Reported list ~$300 > From att!attmail!lesreeves Tue May 11 18:39:51 GMT 1993 > Cincinnati Microwave, Inc. has announced the Escort 9000, a cordless > phone with a range of up to half a mile that will be available in June 93. > The phone will be sold direct for $399 from Cincinnati Microwave, > 800 543 1608 jgy> They are now taking orders for this phone, they are expecting jgy> stock at the end of June but have no literature on the product. # Cobra Intenna 900: # Heard of it for the first time in Jeff Freemans post the other # day, he reports it uses "spread spectrum" technology. jgy> Had ZERO feedback on this phone (Jeff??). # Vtech (Tropez) 900DX # This is, I think, their first 900Mhz model. Keypad on base as # well as handset. Comments I read were: "good range", "some holes # in coverage", "handset audio volume on the low side". Overall # seemed pretty good. ~$269 mail order. jgy> Had the bulk of responses: > From: Everett Fred Basham > Date: Wed, 12 May 93 12:27:15 PDT > I've had 2 v-tech 900's - one of the first, and a more recent production > model. > The first ones definitely had a problem with handset volume. You would > crank it all the way up, and still have to strain to hear the landine > party. Also - if you didn't speek directly into the mike - people would > have trouble hearing you. > The new ones have "corrected" the problem - only thing is now you hear > the noise. I guess that's why the volume was so low before - you wouldn't > hear any noise on the line. > Also - the voice quality is significantly lower than a landline phone or > the AT&T 46/49 cordless units. Range is great, however. > Lastly - the Tropez can be modified (unknown legal ramifications of doing > so) to use an external antenna. Diamond makes a 900MHz HAM antenna which > happens to work fine on the tropez. Range is easily quadrupled over factory > antenna. (the diamond is 8' long -- 8 feet - not 8 inches!) The modifi- > cation involves removing the factory "stubby" antenna and installing > a SMA feedthrough in the hole formerly occupied by the antenna. This is > then fed to the outdoor diamond antenna with 1/2" heliax for low loss. > Let me know if you hear anything more about the AT&T 900 cordless! I'm in > need of the following: > Cordless Phone - must have: > 1) 900 MHz > 2) 1 Mile range > 3) At least 2 lines - pref. 5 > 4) Digital transmission > 5) Encryption > 6) A reasonable battery life (Tropez is about 24 hours) > 7) Remote charging stand for handset --------------------------------- > From: obrien@aero.org > My experience with this phone was not good. The audio from the handset > to the base was too highly compressed - had too low a bandwidth. All the > highs and lows were cut off, leading to a somewhat "muffled" sound. My > girlfriend, who has a slight hearing deficit, had problems understanding > me when I used this phone, though she had no problems when I used my > regular "wireline" phone. Two Tropez units showed the exact same problem. > One poster, who sells phones on the side, said he was shocked at how cheap > the microphone was that this unit uses in the handset, and that as a result > he no longer sells it except by special order. Another poster claimed the > problem was due to the narrow bandwidth of the radio signal used, though > this does not explain why the received audio in the handset remains good. > I returned both phones. Though the Panasonic isn't digital, it does > have excellent audio - much better than the Tropez. My girlfriend had > no trouble understanding me on that one, either. -------------------- jgy> Dave sent me this post he'd made from ONE YEAR ago: > From: dlr@daver.bungi.com (Dave Rand) > Date: Sat, 9 May 1992 08:37:39 PDT > Subject: Tropez 900DX 900 Mhz Phone Review > Well, I've had my phone for several days now, so here is an update > on it. > The 900DX is one of the first of the new breed of 900 Mhz cordless > telephones. It uses 20 channels from 925.5 to 927.4 Mhz (handset to > base), and 20 channels from 905.6 to 907.5 Mhz (base to handset). > They do not list a power level, but simply state that it uses the > "maximum power allowed by FCC". The signal path is fully digital from > base to handset, and handset to base. This prevents casual > evesdropping from people with scanners, but will not provide high > security. The signal, when tuned in on a scanner, sounds like a dead > carrier, with the occasional 'pop' or two. Nothing even resembling > voice is present. The weight of the handset is 335 grams, and is 19.5 > cm x 5.8 cm x 3.5 cm, excluding the short antenna. > Range is extrordinary. They claim 2600 feet, on level ground. I was > able to use the phone for almost a 1.5 block radius around my house, > in a typical suburban environment. Because the signal is digital, > there appears to be a go/no go type of response. When you are on the > edge of the coverage area, there is a slight 'popping' sound, as the > signal comes in and out, but no static at all. When you have moved out > of range, the handset is silent, except for a 10-30 second 'beep' tone > to let you know that you are out of range. Noise is non-existant, even > in the harmonic-rich environment of my computer room, where my 46/49 > Mhz Sony unit is almost unusable. > The base unit comes with a hands-free option, and a separate keypad so > that it may be used even if the handset is not present. An intercom > facility is provided, and works well. > Now, for the bad news. The audio quality is best described as > 'acceptable'. True, there is no additional noise. The level of the > received audio is low, even with the four position digital volume > control at maximum. The level of the transmitted audio, however, is > even worse. On international calls, callers were often unable to hear > me, and I was forced to change to either the Sony or a regular wired > phone. There are several artifacts audible to the user, and to the > called party when using the phone, especially when high audio levels > (like ring signals, SIT tones, and touch-tones) are present. I suspect > that it is using an 8-bit A/D, D/A convertor, with (perhaps) some form > of delta compression. Even on local calls, the most often heard phase > when using this phone is "pardon me?". I started to get in the habit > of shouting when using the 900DX! > So far, I have tried three of the 900DX phones. The first one was > significantly worse on the RX audio, but all were not really good > enough. Calls to the 800 number for tech support (800-624-5688) > yielded a good response, but they are not able to adjust the outbound > volume level. Bottom line: The phone is going back to Macy's. > > I really like the idea of a fully digital phone, but the Tropez unit > is just not quite there yet. I'll try the Panasonic unit next -- I've > had good luck with their cellular phones, and answering/fax machines. -------------------- > From: Wayne Sung > One more comment on the Tropez 900DX. If I let the battery run all the way > down in the handset before starting to recharge, the handset will not be able > to reach the base the first time after charging. I think the base must send > the security code only once each time the handset is cradled, and a no-power > handset obviously won't see the code. > I thought the Panasonic had better sound than the Tropez, but it also had > much less range and was more expensive. On continuous signals (e.g. ringing > or whistling) you can head the Tropez click. > I just wish there was a digital connection on the Tropez, i.e. use the > intercom function as a digital wireless modem. # Vtech (Tropez) 900DL # A newer model, I don't think this has the keypad/speakerphone on # the base unit. About $40 cheaper than the DX. Jeff Freeman, the # other day, claimed digital encryption between handset and base. # # # Thanks in advance! jgy> Nothing on this either (Jeff??)! ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 May 93 20:19:42 EDT From: ae446@freenet.carleton.ca (Nigel Allen) Subject: U.S. National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee Organization: Echo Beach Reply-To: ae446@freenet.carleton.ca Here is a press release from the White House. I downloaded it from the PR On-Line BBS (Pikesville, MD) at 410-363-0834. I haven't heard of the committee before, but I guess the fact that the White House issued a press release about the appointments indicates that the committee is of some importance. President Clinton Appoints Norman Augustine To Chair National Security Telecommunications Advisory Commission Contact: White House Press Office, 202-456-2100 WASHINGTON, May 27 -- The President announced today that he has appointed Norman R. Augustine as Chair and William T. Esrey as Vice Chair of the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC). Augustine is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Martin Marietta Corporation and has previously served as Vice Chair of NSTAC. Esry is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sprint Corporation. Also named to the NSTAC today were Joseph T. Gorman, the Chairman and CEO of TRW Inc., and Albert F. Zettlemoyer, the President of Paramax Systems Corporation and a Senior Vice President of Unisys Corporation. The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee is a Federal Advisory Committee designed to provide information and advice to the President regarding telecommunications planning. It is composed of up to 30 telecommunications industry executives. Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada ae446@freenet.carleton.ca ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 May 93 19:18:36 -0700 From: cornhead@netcom.com (Jeff Miller) Subject: Modest PBX Wanted, New or Used My housemate has a Panasonic KXT616 PBX he bought here on the net a couple years ago for $250. As I understand it, calls coming in can be routed to any of the outs according to a cofiguration table, or re-routed "after the fact" by a flash/extension sequence. Further, calls can be placed from any of the outs to any other out without passing through the phone company proper. It's tempting to hack together a system like this for my modest needs but this PBX is nice as it has all the proper off-hook recognition, touch-tone stuff, and ring generator stuff. Unfortunately he deosn't want to sell it. So I am looking for an inexpesive PBX or similar cut-rate gizmo with most of the same functionality. As I see it, it must monitor all lines (in and out) for off-hook and flash and for touch-tones, and have a ring generator. His has a NVRAM table for routing info, I don't see that as strictly necessary: hard-coded behavior and touch-tone values is probably fine. I think a 2/4 line set up would cover anything I could think of, and 1/4 or even 1/2 might be fine. So if you have an old PBX or know a manufacturer and model of a modest new one let me know via e-mail as cornhead@netcom.com. It would be nice to get one for around $250, but I could probably get used to the idea of having to pay 2-4X more for something that would fill my needs given some sticker-shock recovery time. cornhead ------------------------------ From: avogadro@well.sf.ca.us (Michael D. Sullivan) Subject: Call Alert (Stutter Tone Detector) - Discontinued Organization: The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, Sausalito, CA Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 19:55:51 -0700 A few weeks ago there was a post about a device called the "Call Alert", which is a light that indicates pending voice mail, which could otherwise be detected only by picking up the handset and hearing "stutter tone" -- interrupted dial tone. I called Hello Direct as suggested in the posting, but they said the item had been discontinued. Is there an alternative available? It would be great to have a light that indicates voice mail. I assume this device would have to sample dial tone periodically when the circuit is on-hook; shouldn't be too complex. Any pointers? Michael D. Sullivan <74160.1134@compuserve.com> mikesullivan@bix.com> ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 13:10:55 -0500 (EST) From: Stephen Tihor Subject: ANti-Solicitor Pointer Since the anti-soliciter information is not a Faq item at the moment could someone drop me the info to pass to a friends abnout the D*MA and the group Private/Public Citizen (?) which is involved in the '$100 for bothering me' small claims deal. Thanks. {A friend getting hit bad and the answers have rolled out of my archives.} ------------------------------ From: Delavar.K.Khomarlou@hydro.on.ca (Delavar K. Khomarlou) Subject: Remote Monitoring Information Wanted Reply-To: Delavar.K.Khomarlou@hydro.on.ca Organization: Ontario Hydro Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 14:08:54 -0400 Our company has been thinking about monitoring activities at sites using existing security cameras (freeze frame) and voice grad phone lines by remotely dialing the camera and getting frames from it and perhaps remotely moving it about its three axis. Dose anyone know of a product which would allow us to use existing technoloy (equipment) for this purpose. I don't monitor this group often , so an email would be best. Thanks in advance. D ------------------------------ Subject: Bell Canada Adopts International Card Numbering From: woody Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 20:40:57 -0400 [from Bell News, 31 May 1993] Our Calling Cards have a new international number. Bell Canada Calling Cards will have a new set of numbers for customers to use when making calls from overseas destinations beginning tomorrow, June 1. A modification to the world-wide numbering standard is being put into place which requires changes to the "1M" number (the smaller number at the bottom of the calling card.) This number will be replaced by the "89" international number. This change will only affect those customers using Bell Calling Cards from overseas destinations. Customers using their Calling Cards in North America will be unaffected. Over the remainder of 1993, Bell will replace the cards of all business customers, as well as those residence customers who have used their cards overseas in the last year. In addition, cards will be replaced for those residence customers who have identified the need for the new card. In addition, effective June 14, a positive manual validation procedure will be introduced on all Bell Calling Cards when they are used to make calls from overseas. Once the number has been manually validated, the international operator will process the call. Because this is a manual validation, customers may experience a short wait. Charges for the call will not begin until the call is connected. The international operator should accept both the current im number as well as the new 89 number until January 1, 1994. At that time only the 89 number will be accepted. {Notes: Calling to overseas from Bell Canada territory can no longer be done through Calling Cards. What is referred to here would have to be calls placed at overseas locations, but billed to cards, assuming Bell doesn't soon decide that this is no longer possible, either. It's also unclear as to whether the international operators refer to their home direct service (ie. call a Bell Canada operator from overseas, rather than use the domestic operator). Of course, some residence customers who go overseas later without the new number may be in for a surprise (recall that the new number will only be issued to those residence customers who used the cards overseas in the last year).} David Leibold djcl@zooid.guild.org dleibold1@attmail.com dleibold@vm1.yorku.ca ------------------------------ Subject: Bell Canada and Directory Assistance Charging Plans From: woody Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 20:44:04 -0400 [from Bell News, 31 May 1993] Directory Assistance decision on the horizon. With more than 200 comments and questions on file, and still more to come, the regulatory proceeding on Bell's plan to charge for local and long distance directory assistance is finally drawing to a close. The last round of public comment will conclude today [31 May], with comments from Bell due June 10, 1993. In a nutshell, Bell proposes to reduce the current charge for numbers listed in the local telephone directory from 60 cents to 50 cents per number. The company also proposes a charge of 50 cents for most types of local and long distance directory assistance, including requests for new or changed numbers. Bell filed the plan because it is losing about $88 million a year providing directory assistance. And this situation is growing worse due to the activities of list-makers and others who request numbers for purposes other than making long distance phone calls. To add to the problem, competition from resellers, and from AT&T/Unitel means callers are using Bell's directory assistance to find a telephone number, then placing the call over another company's facilities. As a result, Bell does not receive any long distance revenue to offset the cost of providing the service. Other telcos on the same path. In this new, competitive environment, Bell is not the only telephone company that wants to revamp its charges for money-losing directory assistance. In fact, six other Stentor owner companies have filed similar plans. Manitoba Telephone System got the go-ahead on portions of its plan -- on an interim basis -- from its provincial regulator on May 3. B.C. Tel, AGT, SaskTel, Manitoba Telephone System, MT&T and Island Tel have all asked for permission to charge for some or most calls to local and long distance directory assistance. While AGT and SaskTel propose a per call charge of 50 cents, the other four telcos have asked for higher charges on certain calls. While all of these companies, including Bell, have requested similar exemptions -- for example, no charge for requests for emergency numbers and calls to DA from payphones and hospitals. However each company does have slightly different proposals for the disabled. Special Needs customers. In its September 11 filing, Bell had asked that customers who were disabled, illiterate, or 65 years and over, receive a free call allowance of 25 calls per month. However, in response to concerns raised by special needs customers, many of whom rely heavily on directory assistance, Bell filed a revision to the plan which would provide them with unlimited free calling to local directory assistance. Calls to long distance directory assistance would cost 50 cents each, as they would for all other customers. A decision from the CRTC on Bell's application is expected sometime this year. If approved, the new charges would reduce the shortfall in directory assistance to $28 million. ---------------- David Leibold djcl@zooid.guild.org dleibold1@attmail.com dleibold@vm1.yorku.ca [Moderator's Note: The reason phone users in the USA began getting charged for calls to long distance directory assistance (typically 60-80 cents per call) was for the same reason: MCI and Sprint, rather than go to the expense of building their own database or partici- oating in the existing one were telling people to call AC-555-1212 for information, then hang up and place their calls over MCI/Sprint. So AT&T -- the old Bell System -- was paying for directory while the new companies were getting the profits from actual calls. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #362 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa07285; 31 May 93 13:42 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA24884 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 31 May 1993 11:23:37 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA16929 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 31 May 1993 11:23:01 -0500 Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 11:23:01 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305311623.AA16929@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #363 TELECOM Digest Mon, 31 May 93 11:23:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 363 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Direct-Dialing Ex-Soviet Republics (Vladimir Menkov) Pager "Codebooks" - Any Nice Ones Out There? (Richard A. Fowell) GSM Frequency Summary (Juha Veijalainen) 5ESS Changes In Our Exchange (David G. Cantor) Request For Help: North American Dialing Plan (Bob Natale) More "Features" For AT&T's 1-800 Service (Bill Bogstad) Frame Relay Documentation Wanted (Tim McSweeney) Cellular Phone Connection to a Notebook Modem (Kenneth White) Transportable Switch Documentation (Paul J. Drongowski) Where Does One Find Used Cell Phones? (J. Eric Townsend) Re: Cellular Charging? (Steven H. Lichter) Re: Cellular Charging? (spenceg@pro-cynosure.cts.com) Re: Amazing $13 Billion Fiber Conversion by US West (Matt McConnell) Re: Amazing $13 Billion Fiber Conversion by US West (Ken Thompson) Re: Talk Tickets - New Debit Cards From AT&T/US Fibercom (Christopher Sims) Re: Voice Mail - DID Trunk? (Steven J. Tucker) Re: 1-800 Owners, What Do They Know? (Rainer Leberle) Re: Caller-ID to Computer RS-232 (Christopher Zguris) Re: Caller-ID Mistakes (Lauren Weinstein) Re: Caller-ID Mistakes (Carl Oppedahl) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 20:45:52 -0500 From: Vladimir Menkov Subject: Direct-Dialing Ex-Soviet Republics Organization: Indiana University Computer Science, Bloomington In article jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu (James R. Saker Jr.) writes: > Speaking of rumors ... has anyone heard if any of the former Soviet > republics (Latvia, Kyrg., etc.) are direct dialable yet? According to > Sprint, AT&T and Worldcom's tariffs, they're listed independently to > allow for billing breakouts, but are still accessed by country-code 7. > Last I heard, Moscow was the only direct-dialable part of the former > USSR. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This is not the case. One can direct-dial telephone numbers in a number of cities in Russia with AT&T or Sprint, including most provincial capitals, such as Cheboksary or Murmansk. I don't have personal experience with other ex-Soviet states, but I suppose that many republics are accessible through 7. AT&T international operators know codes for some cities, and more complete city code listings are available by anon FTP from moose.cs.indiana.edu, directory /pub/phonedir. (Although this doesn't mean that all or even most of cities listed are direct-dialable from the USA or even from within Russia :). Vladimir ------------------------------ From: fowell@netcom.com (Richard A. Fowell) Subject: Pager "Codebooks" - Any Nice Ones Out There? Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 05:03:03 GMT Since most pagers can display more digits (e.g. 20) than a phone number requires, people tend to come up with coding schemes to make use of the additional bandwidth. I'd like to have a nice "codebook" scheme that our folks at work could use to make their pager use more useful. My thought is that, by analyzing what pagers are used for, and what proplems users are faced with, a useful, flexible, general coding scheme could be used to take advantage of that bandwidth. Since hundreds of thousands of pager users are faced with this issue, there are undoubtedly some good solutions already out there. What have you folks seen? (Email to me and I'll summarize and repost soon.) fowell@netcom.com (Richard A. Fowell) ------------------------------ From: FNAHA!JVE@TRENGA.tredydev.unisys.com Date: 31 MAY 93 09:17 Subject: GSM Frequency Summary Thank you for all who responded to my question. In summary: GSM uses 890 - 915 MHz range for mobile to station communication and 935 - 960 MHz for station to mobile. Channel spacing is 200 kHz. Also, I quoted British Vodafone rates at 1.25 USD / minute. I got that figure when I converted the rate first to Finnish marks and then to US Dollars. It might be clearer to quote prices in British pounds: Vodafone charges 0.75 GBP / min. in the London Metropolitan area and 0.70 GBP / min. outside (information from my local GSM operator). Juha Veijalainen 4ge system analyst, tel. +358 0 4528 426 Unisys Finland Internet: JVE%FNAHA@trenga.tredydev.unisys.com >> Mielipiteet omiani ** Opinions are PERSONAL, facts are suspect << ------------------------------ Subject: 5ESS Changes in my Exchange Reply-To: dgc@math.ucla.edu Date: Mon, 31 May 93 09:08:46 -0700 From: David G. Cantor Pacific Bell sent me a letter to tell me that they are installing a 5ESS in my exchange and stating that "This is a change from electronic to digital equipment". They state that it might "affect some of your telephone equipment". What are the changes to the telephone interface that are visible to the user? David G. Cantor University of California Mathematics Department Los Angeles, CA 90024-1555 Internet: dgc@math.ucla.edu ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 13:44:07 -0400 From: natale@acec.com (Bob Natale) Subject: Request For Help: North American Dialing Plan Can you please tell me how to locate info re the revisions to the North American Dialing Plan scheduled for January, 1995? I took a quick look on "telecom-archives", but could not see an obvious pointer. Thanks for your help. Bob Natale American Computer 301-258-9850 [tel] Director 209 Perry Pkwy 301-921-0434 [fax] Network Mgmt Products Gaithersburg MD 20877 natale@acec.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 May 93 15:59:18 EDT From: bogstad@blaze.cs.jhu.edu (Bill Bogstad) Subject: More "Features" For AT&T's 1-800 Service In the May 24th {Information Week} on pg. 20 there is an article discussing new features that AT&T is planning for its 1-800 network. In particular, a call recognition routing feature will allow network managers to automatically route calls based on their ten digit phone number. One of the suggested uses for this system is to automatically route calls from customers who are delinquent in their bill to your collections office. Given the result when American Express used ANI to answer calls with the callers name, I can just imagine what customer reactions to this "feature" will be. Bill Bogstad Computer Science Dept bogstad@cs.jhu.edu Johns Hopkins University [Moderator's Note: This is just a variation on a frequently used application in the AT&T Software Defined Network which allows outgoing calls to be blocked/restricted by passcode, etc as set up by the local administrator. PAT] ------------------------------ From: mcsweene@acs.bu.edu Subject: Frame Relay Documentation Wanted Date: 30 May 93 19:16:55 GMT Organization: Boston University, Boston, MA, USA I'm looking for some technical documentation on frame relay. Can anyone help? Thanks, tim ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 May 93 14:21:56 PDT From: Kenneth White Subject: Cellular Phone Connection to a Notebook Modem Organization: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada Has anyone successfully accomplished this? I read about in the press but would actually like to see it done. I have seen ads from Spectrum. Anyway, I have an Audiovox with a connector on the bottom that allows you to connect to their car mounting kit with an RJ11, but I dont want to use a car kit. Audiovox told me that was the way they do it. What exactly does it take to connect a cellphone to a 2400 baud modem in a notebook? No acoustic couplers please. ------------------------------ From: pjd@scr.siemens.com (dr. funk) Subject: Transportable Switch Documentation Organization: Siemens Corporate Research, Princeton (Plainsboro), NJ, USA Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 13:20:07 GMT For more information on transportable switches, etc., please see "National Transportable Telecommunications Capability," K.B. Bohein and A.D. Dayton, MILCOM '91, IEEE and AFCEA, November 1991, Volume 3, pg. 934-37. "The NTTC is a transportable package consisting of a cellular switch and a base station in a shelter, a microwave radio system, a small telephone switch, and a mobile satellite terminal. This package will operate over a Ku-band domestic satellite back into a gateway station and into the packet switching network." Brought to you by the National Communications System (NCS.) paul j. drongowski N2OQT siemens corporate research inc pjd@scr.siemens.com princeton, new jersey 08540 (609) 734-6547 ------------------------------ From: jet@nas.nasa.gov (J. Eric Townsend) Subject: Where Does One Find Used Cell Phones? Organization: NASA Ames Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 22:43:18 GMT I've decided to possibly take the plunge (and bite from my pocketbook :-) and get a cell phone. Not wanting to get trapped in one of these "to get this price you have to sign with company X" scams, I figured: hey, I'll buy a used phone. There aren't any, best I can tell. So, do people hang on to them? Do they have such a short lifespan after warranty that they become disposable? (Hey, give 'em to me. :-) Do they depreciate so fast that nobody wants to sell theirs? In particular, I'm looking for Oki 8xx or higher series phones -- maybe they're so good that nobody will sell theirs? J. Eric Townsend jet@nas.nasa.gov 415.604.4311 NASA Ames Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation | play: jet@well.sf.ca.us Parallel Systems Support, CM-5 POC | '92 R100R / DoD# 0378 PGP2.1 public key available upon request or finger jet@simeon.nas.nasa.gov [Moderator's Note: I dunno ... the {Chicago Tribune} classifieds have ads from people wanting to sell them all the time. You get what you pay for of course (just like this Digest, people tell me some of the articles are worth every nickle they paid! :)), and if someone is getting rid of a cell phone, they must not like it for some reason. And depending on where you are at -- what city -- whether or not you can get the phone activated without the help of a dealer to whom you will need to pay $$ is questionable. Here in Chicago, neither carrier will turn the phone on just by talking to you. 'Take it to a dealer', is the answer I've always gotten. I know some places this is not true; the carriers are very helpful and friendly. Overall, it still might be a good deal. $30-50 for a used, working phone and another $20-30 to the dealer for his time is not much money, but still, the $50-100 spent in this scenario would have gotten you a very good *new, under warranty* cell phone. Also, with most carriers, you can get minimum service contracts which don't amount to much more than what you would spend 'free lancing' with a used phone you turned on yourself anyway. Check out the ads in the 'electronics' or 'telephone equipment' section of the classified ads in your own Sunday paper. There are some good deals on used cellphones if you read carefully. PAT] ------------------------------ From: co057@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Steven H. Lichter) Subject: Re: Cellular Charging? Date: 31 May 1993 05:24:29 GMT Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA) Another surprise you will find in California is you will get charged for non-completed calls also. I have asked about that and the standard answer is that it costs the same to operate even if the call is not completed and you have a large local calling area where you are only charged air time. I know in Southern California you can cover over a 1/3 of the state without incuring L/D charges, or at least it seems like it. San Diego to Santa Barbara I believe. Steven Lichter GTECalif COEI ------------------------------ From: spenceg@pro-cynosure.cts.com Subject: Re: Cellular Charging? Organization: ProLine [pro-cynosure] Date: Mon, 31 May 93 08:46:05 EDT Current cellular charges in the US are currently a balancing act to provide good service at resonable cost to subscribers. The phone prices are so low right now that the on air charges are the only thing controlling the growth of cellular systems. Most metropolitan area cell companies are building their networks as fast as they can just to stay one step ahead of the subscriber base. If rates were suddenly dropped and everybody signed up the current systems couldn't handle the traffic. You'd get a fast busy signal most of the time when you tried to call. ProLine: spenceg@pro-cynosure Internet: spenceg@pro-cynosure.cts.com UUCP: crash!pro-cynosure!spenceg ------------------------------ From: mccomatt@ba.isu.edu (Matt McConnell) Subject: Re: Amazing $13 Billion Fiber Conversion by US West Date: 30 May 1993 16:09:40 -0600 Organization: Idaho State University, Pocatello In article eeitecs@eeiuc.ericsson.se writes: > probably be rotting in a worm before I could see that here. > Does anyone have more info on this? All I can tell you is that both ATT and US West are installing fiber in SE Idaho ... and US West is upgrading it's switches to handle more digital services in this area. I don't think potato farmers need ISDN but who really can say :). Matt McConnell (v1.12) T6C4L2(s(c)) h(hc) d a++!v w- c y e+ g t(++)(1-10) k++ s-(++) q- [Moderator's Note: Don't make mock of dirt farmers. Unlike my great- great-grandparents who lived near Tulsa, Indian Territory in the last years of the 19th century and could neither read or write with the exception of their names -- which they could not spell very well either, since they told the Federal Magistrate of Indian Territory who married them their last name was spelled with 'son' on the end rather than the more conventional 'send' -- many modern farmers use highly sophisticated computers to handle much of the day to day routine on their farms. For the curious: they had to get married in a hurry, you see ... she was 17, he was 20; her parents hated him; she was pregnant. So in the middle of the night she climbed out her bed- room window on a ladder he put there. They eloped; ran off to Tulsa and got married the next day by the magistrate. The 'son' stuck on all the paperwork since. Today's large farming operations have a lot of paperwork; I could see ISDN being useful. PAT] ------------------------------ From: ken thompson Subject: Re: Amazing $13 Billion Fiber Conversion by US West Date: 31 May 93 14:00:49 GMT Organization: NCR Corporation Wichita, KS eeitecs@eeiuc.ericsson.se (Terence Cross) writes: > network being created by US West. It said that in Feb. a decision had > been made to connect all 13 million subscribers of US West to fiber; > that it would take 26 years, and that cost would be $13 billion. > If not, maybe I should consider moving to US West's turf. I'll I am not paying $1000 to get hooked to US West. Ken Thompson N0ITL Disk Array Hardware Development Peripheral Products Division NCR Corp. an AT&T company 3718 N. Rock Road Wichita,Ks 67226 (316) 636-8783 Ken.Thompson@wichitaks.ncr.com ------------------------------ Date: 30 May 1993 19:18:04 +1000 From: Christopher.Sims@cswamp.apana.org.au (Christopher Sims) Subject: Re: Talk Tickets - New Debit Cards From AT&T/US Fibercom Reply-To: Christopher.Sims@cswamp.apana.org.au Organization: Camelot Swamp bulletin board, Hawthorndene Sth Australia > an international magazine for phone card collectors! Is this the same as the telecom automatic telecard service that is offered in Australia? I'm simply interested as it sounds awfully similiar. Catch you later. Christopher Origin: Camelot Swamp, Hawthorndene, South Australia (8:7000/8) Camelot Swamp BBS, data: +61-8-370-2133 reply to user@cswamp.apana.org.au [Moderator's Note: The prepaid calling cards here in the USA do not swipe in phones; you punch in the serial number plus the number you are calling. The Talk Tickets allow $2 in calls on each ticket for a purchase price of $1.50 each when purchased in lots of ten tickets ($15). For card collecting purposes (as opposed to use) I suggest getting cards that have been used up. Maybe a few USA readers who have bought them from me will send you the remains. To purchase Talk Tickets, send cash/check/money order for $15 to my office with a LONG self- addressed, stamped envelope. Order will be filled immediatly. If you prefer, include an email address instead; I will notify you of the serial number(s) to use and full instructions. PAT] Telecom Digest, 2241 West Howard Street #208, Chicago, IL 60645. ------------------------------ From: dh395@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Steven J Tucker) Subject: Re: Voice Mail - DID Trunk? Date: 31 May 1993 04:26:41 GMT Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA) Reply-To: dh395@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Steven J Tucker) In a previous article, rothen+@pitt.edu (Seth B Rothenberg) says: > I am thinking of creating a small Voicemail system on a PC, but I > would like to be able to have different phone numbers for different > mailboxes. I know that a PBX gets the number dialed from the C.O. > somehow, so that the customer does not need a trunk for each DID > number. Is there anything that can be done with ordinary phone lines? I worked in TAS for about five years w/ a base of about 700 DID's, but we actually only had 25 incoming lines, what happens, when a person calls one of your DID's the CO will set one of your lines high and then signal the DID number by pulse. That way you can have any number of DIDs on one line, but you do have to subscribe for the number itself. Steven J Tucker dh395@cleveland.Freenet.edu P.O.Box 33475 North Royalton, Ohio 44133-0475 North Royalton Cleveland Free-Net ------------------------------ From: rleberle@sparc2.cstp.umkc.edu (Rainer Leberle) Subject: Re: 1-800 Owners, What Do They Know? Date: 31 May 1993 05:16:27 GMT Organization: University of Missouri Kansas City In article hamid@tmt.uni-hannover.de (Reinhard Hamid) writes: > In Germany we have many toll-free numbers (0130 8x xx xx) which belong > to companys in the US. Just for fun I was dialing some of them, and > the operators of some companies told me that they didn't know they can > be reached from here by toll-free. They only knew about their 1-800 > number, and they said that they have no German custumers. BTW, I've been told that it's possible to call a US 800 number from Germany using a MCI phone card. It should be simply calling 0130 00120 to get a MCI operator. Rates are $1.76 for the first and $1.09 for each additional. At least everyone with a major credit card should be able to get a phone card. It's neither direct dial nor free, but if you really need to reach that number ... Rainer Leberle rleberle@sparc2.cstp.umkc.edu University of Kansas City, MO ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 93 07:13 GMT From: Christopher Zguris <0004854540@mcimail.com> Subject: Re: Caller-ID to Computer RS-232 A while ago there was a message asking for help in getting Caller-ID information into a computer. On page 50-60 of the current (July '93) issue of _ELECTRONICS NOW_ magazine there is an ad for a device called a Caller I.D.-Computer Interface. It comes with a TSR "pop up window" software that display the date, time area code and phone number of th caller. The device comes assembled ($59) or in kit form ($42) and the source code for the software is available. The name of the company offering it is International MicroPower, Corp. (Camarillo, CA) telephone (805) 482-2870. I've never purchased anything from them and I have no affiliation with them, so I can't vouch for anything, but I have seen their ad's before so the product has been around. Hope this help's whoever it was that had the problem! Christopher Zguris 0004854540@MCIMail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 May 93 19:08 PDT From: lauren@vortex.com (Lauren Weinstein) Subject: Re: Caller-ID Mistakes A reader asks about CNID errors. The number delivery protocol used for sending the number to the subscriber display units does include an 8 bit checksum. Exactly what any particular box *does* when it seems a checksum error would be implementation specific. However this does not eliminate the problems of people who simply don't read the displays properly or write down the wrong numbers (this is incredibly common), or who dial back the wrong number and scream at the wrong person, or the possibility of other errors in the system. --Lauren-- ------------------------------ From: oppedahl@Panix.Com (Carl Oppedahl) Subject: Re: Caller-ID Mistakes Date: 30 May 1993 20:16:00 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC In 0005066432@mcimail.com (Tansin A. Darcos & Company) writes: [a writer reports ...] > The other evening, I received a number from an upset woman. It > appears that her Caller-ID box told her she had just received a call > from my number. The only call I had made that evening yielded me a > pizza, and the number did not resemble hers. I did not ask her to > described the call, because she seemed upset. But I gather I would > not have wanted to be accused of making it. > Anybody know whether this happens often? Does the Caller-ID report > include an error check? Are all boxes required to verify the check? Suppose a n'er-do-well was atop a nearby telephone pole, using your dial tone to make the call. Or, in an apartment building, suppose someone was elsewhere on your riser, borrowing your dial tone. I have seen bridged pairs in some neighborhoods making one person's dial tone available at places one would not expect. Or, suppose your cordless phone is a crummy kind that lets others borrow your dial tone. In all these cases, your phone number would show up on the distant caller ID box, yet you would not have dialed the call. Carl Oppedahl AA2KW (intellectual property lawyer) 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112-0228 voice 212-408-2578 fax 212-765-2519 ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #363 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa12936; 31 May 93 16:20 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA07091 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 31 May 1993 13:58:05 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA09463 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 31 May 1993 13:57:30 -0500 Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 13:57:30 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305311857.AA09463@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #364 TELECOM Digest Mon, 31 May 93 13:57:30 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 364 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis (Ian Darwin) Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis (Justin Leavens) Re: Cellular Phone Support (Carl Moore) Re: Calling Card Scam (James J. Menth) Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card (Jim Rees) Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (Charles Mattair) Re: Telesharketers (was Re: Blocking) (William R. Hester) Re: Hinsdale Disaster (Michael J. Graven) Re: 800-COLLECT (Jeffrey Jonas) Re: Strange Prefix (David A. Cantor) Re: Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc. (Dale Miller) Re: Want a Good Phone (Herman Silbiger) Re: Singapore Airlines Begins In-Flight Fax Service (Joel Upchurch) Re: Telecom History (Jack Winslade) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: ian@sq.com (Ian Darwin) Subject: Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto, Canada Date: Mon, 31 May 93 14:46:47 GMT >> It appears that Indianapolis is being plagued by an automated >> telephone dialer (possibly a trolling FAX machine or >> cracker)... > Quite probably a fax. > Suggestion from a friend (when I had a similar problem): beg/borrow a > fax machine and set it up overnight. Find out who the faxer is. Have > them removed from the face of the planet. We've been getting junk faxes from some sleazebag organization selling "lucky lottery numbers" hiding behind a 976 (pay per call number), and have not been able to find out the number. Their fax dialer self-identifies as "9" (I determined this by watching the ID LCD window when one of the faxes was rolling in) to foil automated callback, and we don't yet have caller-id on our FAX line. Sigh. So "find out who the faxer is:" yes, but it is not always easy to get the facts from the FAX. ian@sq.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 03:06:18 -0800 From: leavens@bmf.usc.edu (Justin Leavens) Subject: Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis William.K.Kessler writes: >> It appears that Indianapolis is being plagued by an automated >> telephone dialer (possibly a trolling FAX machine or >> cracker). >> I received a call to my home number on April 24th at 3:31 AM. >> The call was some type of machine that beeped at about one >> second intervals. The call was from 317-471-XXXY. J. Eric Townsend (jet@nas.nasa.gov) responded: > Quite probably a fax. > Suggestion from a friend (when I had a similar problem): beg/borrow a > fax machine and set it up overnight. Find out who the faxer is. Have > them removed from the face of the planet. But is this illegal? It's annoying as hell, I know that. We had one trolling campus numbers here for awhile, and I'd get four or five of these calls in a row, and then they would disappear, only to reappear a few days later. I reported it to our telecom office and they confirmed that it was happening all over campus. The problem with your solution is that I would guess that they were only trolling for answering fax machines, not actually trying to send anything. I say this only because nothing ever came out of our fax machine during this period. They were probably looking for numbers to sell lists. From the original message, though, it looks like the poster had caller-ID and had the number available. With that, it seems like they should have been able to do something with that (even if only setting an autodialer to block up *their* number ...) Justin Leavens : Microcomputer Specialist University of Southern California leavens@bmf.usc.edu My opinion is that my opinions are my opinions [Moderator's Note: It is illegal to call another telephone number 'just to see who or what answers on the other end'. Check out the tariffs dealing with annoyance and nuisance calls, and calls intended to harass or frighten people. Check out the part about 'causing the bell on the telephone to ring for no other purpose than ...' etc. Of course, phreaks will never be dissuaded from this behavior; their defenders (like one described in this month's Compuserve subscriber magazine) would say we who object are chilling or stunting the young phreakling's intellectual growth by objecting to his screwing around). Companies who troll like this all night long are just scum also. One solution -- self-help style, or gorilla warfare (not guerilla, silly!) if you can afford the toll charge and know the calling fax number -- is to feed a black sheet of paper with both ends taped together into your fax machine. Send this endless loop of black paper through your machine, looping around and around for about one hour, or until the other end stalls from lack of paper. Do it at night, while they are asleep so the next day they find 99 feet or more of paper all over the floor in their office. Be sure to remove the answer-back phone number on your machine before dialing theirs. Alternative: on the endless loop of paper, write the message, 'No more trolling for fax numbers!' You might also add a note pointing out that if you have to counsel them personally you will bring a hammer and smash their fax machine into little pieces. :) The security department in one large corporation *is* responding in a similar way to hackerphreaks they catch on their site: If they capture the calling number, they wait a few days and call back. If a computer answers, they proceed to format the hard drive, and leave a single line textfile message saying "You have been visited by someone who knows a lot more about hacking than you will ever know!" ... self-help! .... don't get mad; get even. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 93 9:20:13 EDT From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) Subject: Re: Cellular Phone Support Three of the listings have prefixes which moved from 213 to 310. (Less likely is that these are new prefixes, duplicating ones which went into 310.) HITACHI 213-537-8383 PIONEER 213-835-6177 OR 800-228-7721 SHINTOM 213-328-7200 OR 800-333-1098 213 before the 213/310 split included: 328 Torrance, 835 San Pedro, 537 Compton ------------------------------ From: jjm@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (james.j.menth) Subject: Re: Calling Card Scam Organization: AT&T Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 13:54:18 GMT In article Dave Ptasnik writes: > Phone bill arives from US West with $1,000 in calling card charges. > Mostly from Italy, mostly to New Jersey (insert appropriate ethnic > humor). > Some Phine Phellow has called the Phone Company from Italy, told US > West that he desperately needed to use a calling card right away, > gives the name and address of the Alzheimer's victim. The obliging US > West rep gives the calling card number (phone number plus four digit > pin) to the miscreant, who then goes on about his business. > Resolution: > Card gets cancelled, US West and AT&T eat the charges. Just got a bill from SWBell for $1550 on a line I use only for local modem and incoming calls. I did not even know that a calling card had been issued. Calls were from Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany. SWBell's fraud detection software cancelled the card after three days. With only a four digit security code it would not be a big deal to take any valid phone number and try codes to see if the PIN could be guessed. The non-phone number linked cards offer many more digits of security against casual attacks. The calls were all from another country and calling 800 numbers in this country. My guess is that someone locally phreaked the number using a dialer program then sold the numbers to a syndicate for distribution. The many different calling locations with little time spread indicates more than one person was involved. SWBell was very helpful, cancelled the card permanently (at my request) and removed the charges. Jim in Little Rock jjm@lru3b.lr.att.com ------------------------------ From: Jim.Rees@umich.edu Subject: Re: New York Telephone "Coin Replacement" Card Date: 31 May 1993 16:20:55 GMT Organization: University of Michigan CITI In article , roeber@vxcrna.cern.ch (Frederick Roeber) writes: > [Moderator's Note: We have so few 'card reader' phones in the USA > (compared to the straight coin slot style) it made better sense here > to let the network handle it and have the users punch in the digits. Better sense to you, perhaps. But it's still an inferior system, because you have to pre-arrange for the cards, and the debit kind (as opposed to the credit kind) are very rare. [Moderator's Note: But the prepaid cards *were* developed with the credit type in mind. The dialing procedure is almost identical; the only difference is whether you paid the bill before you used the card or afterward. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 93 10:28:09 CDT From: mattair@synercom.hounix.org (Charles Mattair) Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? Organization: Synercom Technology, Inc., Houston, TX In article our Esteemed Moderator asks: > [Moderator's Note: In Texas, when AT&T gets a call dumped on them > which 'rightfully' belongs to GTE or SWB, do they handle the call > 'as agent for GTE/SWB' like they do here? PAT] I'm not exactly sure what you mean by 'as an agent for GTE/SWB'. The calls appear in the AT&T section of my bill and are charged at AT&T's tariffed rates. This latter part is easy to tell as SWB charges are nominally 50% higher than AT&T's. I don't think I've had a SWB LD charge on my bill for the last 15 months. Interestingly enough, if you call AT&T and ask them about this, they claim it doesn't work - _all_ intraLATA calls _must_ be carried by the IXC. Charles Mattair (work) mattair@synercom.hounix.org (home) cgm@elmat.synercom.hounix.org [Moderator's Note: Well here, they don't say anything about it 'not working' -- and in fact EasyReach 700 pointedly says you can forward calls locally. But when you do, the call gets handled (apparently) over IBT equipment, with AT&T in charge of the call, on behalf of, or 'as agent for' IBT. Got all that straight? :) Isn't inter-carrier billing, separations and settlements a fun thing? :) You take that fifteen cents for the call, divide it among two or three telcos, deduct your company's fee for collection; add the other company(ies) fee for handling the call; take a couple pennies out to be divided among a dozen different taxing agencies; do it several hundred thousand times each day. I can't sell *my* services in your territory but I can resell *your* services in your territory for the convenience of *my* customers who on any other transaction are *your* customers except that this time the customer-in-common is using a piece of plastic with *my* name and account number on it. Normally I pay you to use certain equipment in common which is located in *your* office to service *my* customers unless it is really *your* customer and *I* am handling the call for *you* in which case *you* pay *me* a fee for handling the call after deducting the collection fee, and pay- ing off the civil servants (or do you pronounce it serpents?) of course. Imagine prior to automation, fifty years ago: the old AT&T 'Separations and Settlements' Department had hundreds of clerks who essentially handed scraps of paper back and forth to each other day in and day out as they processed all the Bell System, GTE, and independent telco charges and credits between the companies. Lovely. PAT] ------------------------------ From: whester@nyx.cs.du.edu (William R. Hester) Subject: Re: Telesharketers (was Re: Blocking ..) Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept. Date: Mon, 31 May 93 18:01:16 GMT In my most perfect of all worlds, telemarketing would be set up so that ANY calles from telemarketers that I accepted after seeing their unique telemarketer's area ID code on my display, would credit my telephone account $1 each time I answered. In addition, I would receive a credit of $0.50 per min. for as long as I held the connection. If they are going to intrude on my time, then they can damn well pay for it! I did not have a phone installed, and pay monthly phone bills to give telemarketing scum a free ride into my home. I fully support the idea that all telemarketing calls should have a unique ID code that identifies these type calls as a group. Now, if we could just come up with a similar idea for the tons of waste paper we get through the mail system each year ... all going into the landfills. Bill Hester, Ham Radio N0LAJ, Denver CO., USA - N0LAJ@W0LJF.#NECO.CO.USA.NOAM Please route replies to: whester@nyx.cs.du.edu or uunet!nyx!whester Public Access Unix @ University of Denver, Denver Colorado USA (no official affiliation with the above university) [Moderator's Note: So get an unlisted number for friends and a published 900 number for everyone else to call. PAT] ------------------------------ From: mjg@nwu.edu (Michael J Graven) Subject: Re: Hinsdale Disaster Date: 31 May 93 11:05:22 GMT Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston, IL USA Reply-To: mjg@nwu.edu (Michael J Graven) Harold Hallikainen (hhallika@tuba.calpoly.edu) writes: > It does seem like telephone companies would have trucks with > switches and satellite terminals in them. Just drive the truck up, > plug it in and you have a few thousand lines back in service. AT&T has such a truck: it's a 5E in a semi-trailer with a pretty big patch panel. They trucked it down to the Andrew disaster last year, and the PR people are (rightfully) pretty proud of it. Michael mjg@nwu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 93 07:30:25 EDT From: jeffj%jiji@uunet.UU.NET (Jeffrey Jonas) Subject: Re: 800-COLLECT I'm about to post a reference to this thread in the USENET newsgroup misc.consumers, but I think this added bit is of interest to TELECOM readers: I think it's just another part of the deceptive advertising that ALL the phone companies are using these days. I think it odd that the ads for 800-COLLECT - 1) don't mention that it's a service of MCI; 2) fail to mention the surcharges, or that of any other phone company, yet they say it's the cheapest collect service. Well, wasn't it MCI that used to advertise "GET IT IN WRITING"? (or was that AT&T, who never put it in writing anyway). Jeffrey Jonas jeffj@panix.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 07:25:55 -0400 (EDT) From: David A. Cantor Subject: Re: Strange Prefix In article oppedahl@Panix.Com (Carl Oppedahl) writes: > In cantor@mv.com (David A. Cantor) > writes: >> I stayed overnight in Mystic, Connecticut, and was perusing the local >> telephone directory. It is SNET territory. There were several >> references to prefixes (office codes?) 111 and 112. 111 was listed as >> Ledyard, CT, and I don't remember where 112 was. 111 was identified >> as a Ledyard prefix in the section on what exchanges you can dial from >> where, and in the numerical list of prefixes for the state. 112 was >> also in the numerical list. >> Pity I couldn't find any 111 listings. I would have tried to dial one >> from home if I had found any. >> Does anyone have a clue how such a prefix can exist? Can anyone >> confirm or deny the actual existence of 111-xxxx numbers? >> [Moderator's Note: I rather suspect it was a misprint. PAT] > Or, one of those "spikes" that publishers put in to catch people who > copy the data ... > [Moderator's Note: Illinois Bell does that sort of thing but in a > more realistic way. They put 'ringers' in the book which look like > legitimate people and numbers. Then they sue the copy-cats who grab > the listings for their own directories, etc. PAT] It's unlikely that it was either a misprint or a "spike". The 111 exchange was indicated at least five times in print: once in the numerical list of exchanges for the state, once each on three different renditions of a local map showing the relationship of exchanges to each other, and once in a table showing what exchanges could call what other exchanges. In my original post, I indicated two occurrences, but I didn't say they were the only ones. David A. Cantor 603-888-8133 131 D.W. Highway, #505 VMS techie, ex-DECcie, between jobs... Nashua, NH 03060 Got one for me? ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Tip/Ring, Red/Green, etc. From: domiller@ualr.edu Date: 31 May 93 11:39:12 CST Organization: University of Arkansas at Little Rock In article , hhallika@tuba.calpoly.edu (Harold Hallikainen) writes: > Which reminds me, why don't we have an RS232 serial connector > standard for modular connectors? > Anyway, it seems I'm forever making custom serial data cables. > A standard would be nice! Okay, how about RS423. Digital has been using their varient of RS423 for several years now. Most terminal server vendors offer it now. The only difference between Digital's and the standard is their plug has an offset key. Note RS423 is a balanced line, but compatible with RS232 levels. Typical wiring is: Male DEC423 MMJ 6-pin MMJ 25-pin D-sub Signal -------- ------------ ------ 1 1 1 1 1 6,8 DTR 123456 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 2 3 TxD ______ _____________________________ 3 7 TxCom | | \ . . . . . . . . . . . . . / 4 7 RxCom |____ | \ . . . . . . . . . . . . / 5 2 RxD |__| `-----------------------' 6 20 DSR 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 The pins of the MMJ are numbered from left to right as you look into the opening of the jack with the cut-out for the tab at the bottom. For the 25-pin, they are numbered as shown here looking into the end of the male connector. Dale O. Miller - Systems Programmer University of Arkansas at Little Rock 2801 S. University Little Rock, AR 72204-1099 USA (501)569-8714 DOMILLER@UALR.EDU Disclaimer: This does not 92-20-28 W,34-43-30 N.ICBMNET say what I say it doesn't say. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 93 09:06:06 EDT From: hsilbiger@attmail.att.com Subject: Re: Want a Good Phone Organization: AT&T In article , kilgore@wuntvor.pillar.com (Stan Hall) writes: > Terry Kennedy writes: >> Now its time for me to talk about my favorite phone in the house. Of >> course it is black rotary W/E. > This is a classy phone, with its black metal dial wheel and its > leather feet, very nice. I just went to check the date on it and > underneath the sticker with "C/D 500 11/72" I found the original stamp > of "C/D 500 6/54". Best of all I paid about $5 at a thrift store for > a 39 year old antique. > What it could use is a little bit of buffing up. It surface it > covered in light scratches that looks like someone took some steel The 500-type phone came out in 1949. For a while the demand for these "modern phones" was so great that WE took the guts of the previous model, the 302, and put them in a modified 500-type case. You can identify these externally. A normal 500-type extends about two inches behind the switchhook. The fake 500 is bobbed behind the switchhook, and thus is much shorter. > [Moderator's Note: Old phones often lasted 30-40 years without > replacement. As late as the 1960's there were still lots of > 'candlestick' models in service from the early years of this century. > Western Electric products did NOT break down or quit working. Those > phones can still be used on the modern network. PAT A famous story about the quality of old WE products was of a meeting in the Pentagon where a General was complaining about the poor reliability of defense contractor supplied products. The defense contractor asked what the general meant by reliability. The general picked up his 500 set, threw it against the wall full force, picked it up and used it. He turned to the contractor an said: That's what I mean by reliability. Herman Silbiger ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Singapore Airlines Begins In-Flight Fax Service From: upchrch!joel@peora.sdc.ccur.com (Joel Upchurch) Date: Mon, 31 May 93 15:07:21 EDT Organization: Upchurch Computer Consulting, Orlando FL evansmp@uhura.aston.ac.uk (Mark Evans) writes: >> [Moderator's Note: I would think those fax machines would work the >> same way as the airfones and have outgoing service only. Of course > Looks like the film "Die Hard 2" got it wrong then. Does anybody remember anything they got RIGHT in "Die Hard 2"? The telecom references were silly, the firearms references were silly and the airplane and air traffic control references were silly. The orginal "Die Hard" was silly also, but at least it was fairly entertaining in places. (If your mail bounces use the address below.) Joel Upchurch/Upchurch Computer Consulting/718 Galsworthy/Orlando, FL 32809 joel@peora.ccur.com {uiucuxc,hoptoad,petsd,ucf-cs}!peora!joel (407) 859-0982 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 May 93 23:56:52 CST From: Jack.Winslade@axolotl.omahug.org (Jack Winslade) Subject: Re: Telecom History Reply-To: jack.winslade%drbbs@axolotl.omahug.org Organization: DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha In a message dated 19-MAY-93, David Ohsie writes: > In article kennykb@dssv01.crd.ge.com > writes: >> One of the worst cases of that I saw was in Far Rockaway, New York, >> where the same CO served FAr Rockaway-4 and FAr Rockaway-7 (now >> 718-324 and 718-327) and FRanklin-1 and FRanklin-4 (now 516-371 and >> 516-374). Yes, the area codes are different, too. Lots of people got >> FRanlkin-4 when they wanted FAr Rockaway-4, and the exchanges were in >> the same CO. > In the interest of accuracy :-), there is not currently a 324 exchange > in Far Rockaway (or in any part of Queens according to my phone book), > althought there is a 327. I know the office that served the 718-343 (nee 212-343) prefix out in Glen Oaks area also served at least one prefix in the 516 area as well. I believe Long Island Jewish was served by this office. Speaking of NYC geography, (I think I asked this once here but got no response) there is a small area (Sputen Duyvil) that is geographically on the Bronx side of the river, but politically in the borough of Manhattan. I'm curious to know how this area made out with the Bronx cutover to AC 718. Anyone know for sure? Good day! JSW Ybbat (DRBBS) 8.9 v. 3.14 r.1 (1:285/666.0) ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #364 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa14568; 31 May 93 17:03 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA18052 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 31 May 1993 14:40:33 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA08782 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 31 May 1993 14:40:01 -0500 Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 14:40:01 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305311940.AA08782@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #365 TELECOM Digest Mon, 31 May 93 16:40:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 365 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: Why CO's Have No Windows (Anthony Scott Clifton) Re: New ScanFone Features (Smart Call Waiting?) (jimmy_t@verifone.com) Re: Starting a VoiceMail Service: HELP! (Bob Natale) Re: Latitude/Longitude -> Distance (Christopher Owens) Re: Blocking an Unlisted Number (Jeffrey Jonas) Re: AT&T's Calling Card (Steffen Gelessus) Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes? (Phydeaux) Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (Steve Forrette) Re: The Elusive LATA Line (Steve Forrette) Re: Will Moscow Soon Surpass USA in Quality of Phone Service? (S. Forrette) Re: WAN From North to South America (Jonathan Welch) Re: Dos-Based Paging Software Wanted (Don R. James) ---------------------- TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively -- to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800 service. In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for the file 'products'. The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail- ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu. Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom. Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there, where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not require the use of our products and services. The two are separate. All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi- zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein. Send tithes and love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :) Phone: 312-465-2700. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: blakwood@grayhawk.rent.com (Anthony Scott Clifton) Subject: Re: Why CO's Have No Windows Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 04:34:21 GMT Organization: Grayhawk - Des Moines Public Access Unix - 515/277-6753 In article evansmp@uhura.aston.ac.uk (Mark Evans) writes: > Martin Harriss (bdsgate!martin@uunet.UU.NET) wrote: >> Anyway, this switch was installed in a house. Not a structure built >> to look like a house, but an actual house bought for the purpose of >> installing the switch. It has a nice front lawn and fence and a gate; >> if you look beyond through the bay windows you can see the equipment >> racks complete with the blinking lights. > It must have been a large house a 10,000 line Stowger plus batteries > plus PSU is not a very small piece of kit. In an older neighborhood in our city (Des Moines Iowa) ... the kind with picturesque brick houses and streets lined with big trees ... there's a CO like this. I'd been driving past it for years, wondering what it was. It's this structure that looks just like a really big two story brick house with lots of windows. It has a white railing around the top in sort of a victorian (?) style. I always thought it was maybe a small retirement home or small offices for some sort of non-profit organization. One day I made a wrong turn and had to turn around in the parking lot, when I noticed US West trucks and a dumpster marked "ESS Only" ... and when I slowed down (I HAD to check this out) and looked up into the windows from my car I could see the frames. At night, if I drive by the other side of the building ... and look very carefully ... I can see the pretty blinky lights inside. =D I'd give alot to still be a boy scout and be able to walk up the (apparently locked and unused) front door and knock, trying to sell some pancake supper tickets! ;-D Anthony Clifton ------------------------------ From: James H. Thompson" Subject: Re: New ScanFone Features (Smart Call Waiting?) Date: 26 May 93 21:35:39 -1000 Organization: VeriFone Inc., Honolulu HI In article , km@mathcs.emory.edu (Ken Mandelberg) writes: > What really caught my eye was a note in the article that the phone > could display "who's trying to reach you if you`re already using the > phone. The latter service likely would cost extra.". > This sounds like some merger of Call Waiting and Caller-ID. I'm not > much interested in the Scanfone, but am interested in the this new > phone service. Does it have a name? How does it work? I would guess that it uses the ADSI protocol. This is a new protocol being promoted by Bell-Northern and the US Bells to support phones with an LCD display. It uses a variant of the Bell 202 modem protocol, and a special tone to tell the phone to flip from voice to data mode. James H. Thompson jimmy_t@verifone.com (Internet) VeriFone Inc. uunet!verifone!jimmy_t (UUCP) 100 Kahelu Avenue 808-623-2911 (Phone) Mililani, HI 96789 808-625-3201 (FAX) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 10:19:05 -0400 From: natale@acec.com (Bob Natale) Subject: Re: Starting a VoiceMail Service: HELP! TJR122@psuvm.psu.edu (Tom Rusnock) asked about starting a voicemail service. My experience dealing with Dialogic has been excellent. While I use their hardware and software drivers/APIs for UNIX directly, they are VAR-oriented and will gladly listen to and assess your needs and then refer you to one or more qualified VARs who can meet your specific needs. I recommend calling 1-800-755-4444 and asking for Bob Kelly. Good luck! Bob Natale American Computer 301-258-9850 [tel] Director 209 Perry Pkwy 301-921-0434 [fax] Network Mgmt Products Gaithersburg MD 20877 natale@acec.com ------------------------------ From: owens@gargoyle.uchicago.edu (Christopher Owens) Subject: Re: Latitude/Longitude -> Distance Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 15:34:10 GMT In lmcrajy@noah.ericsson.se (Raj Sanmugam) writes: > What is the accepted North American (or international) representation > of latitude/longitude (ie deg/min/sec etc.) There are two alternatives here. Degrees/minutes/seconds, and decimal degrees. Annoyingly enough, the user interface on some navigation equipment displays d/m/s in a format that looks a lot like decimal degrees, so you don't know if "84.0755" is supposed to mean 84.0755 degrees or 84d,7m,55s. To get the great circle distance between two points on the earth's surface: first convert latitude, longitude to x,y,z coordinates, then find the straight-line distance between the two, and then find the length of the subtending arc. x = cos(lat)*cos(lon) y = cos(lat)*sin(lon) z = sin(lat) Straight-line distance between points is dist=sqrt((x1-x2)^2+(y1-y2)^2+(z1-z2)^2) Length of subtending arc is D * asin(dist/2) where D = the earth's diameter, 12765 km ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 93 11:54:44 EDT From: jeffj%jiji@uunet.UU.NET (Jeffrey Jonas) Subject: Re: Blocking an Unlisted Number In reply to Mike Coyne (Volume 13, Issue 355, Message 4 of 18) > There is, however, no compelling requirement for Caller-ID to deliver > an actual dialable number. I quite agree, and that's why some areas are now delivering the caller's name (or whatever the phone listing is). Had the phone company done this in the first place, I think they'd have a lot less opposition. Delivering the name WITHOUT the number give clear identification, but does not reveal your number. If I use call return, why can't the bill report "you called Mike Coyne at 11:32 for 32 minutes to Cheyenne, WI". Isn't that clear and itemized enough, and still not reveal his number? If I get a call identified as "Mike Coyne", then I know what to expect, as opposed to getting a call identified as "212 555 1212". I think the Digest has already discussed the issue of identifying the caller vs identifying the line that originated the call. I'd like to have my name delivered as the ID of my calls whether I'm at home, at a payphone, or at a hotel. Heck -- using a calling card could insert that automatically since my name is known to the account (ah yes, but the pre-paid calling cards would remain anonymous. Orange Card users would appear as "yet another TELECOM supporter" or "I'm a Pat Townson groupie" :-) After all, what's the first thing I do with the Caller-ID number I get? Look it up and get the matching name! I guess this extra step is considered "value added" by the phone company. I'd love to have the ability to send my own name when placing a call, so phone lines that are shared can identify the caller. I suppose that PBXs using trunks can send some hint as to how to identify the call, but what of the POTS user like me? I'd like to have the name show the family member placing the call, not just the name that appears on the phone bill. If I get distinctive ringing (several numbers that map to the same phone line but ring differently), I'd like to have the fax machine, modem and voice calls all give different, unique identification when originationg calls even though they're all on the same outgoing line. I dislike the asymmetry: incoming calls can be differentiated, but not outgoing calls. > A friend lives in SW Bell territory where call blocking was test > marketed. He called and requested blocking a particular neighbor. > The whole thing ground to an impass because the neighbor's phone was > unlisted and the friend could not supply the number to be blocked. Ummm, this raised two questions in my mind: 1) Call block has a feature to "block last call received, even if it's unlisted". I understand that when you review the list of blocked numbers, the number is NOT given out. If your friend never receives a call from the neighbor, then why block it? I think it's reasonable to assert that you should not block numbers until the privilege has been abused, particularly since the list is only about ten numbers. 2) There ought to be a way to have the operator add unlisted numbers to the list -- sort of a directory assistance option (and probably with the 30 cent or whatever surcharge). You call DA and identify the person you want to block by name and address, and the operator then adds the unlisted number to your call block list. Since the number's still flagged as PRIVATE, it's never revealed to you. This is analogous to the way hotels no longer give you a person's room number anymore -- you must ask for the quest by name and they'll connect you to the extension. It's up to the person you're calling to reveal the room number (which invariably is the same as the extension). Jeffrey Jonas jeffj@panix.com ------------------------------ From: gelessus@inf.enst.fr (Steffen Gelessus) Subject: Re: AT&T's Calling Card Date: 31 May 93 16:17:28 GMT Organization: Telecom Paris (ENST), France In article , atoscano@speedway.net (A Alan Toscano) writes: > AT&T will omit the PIN if you ask them to. This feature has been > available for a few years now, but they don't publicize it for some > reason! I learned of this only because my employer issued me an AT&T > Corporate Calling Card with the PIN omitted, and so I called AT&T to > ask if I could omit it from my residential card as well. I have an international AT&T card and I just called the AT&T people to have the PIN omitted on my next card. I learned that they offer this option only for cards of US residents. Steffen Gelessus gelessus@res.enst.fr ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 93 09:29:51 PDT From: reb@ingres.com (Phydeaux) Subject: Re: Cellular Scanner Set Up Codes? > On a flip phone (MicroTek light), on the back where the battery goes, > connect the middle pin to '-' (ground). Then power the phone up. Using > a car adapter when doing this helps a bit. The phone comes up in test > mode. To *TEST* the reciever press '#' then '08#' to unmute the Does anyone have similar information on an OKI 910 / AT&T 3730 phone? reb ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? Date: 31 May 1993 10:45:18 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA In article jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu (James R. Saker Jr.) writes: > Interesting sidenote: Has anyone been following US West's recent > FCC tariff submissions regarding 10xxx blocking? They've introduced > 10xxx blocking as a "service" for subscribers in states including > North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa -- with the Iowa submission > resulting in a suit filed by MCI opposing the introduction. This sounds like a great idea! The availability of this offering will finally allow the person who pays for the phone service to have control over it, if they want. This will be especially helpful in cases where there are several people that use the phone (such as roommates), or some that are not allowed to place long distance calls (such as children). US Sprint, and possibly others, offer an "authorization code" option for 1+ calls. You can either have it prompt you for any code of a length you specify (used to separate calls for your own accounting purposes), or prompt for a code and only accept calls that supply a correct code. For example, in a roommate situation, each roommate could be issed a separate five-digit code by the owner of the phone service, then there would be no question at the end of the month as to whose calls are whose. Or children in the house could not be given the code at all. This service has been available for awhile now, but of course with 10XXX, there's no real enforcement, as if the caller chooses another carrier, the call will complete without any codes entered. So, this one feature would allow the customer to use whatever security measures they purchase from their IXC without the LEC having to implement it themselves. Customers generally have to wait for a time approaching forever for the non-competitive LEC to implement billing security services such as this (especially for inter-LATA calls), but by providing this single feature (10xxx blocking), this allows the competitive marketplace that the IXC's operate in to provide what the customer wants. The only disadvantage to this that I can see is in cases where the default IXC has facilities troubles. I guess in this case, you could maintain a calling card with another carrier that's accessible via an 800 number, so that you could still place important calls if your default IXC is unable to. Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: The Elusive LATA Line Date: 31 May 1993 11:08:04 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA In article dattier@genesis.mcs.com (avid W. Tamkin) writes: > I had a simple desire: I wanted to know whether an area on the edge of > my LATA was inside it or outside it so that I'd know which carrier to > ask for the cost of the call before I dialed there. [story of usual operator run-around deleted] Your mistake was trying to explain the details of the situation to the operator. This tends to only confuse them, especially if it is something that was not specifically part of their training. There are exceptions, but I've found that most operators cannot handle situations that require independent judgment on their part. The thing to do in this specific case is to tell the LEC operator that you are having problems dialing your call directly, and can she possibly try the number for you. This is a routine function for the operator, and she will just key in the number you read her into the computer. If it is an inter-LATA call, then her computer will tell her it is an invalid number. If the call goes through, then it is intra-LATA. You get the information you want, and the operator has not been required to think. Perhaps an easier way to tell is to 0+ the call, and see whose "bong" you get. But then you would not have the challenge of getting the information from the operator :-). I hate to come down so hard on the operators, but I've had too many experiences in the past of problems that could have been solved quickly if the operator had just used a small amount of common sense with the situation. A lot of it probably has to do with the training that they are given (or not given). They usually do the job that they are trained for very well. For example, I wanted to know if you called an 800 number through the operator, and the 800 customer had ANI, if they would get your true ANI, some bogus ANI from the operator system, or an "ANI unavailable" indication. I knew up front that I would be in big trouble if I asked this question directly, so I just called the AT&T operator and told her I was having problems in completing my call. She put the call through, and when I got my 800 bill and located the test call in the call detail, I had my answer. BTW, the real ANI does appear for operator-assisted 800 calls, at least for AT&T. (The answer is academic for any other carrier, as none of them can provide any operator call completion assistance for their 800 numbers.) In placing my test call, the operator conducted herself in a most professional and friendly manner. She asked what the 800 number went to, I told her it was my ReadyLine number, and explained that it rang through to my voicemail. She said she had never heard of such a service. Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: Will Moscow Soon Surpass the USA in Quality of Phone Service? Date: 31 May 1993 11:15:55 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA In article keith@ksmith.com (Keith Smith) writes: > Funny you should mention this. Actually you guys over in the former > communist bloc are probably going to do with your Telecom what Europe > did with their TV's. You will probably have much BETTER telecom in 5 > years than the US simply because most of your old stuff is total junk, > and you will _have_ to run new, and of course when you do you will run > the current state of the art, while we will have to live with the > stuff we ran five years ago, eight years ago, ten years ago, forty > years ago ... This reminds me of an old joke: Q. How did God manage to create the world in only six days? A. He didn't have an installed user base. Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ From: Jonathan_Welch Subject: Re: WAN From North to South America Date: 31 May 93 17:23:07 GMT In article , Mr. Steve Kutzer writes: > I am looking for alternatives to develop a Wide Area Network between > D.C. and at least some of the larger field offices (say Buenos Aries, > Sao Paolo Brazil, Mexico City and Guatemala). I just fired up my local internet Gopher client to look at it's list of worldwide gopher server sites and came across several entries, of which the following were somewhat promising: University of Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil - ccsun.unicamp.br Guadalajara (is this some kind of database name?) - udgserv.cencar.udg.mx [No name listed] - academ01.mty.itesm.mx Perhaps a message to the postmaster at these sites would get you a contact. You could perhaps arrange to have them hand off mail to the people you would like to be in contact with. Jonathan Welch VAX Systems Manager Umass/Amherst JHWELCH@ecs.umass.edu ------------------------------ From: donj@sugar.neosoft.com (Don R. James) Subject: Re: Dos-Based Paging Software Wanted Organization: NeoSoft Communications Services -- (713) 684-5900 Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 13:41:15 GMT In article gwi@icf.hrb.com (Gregory W. Isett) writes: > Does anyone know where I can obtain DOS-based software to accept a > page from a user, connect to an alphanumeric pager switch (via ixo > protocol?) and download the page? Try Bill Hayes at MTEL (SKYTEL) at 1-800-647-5252. They may have this package already in operation. I did the original Nationwide Paging technical info for the FCC filing back in the late 1980's. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #365 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa16367; 31 May 93 18:00 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA18905 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 31 May 1993 15:41:40 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA00112 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 31 May 1993 15:41:05 -0500 Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 15:41:05 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305312041.AA00112@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #366 TELECOM Digest Mon, 31 May 93 15:41:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 366 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: Misdialed Numbers (gilligan@ecst.csuchico.edu) Re: Stocks via Internet (Lars Poulsen) Re: Stocks via Internet (Alain Arnaud) Re: Stocks via Internet (gilligan@ecst.csuchico.edu) Re: Alarm Point Telemetry Equipment (David G. Lewis) Re: Alarm Point Telemetry Equipment (Steve Moulton) Re: The Telex Machine in Popular Music (John R. Grout) Re: The Telex Machine in Popular Music (Lazlo Nibble) Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books (Fritz Whittington) Re: New Rockwell V.32bis Chip Set (Steve Forrette) Re: Fake TV Phone Numbers (J. Philip Miller) Re: Cellular Telephone Privacy (Tom Holodnik) Re: Non Sequitur or What? (Richard Cox) Re: Ex-Soviet Republic Dialing (Juha Veijalainen) ---------------------- TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively -- to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800 service. In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for the file 'products'. The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail- ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu. Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom. Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there, where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not require the use of our products and services. The two are separate. All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi- zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein. Send tithes and love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :) Phone: 312-465-2700. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: gilligan@ecst.csuchico.edu (Tuka {KD6CUC}) Subject: Re: Misdialed Numbers Date: 31 May 1993 05:05:50 GMT Organization: California State University, Chico Being in college, getting misdialed numbers is very common ... especially at 3:00 am on a Friday night or Saturday night. Watch the movie "Ruthless People" with Danny Diveto. Listen for the wrong number line ... ------------------------------ From: lars@spectrum.CMC.COM (Lars Poulsen) Subject: Re: Stocks via Internet Organization: CMC Network Systems (Rockwell DCD), Santa Barbara, CA, USA Date: Mon, 31 May 93 06:37:34 GMT In article mperlman@nyx.cs.du.edu (Marshal Perlman) writes: >> Anyone know of any stock purchasing companies that are computer linked >> to the internet ... where I could buy and sell stocks with my >> computer? >> I'm sure it would be a tad cheaper then using my broker who just >> punches what I say to him into a computer and charges me $50 for 'his >> help'. Since many people would prefer to avoid the go-between on the grounds that one less go-between is one less idiot to screw things up, it can be argued that such a service is more valuable and should cost more than talking to the broker. This seems to be the reasoning behind the pricing of other financial services (such as CheckFree payment service). In article stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) writes: > I don't know about you, but I sure wouldn't want to send my trading > instructions over the Internet for every site in the path to see (and > perhaps generate their own under my name!). (1) You seem to be confusing the Internet with USENET. In the Internet, your data does not hop via anyone else's disks. Normally, the path is from - your computer, to - your company's boundary router, to - your service provider's boundary router, to - service provider's boundary on the other side, to - your correspondent's boundary router, to - your correspondent's computer. Just like you don't expect the phone company to record and disclose your phone calls, you should not expect your internet carrier to intercept your traffic. (2) Nevertheless the issues of privacy and authenticity are the two great concerns in electronic transactions. The answer to both is encryption. The simplest solution to both involves public key encryption. No matter what you do, yopu have to trust somebody. Good authentication mechanisms allow you to not have to trust very many parties. (3) In a public-key encryption universe, you need to be assured that you can reach "the maker of good keys", and you need to trust him. By demonstrating your identity to the maker of keys, he issues you a pair of keys (one public, one private) and a certificate with roughly the following information: Name of User: John Q User Email address: JQU@site.domain.something Affiliation: Principal Engineer at Big Famous Company, Inc Public Key: (many hex digits) Valid until: future date Issued by: James Fuddpucker Email address: Fuddpucker@big.com Affiliation: Maker-of-keys at Big-Famous-Company, Inc Issue-date: some date Signed: (many hex digits) When you want to send a transaction to the stockbroker, you will compose the message as usual, then attach the certificate and sign it with you private key. If you want it to be confidential, you then additionally encrypt it with the broker's public key. When the broker receives the message, he will decrypt it with his private key. On seeing that it is from you, he will get your public key from the directory. If he can decode the signature with you public key, he knows that it was sent by you (or at least by someone who has your key). The signature also assures him that it was not modified since you sent it. By getting the public key for the maker of keys, and checking the signature on the key certificate, he sees that the well-known key maker vouches for your identity. The extensions to the email system (any email system) to support this style of transaction authentication is available today, called PEM for Privacy Enhanced Mail. The component that is lagging, is the establishment of a network of directory databases for key certificates. Lars Poulsen, SMTS Software Engineer Internet E-mail: lars@CMC.COM CMC Network Products / Rockwell Int'l Telephone: +1-805-968-4262 Santa Barbara, CA 93117-3083 TeleFAX: +1-805-968-8256 ------------------------------ From: arnaud@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (alain.arnaud) Subject: Re: Stocks via Internet Organization: AT&T Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 13:53:47 GMT > In article mperlman@nyx.cs.du.edu > (Marshal Perlman) writes: >> Anyone know of any stock purchasing companies that are computer linked >> to the internet ... where I could buy and sell stocks with my >> computer? >> I 'm sure it would be a tad cheaper then using my broker who just >> punches what I say to him into a computer and charges me $50 for 'his >> help'. > I don't know about you, but I sure wouldn't want to send my trading > instructions over the Internet for every site in the path to see (and > perhaps generate their own under my name!). Fidelity Brokerage offers PC software called Fox that allows investment tracking and trading, with a 10% discount on trades. You can also execute trades and check on your account over the phone, with the same 10% discount. ------------------------------ From: gilligan@ecst.csuchico.edu (Tuka {KD6CUC}) Subject: Re: Stocks via Internet Date: 28 May 1993 04:20:08 GMT Organization: California State University, Chico My cousin has a mac sitting there hooked up to a receiving modem ... it is connected to the television cable and receives the current stocks constantly! Check it out! I'll get more info ... tuka [Moderator's Note: Please do get more information on this and pass it along to the group. This sounds like an interesting project one might build. PAT] ------------------------------ From: deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (david.g.lewis) Subject: Re: Alarm Point Telemetry Equipment Organization: AT&T Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 13:39:58 GMT In article 6@eecs.nwu.edu, ken@sdd.hp.com (Ken Stone) writes: > I'm interested in what's available to monitor/gather alarm points (dry > contact closures mostly) and bring them back to a central location and > a central device that can interrogated by a UNIX based computer. Check out a company called Dantel. Unfortunately, I don't have their address or phone number handy, but if you can track down a couple of back issues of Telephony or TE&M, you should be able to find some ads. Disclaimer: AT&T isn't endorsing anyone here, so don't go out buying Dantel stock and pushing their price through the roof ;-) David G Lewis AT&T Bell Laboratories david.g.lewis@att.com or !att!goofy!deej Switching & ISDN Implementation ------------------------------ From: moulton@cs.utk.edu (Steve Moulton) Subject: Re: Alarm Point Telemetry Equipment Date: 31 May 1993 15:06:52 GMT Organization: University of Tennessee, Knoxville - CS Department In article dale@access.digex.net (Dale Farmer) writes: > Ken Stone (ken@sdd.hp.com) wrote: >> I'm interested in what's available to monitor/gather alarm points (dry >> contact closures mostly) and bring them back to a central location and >> a central device that can interrogated by a UNIX based computer. > Sounds like you want to take a look at SNMP. Read Marshall > Rose's book "The Simple Way" and call SNMP research for some literature. > I think that they are in CA, but I'm not sure. I sent a copy of this to a friend at SNMP Research, and got the following response: > CA? THAT MEANS WE HAD AN EARTHQUAKE YESTERDAY AND I MISSED IT!!!! They are located in Seymour, Tennessee (on the outskirts of Knoxville), as the firm's founder is a faculty member here. Their phone is (615) 573-1434, and they are also reachable at sales@snmp.com. ------------------------------ From: grout@sp96.csrd.uiuc.edu (John R. Grout) Subject: Re: The Telex Machine in Popular Music Reply-To: j-grout@uiuc.edu Organization: UIUC Center for Supercomputing Research and Development Date: Mon, 31 May 93 16:21:17 GMT Jim.Rees@umich.edu writes: > In article , ae446@freenet.carleton.ca > (Nigel Allen) writes: >> So can anyone else think of any telex-related songs? > How about "Western Union?" I forget who recorded it, but it was a hit > in the 60s. The original 45 was transparent red. The original Wall Street Week theme, "TWX in Twelve Bars", doesn't mention such machines (it's an instrumental), but it does use a TWX printer for percussion. John R. Grout INTERNET: j-grout@uiuc.edu ------------------------------ From: lazlo@triton.unm.edu (Lazlo Nibble) Subject: Re: The Telex Machine in Popular Music Date: 31 May 1993 18:45:25 GMT Organization: Vroom Socko International Fear Club ae446@freenet.carleton.ca writes: > So can anyone else think of any telex-related songs? John Williams' (the guitarist, not the Boston Pops conductor) old band Sky did a nice instrumental track called "Telex From Peru" on their Cadmium album. There's also a Belgian technopop band called Telex who have four or five albums out. Lazlo (lazlo@triton.unm.edu) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 93 09:31:55 CDT From: fritz@mirage.hc.ti.com (Fritz Whittington) Subject: Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books In comp.dcom.telecom 0005066432@mcimail.com writes: > The Supreme Court ruled that telephone books, (or at least the > listings of subscribers, I think), fail to contain the 'minimum > creativity' necessary to be capable of having copyright protection, > and thus telephone books are not copyrightable because they lack that > 'bare minimum'. > I may in part see the court's reasoning, since all that is done in > generating a telephone white pages is the collection of names out of > the company's database, then sorting that database (which is done > automatically by the computer), thus it is all done automatically; > there is no 'creativity' involved. Not quite so! I've always been extremely annoyed at the 'creative' way that the Telco manages to munge the sorting algorithm. For instance, someone with the surname 'St. James' gets sorted as if it were the string 'Saintjames' and stuck in a place that I'm not looking for it. Likewise, all the Irish O-apostrophe names should come before any names that start O[a-z], instead of being co-mingled. Most of the time, they ignore case, *except* for radio and TV stations, which seem to sort to the top, as they should. The Dallas White Pages list the major portion (SWB) sorted together, but all the suburbs that are GTE are sorted in separate little pieces for each city. If you don't know *exactly* where someone lives to start with, and don't find them in the SWB listing, you get to look again, and again, and again ... I'd be more than happy to take the phone book in CD-ROM form, with an appropriate search program, as opposed to a (nearly) foot-high stack of paper. Now, that would be *truly* creative! Fritz Whittington Texas Instruments, P.O. Box 655474, MS 446 Dallas, TX 75265 Shipping address: 13510 North Central Expressway, MS 446 Dallas, TX 75243 fritz@ti.com Office: +1 214 995 0397 FAX: +1 214 995 6194 Since I am not an official TI spokesperson, these opinions contain no spokes. ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: New Rockwell V.32bis Chip Set Date: 31 May 1993 00:50:40 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA In article moswald@cwis.unomaha.edu (Mike Oswald) writes: > alex@grian.cps.altadena.ca.us writes: >> ..."additional bonus of optional 16550 UART with FIFO..." >> About bleedin' time. It's not rocket science, but having just a teeny >> few characters worth of buffering under Windows will sure as heck help >> on total through put. > Where would I need to make changes in Windows if I have 9600 v.32/v.42 > external modem and I was wondering about how to help my COMM programs > performance? The 16550 UART is designed as a direct replacement for the standard 8250 UART. The 16550 has a 16-byte FIFO buffer, whereas the 8250 has only a one-byte buffer. With the 8250, when a character arrives over the serial port, an interrupt is generated. Whatever program is reading from the serial port (usually the application program itself if it's a DOS program, or the Windows serial driver if you'r running Windows 3.1), has to service the interrupt and read the character out of the UART's buffer. If the next character comes over the line before the first one is read, then the UART has to throw away a character, since there's only room for it to store one. This situation is called a "receiver overrun." Many factors contribute to this problem, such as machine speed, datacomm speed, and any other software running on the machine which may be disabling interrupts for a period of time (such as Windows or a LAN client driver). The 16550 works the same way as the 8250, except it has a 16 byte buffer. When it receives the first character, it generates an interrupt, but can buffer up to 15 additional characters before the interrupt is serviced and not lose any data. If your UART is an 8250 and is socketed, then you can just buy a 16550 chip and replace the 8250, and solve the receiver overrun problem. Note that your software has to specifically support the 16550, since it operates just like the 8250 by default, and must be specifically told to go into 16-byte buffer mode. If you use DOS software, then the application program must have 16550 support in it. If you are using Windows 3.1 and your datacomm application uses the standard Windows serial driver, then you're all set, since the standard Windows serial driver has support for the 16550. If you don't have a socketed 8250 (such as when you have serial support directly on the motherboard), you have to buy a serial port card that has a 16550, and disable your current serial port. At WRQ, we have many customers that experience "receiver overruns" with our terminal emulation software (especially under Windows), and the 16550 almost always solves the problem. It is an especially attractive alternative to buying a new machine, as the chips can be had for around $15, and a replacement serial port board with 16550 starts at $50. It solves almost all of our customers' receiver overrun problems. The telecom aspect to this is that this used to not be much of a problem over dialup, as when modems operated at 2400bps and below, the CPU was able to keep up. Now, when you can get 56,000+ bps with a V.42bis modem, this can be quite a problem over dialup as well as direct connect. Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ From: phil@wubios.wustl.edu (J. Philip Miller) Subject: Re: Fake TV Phone Numbers Date: Sun, 30 May 1993 22:39:36 -0500 (CDT) Monty Solomon writes: > On tonight's LA Law they have the number 1 600 555 FONE on an > infomercial. Not only that, but they talked about getting lots of calls on the "600 number". J. Philip Miller, Professor, Division of Biostatistics, Box 8067 Washington University Medical School, St. Louis MO 63110 phil@wubios.WUstl.edu - (314) 362-3617 [362-2693(FAX)] ------------------------------ From: Tom Holodnik Subject: Re: Cellular Telephone Privacy Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 00:32:35 -0400 Organization: Data Communications, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA As a matter of fact, AT&T has announced that they will be shipping a cellular phone with the Clipper Chip tecnology sometime in the 4Q93. This means: - mere mortals will not be able to snoop on your cellular conversations; - you have to be a Heavyweight Cellular Champ with a Heavyweight Champ; Wallet (capable of paying $1.5K for a cellular phone). - if you're naughty, the government can snoop on you. tom ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 93 10:10 GMT0BST-1 From: Richard Cox Subject: Re: Non Sequitur or What? Reply-To: mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk RANDY@MPA15AB.mv-oc.Unisys.COM (Randy Gellens) said: > Some of the things I miss [in this country] are the joys of dialing a > number and not knowing where I will end up, the mysteries of getting > caught in a three way connection and making deals I would otherwise > never dream of making, the suspense and the thrill on finding out my > telephone is not (yet) dead after a wrong connection. This reminds me of the early sixties, when we started to get distance dialing in the UK. It was not a reliable system. "With the new Post Office Trunk Dialling system, subscribers can now be connected directly to almost anywhere in the country without the assistance of an operator ..." ... And just by dialling a number in Birmingham ..... Richard D G Cox Mandarin Technology, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, CARDIFF, Wales CF4 5WF Voice: +44 222 747111 Fax: +44 222 711111 VoiceMail: +44 399 870101 E-mail: mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk - PGP2.2 public key available on request ------------------------------ From: FNAHA!JVE@TRENGA.tredydev.unisys.com Date: 31 MAY 93 08:52 Subject: Re: Ex-Soviet Republic Dialing Paul Robinson <0005066432@mcimail.com> wrote: > {Washington Times} stated that there were plans to install two new > switches (One in Kiev, and the other in St. Petersburg), of 15,000 > trunks each. The article also noted that Moscow only has 1500 > international trunks. Not just a mere 1500 trunks for that city > (which would be a bit cramped, at that), but 1500 trunks for the WHOLE > +7 AREA CODE, all 200+ million people! New fiber optic cable has been built to connect Finland and St. Petersburg. New cable also connects Finland and Estonia. Some news articles told that number of international calls from third countries to Russia is increasing rapidly. To prepare for increased traffic, a new fiber optic cable connecting Finland and Sweden was completed a couple of weeks ago. Fiber optic means tens of thousands of connections. I still remember the time (my first summer job) when all we had were manual lines to Soviet Union: about five to Leningrad (St.Petersburg), about five to Tallinn (Estonia) and three or so to Moscow. That was around 1978. Juha Veijalainen 4ge system analyst, tel. +358 0 4528 426 Unisys Finland Internet: JVE%FNAHA@trenga.tredydev.unisys.com >> Mielipiteet omiani ** Opinions are PERSONAL, facts are suspect << ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #366 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa18559; 1 Jun 93 10:06 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA06105 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 31 May 1993 17:52:45 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA26155 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 31 May 1993 17:52:04 -0500 Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 17:52:04 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305312252.AA26155@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #367 TELECOM Digest Mon, 31 May 93 17:52:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 367 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books (John R. Levine) Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books (Bryan J. Abshier) Re: Friend Needs Advice on Harrassing Caller (Elana Beach) Re: Friend Needs Advice on Harrassing Caller (John R. Levine) Re: GSM Frequency Summary (Richard Cox) Re: GSM Frequency Range and Experiences (Serdar Boztas) Re: GSM Frequency Range (Ketil Albertsen) Re: GTE Strikes! or Can't Deliver Phone Books (John R. Levine) Re: GTE Strikes! or Can't Deliver Phone Books (Jon Kimbrough) Re: Macs Answering Phones (gilligan@ecst.csuchico.edu) Re: Switchless Resellers of Long Distance Services (K.B. Houser) Re: Cellular Charging? (gilligan@ecst.csuchico.edu) Re: Sliding Window Protocols (Paul Robinson) Re: Modem Cannot Seize Line (Bob Frankston) Re: Latitude/Longitude -> Distance (Guy J. Sherr) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books Organization: I.E.C.C. Date: 31 May 93 14:52:27 EDT (Mon) From: johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) > [Moderator's Note: A compilation copyright is still possible for phone > directories to recognize the labor by the people involved in putting > it all together. PAT] The court decision specifically rejected the traditional "sweat of the brow" rule for copyrightability when it said that white pages are no longer copyrighted. It's considered irrelevant how much work went into it. To many of us, this seems like a strange ruling that flies in the face of literally centuries of precedent and perverts the intent of the law. But barring either a ruling from the Supreme Court or a modified copyright law, that's currently how the law stands. I ran into this issue personally when registering the "Comp.compilers 1990 Annual" which consists of most of the articles from the comp.compilers newsgroup arranged in a useful order and with some indices. Someone from the copyright office called me and said that they wouldn't accept a copyright on the author, title, or KWIC indices because they were generated more or less mechanically from the articles. The keyword index was OK because I assigned the keywords myself, providing the required creative element. The compilation, i.e., selection and arrangement of the articles was also OK. The main effect this seems to have on phone books is that independently produced phone books instead of having incredibly obsolete and incorrect white pages will have only fairly obsolete and incorrect white pages. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us, {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl [Moderator's Note: Indeed, is that what the honorable court said, that the amount of work involved means nothing? Then here is my gesture to the court: there are two names on my mailing list from the honorable court. As of today they are off this list, and will never again receive a copy of any publication I work on. Let them start their own mailing list and spend an entire holiday weekend working on getting out a huge backlog of submissions, etc. Who does the court think developed the software and the database to begin with and the hardware -- the stuff we call the 'compilation' -- to make it all work, the cheesy little outfit now ripping off telco? What you're saying the court ruled (and I am certain you are correct) would equally apply to this Digest: you wrote the articles, all I did was 'merely' compile it all for distribution. My revisions to the software I use, my compilation, editing and distribution techniques mean nothing rules the court in its wisdom. So fine, they'll be getting nothing from me in the future. Thank you for sharing. PAT] ------------------------------ From: babshier@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Bryan J Abshier) Subject: Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books Date: 31 May 1993 12:21:43 GMT Organization: The Ohio State University In article Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> writes: > Recently, in a Moderator's Note, Pat mentioned that Illinois Bell > Telephone would put coded listings in its telephone book to catch > people who duplicated it. (I guess to threaten to sue them if they > did not pay a licensing fee or something.) > The question is whether they still bother to do this. About a year or > more ago, it was reported in an article prominently mentioned in the > Business or Money section of one of the local papers, a major decision > of the United States Supreme Court. > The Supreme Court ruled that telephone books, (or at least the > listings of subscribers, I think), fail to contain the 'minimum > creativity' necessary to be capable of having copyright protection, > and thus telephone books are not copyrightable because they lack that > 'bare minimum'. > This is a major landmark since it overturns over seventy years of > established precedent, going back to the precise case back in 1913 or > so, in {Pacific Telephone v. Leon} (I remember the exact case citing) > it was ruled that someone could not copy a telephone book to make > one's own listing of people even if the phone company wasn't making > one because telephone books were copyrightable and required permission > to reproduce them. A later case ruled that independent creation of > the identical information created a separate copyrightable work. > [Moderator's Note: A compilation copyright is still possible for phone > directories to recognize the labor by the people involved in putting > it all together. PAT] To be afforded the protection of a copyright, a work must original to the author. The recognition of copyright protection for compilations based on the labor involved in putting it together is commonly known as the "sweat of the brow" doctrine. This doctrine was based on interpretation of the Copyright Act of 1909 by Federal District Courts. To my knowledge the Supreme Court has never supported the "sweat of the brow" doctrine. In Feist v. Rural Telephone (111 S.Ct. 1282 (1991)) the Supreme Court expressly rejected the "sweat of the brow" doctrine. "A factual compilation is eligible for copyright if it features an original selection or arrangement of facts, but the copyright is limited to the particular selection or arrangement. In no event may copyright extend to the facts themselves." The court also said that an alphabetical listing of phone numbers lacked sufficient originality to be afforded copyright protection. You can't copyright a phone book. Even if you could come up with an arrangement of listings which is sufficiently original, other people could still use the listings in their own arrangements. I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Bryan J. Abshier Abshier@osu.edu [Moderator's Note: I'm not a lawyer either, but my answer to the court is expressed in the message before this one. If I cannot copyright the effort which goes into the compilation of my publication(s), then I refuse to give the court, the copyright office or the Library of Congress any of my work, period. I've got names from each of those places on my mailing lists -- all will be removed today. PAT] ------------------------------ From: elana@netcom.com (Elana Beach) Subject: Re: Friend Needs Advice on Harrassing Caller Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 05:15:13 GMT josuna@cs.UMD.EDU (Juan Osuna) writes: > I have a friend who is getting spooked by someone who calls her > everyday at the same time, saying nothing and then just hanging up. > This has happened over 20 times. (esteemed Moderator's great suggestions about using caller-ID as a solution regretfully deleted for space.) Hmmmmm ... if Pat's suggestions don't work ... don't get mad, get creative! You can freak out any repeated phone harrasser (and have fun at the same time) by call-forwarding it to your local Dial-A-Prayer number. I have learned to keep that number handy just for such occasions. I have three-way calling, so the last time I got a harrasser on the phone, I connected him and his attempt at dirty talk to the local Dial-A-Prayer. As luck would have it, the topic for the day was a recorded sermon on how to overcome desire. I have not been harrassed since. Next time, I'm getting "Cousin Guido" on the line! That should be even MORE fun, especially since Caller-ID can help me and "Guido" find out where the harasser lives. Keep smilin'! Elana ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Friend Needs Advice on Harrassing Caller Organization: I.E.C.C. Date: 31 May 93 15:18:29 EDT (Mon) From: johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) In article is written: > I have a friend who is getting spooked by someone who calls her > everyday at the same time, saying nothing and then just hanging up. > [Moderator's Note: [various suggestions about Caller-ID, etc.] Hey, wait. Can your friend hear breathing, or just silence? If it's the latter, she is most likely the victim of an accidentally misprog- rammed modem, not a deranged sex maniac. If your local telco offers Call Trace, she can dial *57 after the call to try to log the origin of the call. (This is unaffected by CLID blocking.) In the absence of Call Trace, she should call the local telco and tell them to trace it themselves, which should be pretty easy if the calls reliably arrive at the same time each day. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us, {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 93 20:01 GMT0BST-1 From: Richard Cox Subject: Re: GSM Frequency Summary Reply-To: mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk FNAHA!JVE@TRENGA.tredydev.unis (Juha Veijalainen) said: > Also, I quoted British Vodafone rates at 1.25 USD / minute. I got > that figure when I converted the rate first to Finnish marks and then > to US Dollars. It might be clearer to quote prices in British pounds: > Vodafone charges 0.75 GBP / min. in the London Metropolitan area and > 0.70 GBP / min. outside (information from my local GSM operator). Sorry, but these figures are completely bogus. As I posted earlier: > UK GSM charges are 30-35 UK pence per minute, nothing like 1.25 > USD/minute! That's 0.30 UKP / min in the London Metropolitan area (inside the M25 ring) and 0.30 UKP / min outside. Your local GSM operator may want to check ... Of course the figures quoted might be valid for *roamed* calls -- roaming seems now to have become a license for cellular operators to print their own money ! Richard D G Cox Mandarin Technology, Cardiff Business Park, Llanishen, CARDIFF, Wales CF4 5WF Voice: +44 222 747111 Fax: +44 222 711111 VoiceMail: +44 399 870101 E-mail: mandarin@cix.compulink.co.uk - PGP2.2 public key available on request ------------------------------ From: serdar@fawlty8.eng.monash.edu.au (Serdar Boztas) Subject: Re: GSM Frequency Range and Experiences Organization: Monash University, Melb., Australia. Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 01:11:31 GMT FNAHA!JVE@TRENGA.tredydev.unisys.com writes: > I've recently invested in a small handheld GSM mobile phone. No one > has been able to tell me what frequency range it uses. Does someone > out there know? Judging from the antenna size, frequency might be > around 900 MHz or 1800 MHz. CEPT (Committee of European Posts and Telecoms) has made available two bands to be used by GSM: Uplink (mobile to base): 890 - 915 MHz Downlink : 935 - 960 MHz The carriers are spaced by 200 kHz, and using time division multiple access. Eight channels occupy each carrier, giving an effective 25kHz band for operation. The physical channels have a throughput of 24.7 kbit/sec. The mappings between logical and physical channels are quite complex. serdar boztas serdar@fawlty8.eng.monash.edu.au ------------------------------ From: ketil@edb.tih.no (Ketil Albertsen,TIH) Subject: Re: GSM Frequency Range Reply-To: ketil@edb.tih.no Organization: T I H / T I S I P Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 18:47:56 GMT In article , FNAHA!JVE@TRENGA.tredydev. unisys.com writes: > I've recently invested in a small handheld GSM mobile phone. No one > has been able to tell me what frequency range it uses. Does someone > out there know? Judging from the antenna size, frequency might be > around 900 MHz or 1800 MHz. According to my notes from a presentation of GSM, upstream channels are located from 905 to 914 MHz, downstream channels from 950 to 959 MHz. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: GTE Strikes! or Can't Deliver Phone Books Organization: I.E.C.C. Date: 31 May 93 15:02:35 EDT (Mon) From: johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) At least you get phone books. In over ten years at my current address, I have never, ever gotten a phone book delivered except by calling up and specicially ordering them. This neighborhood has a lot of buildings that are part of Harvard University, including a few of the houses which are used as overflow student housing. The phone book delivery people long ago decided that the entire block is Harvard, so all they need to do is dump a few shrink-wrapped blocks of books in the lobbies of the larger buildings and they're done. I've called many times to complain, but the delivery is actually done by independent contractors with very low-paid help, so there's no real accountability. NET will send you all of the in-state directories you want for free, so the practical effect is that once a year when I call to order out-of-town directories, I order the local ones as well. But it's annoying nonetheless. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us, {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 93 12:34:25 EDT From: jkimbro@hercii.lasc.lockheed.com (Jon Kimbrough) Subject: Re: GTE Strikes! or Can't Deliver Phone Books GTE isn't the only one who does a poor job delivering phone books! We live in a split level house and the front door is essentially one story up. The woman who delivered the phone books in our neighborhood complained to our next door neighbor about our house as she delivered her phone books, "Boy I sure don't want to climb all the way up there. It looks awfully high!" And then proceeded not to deliver our phone books. That's right, she didn't even bother to leave them at the foot of the stairs, under the stairs, or with the neighbor! I think you'll find that just like Southern Bell, GTE uses an outside service to deliver their phone books. The one Southern Bell uses apparently hires local people to deliver phone books and probably pays them on a per book basis. Looks like anyone with a pickup truck or station wagon is qualified! A call to Southern Bell service rep went something like this: Me: All my neighbors received their phone books but I didn't. Her: Okay, that's handled by another company. Let me give you a number to call. Me: Okay. Her: Well, I can't find it right now. I know it's here somewhere. Oh well, I will just go ahead and order you one myself. Me: One? I'm supposed to get three books, right. Her: Well, let's see. You are entitled to the Woodstock combined listings and Atlanta residential white pages. Me: I don't know the titles of all the books, but I know that all my neighbors got three phone books. I think the third book is the Atlanta business white pages. Her: Sir, there is a charge for the business directory. Me: I'm pretty sure that's what my neighbors got. Her: Well, I think there running a free trial on the business directory. Call this toll-free number and they can help you. Pretty poor. I think I'll call back again later and hopefully talk to someone who can either find the number of the delivery company or knows how to get me ALL the books I'm entitled to. I've also since verified that titles of all three books with a neighbor, and I was correct. Jon Kimbrough - jkimbro@lasc.lockheed.com Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Company ------------------------------ From: gilligan@ecst.csuchico.edu (Tuka) Subject: Re: Macs Answering Phones Date: 31 May 1993 04:12:43 GMT Organization: California State University, Chico In article leavens@bmf.usc.edu (Justin Leavens) writes: > There are two products that I know of on the market that interface > a Macintosh computer with a phone line, and allow for programming the > Mac to use it. They are both single-line solutions, meaning that you > have to purchase on copy for every line that you want it to answer, > and they both pretty well tie up an entire Mac (and I wouldn't suggest > using them on anything less than a Classic II, no matter what they > say). I have the PowerUser (modem 2400/9600 s-r fax/voicemail) and it cost only $299. You can call MacWarehouse (I don't like the company ... I've had problems with them), but lower cost. It does fine for me personally at home. Tuka :) ------------------------------ From: AlterNet@cup.portal.com Subject: Re: Switchless Resellers of Long Distance Services Date: Mon, 31 May 93 13:52:18 PDT I have been informed by UUNET Technologies that they are the owners of the trademark "AlterNet". I have referred the matter to AlterNet Marketing Ltd. of Allentown. PA. As an independent agent, I am under no obligation to use any specific name while doing business. I will no longer use name AlterNET as part of my business, however my user name on Portal is alternet for now. (Do user names fall under trademark protection? It seems like a grey area for the courts.) Anyway, I do not wish to participate in legal battles of a name that means a lot more to a company that has been in business a lot longer than I have. My position on thloLogoIDid is that it is not protected under trademark law, just as I could name my kid Pepsi if I wanted to. K.B.Houser AlterNET@cup.portal.com 5589 Winfield Blvd. #200 FAX: 408-765-0513 San Jose, CA 95123-1219 Voice: 408-363-3889 "Long Distance Service for Less" ------------------------------ From: gilligan@ecst.csuchico.edu (Tuka) Subject: Re: Cellular Charging? Date: 31 May 1993 04:17:04 GMT Organization: California State University, Chico You're paying for the service of being not tied down at home ... the freedom to go where you want and still be in touch ... My .02 cents. tuka ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 13:30:17 -0400 (EDT) From: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> Reply-To: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> Subject: Re: Sliding Window Protocols Norbert Vohn , writes: > I'm a student of electrical engineering and just doing my masters > thesis. > In the scope of this I need to implement a sliding window protocol > (with selective repeat) for usage in an simulation tool. (see > Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Computer Networks). > Maybe there exist some implementations in C++ or C? C-Kermit. The source is available from Columbia University. But I can't remember the site name; it's a pun on the use of the word "sun" something like "clarksun.columbia.edu" because the server is a Sun Unix machine. Paul Robinson -- TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM ------------------------------ From: Bob_Frankston@frankston.com Subject: Re: Modem Cannot Seize Line Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 14:02 -0400 You've probably heard these two answers already : 1. Try ATDP (pulse dialing). 2. Try reversing polarity on the wall jack. [Moderator's Note: I understood his message to mean he was unable to get the modem to go off hook, not that it went off hook, got dial tone but was unable to break dial. Did I read it wrong? PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 93 11:04 GMT From: Guy J. Sherr <0004322955@mcimail.com> Subject: Re: Latitude/Longitude -> Distance (V13.355) Latitude: parallel to the equator, a line describing distance between the equator and the "pole" in the hemishpere indicated, either North or South. Longitude: meridien lines which intersect both poles, running from north to south, desciribing a distance between the Prime Meridien and the International Date Line, either East or West. Degree: 1/360th of Circumference or Arc Minute: 1/60th of a degree, also "great-circle" minute. Second: 1/60th of a minute, also "great-circle." "Great-Circle" is the considered distance between two points lying on the surface of a sphere. 6 minutes: .1*(60) = 6 nautical miles 1 minute: .0167*(60) = 1nm 1 second: .0167*.0167*60 = 101.67 nautical feet Therefore, since 3600 seconds should equal 60 nautical miles, there should be 364560 feet when multiplying 101.67 by 3600 (in fact, the number is slightly larger). ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #367 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa19923; 1 Jun 93 10:43 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA03587 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 31 May 1993 18:39:33 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA07917 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 31 May 1993 18:38:59 -0500 Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 18:38:59 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199305312338.AA07917@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #368 TELECOM Digest Mon, 31 May 93 18:39:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 368 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: The Elusive LATA Line (David W. Tamkin) Re: The Elusive LATA Line (John R. Levine) Re: Telesharketers (was Re: Blocking ..) (Dave Levenson) Re: Telesharketers (was Re: Blocking ..) (Tarl Neustaedter) Re: New Rockwell v.32bis Chipset (Todd A. Scalzott) Re: Author Queries: Phone Mysteries (Joel Upchurch) Re: Great Wrong Number (was Re: Misdialed Numbers) (Darrin West) Re: WAN From North to South America (Harold Hallikainen) Re: Caller ID Mistakes (Mike Pollock) Re: Want a Good Phone (Gregory J. Nelson) Re: French DTMF - Is it the Same as Everwhere Else? (John Cagnol) Re: How to Evaluate Software (Andrew Grillet) Re: Is AT&T Getting Desperate? (Richard Nash) Re: Glazit Telephone Refinisher (Julian Macassey) ---------------------- TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively -- to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800 service. In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for the file 'products'. The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail- ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu. Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom. Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there, where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not require the use of our products and services. The two are separate. All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi- zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein. Send tithes and love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :) Phone: 312-465-2700. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 31 May 93 17:24 CDT From: dattier@genesis.mcs.com (David W. Tamkin) Subject: Re: The Elusive LATA Line Reply-To: dattier@genesis.mcs.com (DWT) Organization: Contributor Account at MCS, Chicago, Illinois 60657 Steve Forrette wrote in in comp.dcom.telecom: > The thing to do in this specific case is to tell the LEC operator > that you are having problems dialing your call directly, and can she > possibly try the number for you. This is a routine function for the > operator, and she will just key in the number you read her into the > computer. If it is an inter-LATA call, then her computer will tell > her it is an invalid number. If the call goes through, then it is > intra-LATA. You get the information you want, and the operator has > not been required to think. If it is intra-LATA then I am charged for the call at the LEC's rate plus an operator assistance surcharge! That method simply is not acceptable. > ... I just called the AT&T operator and told her I was having > problems in completing my call. She put the call through, and when I > got my 800 bill and located the test call in the call detail, I had my > answer. You also had a charge for the call at the testing carrier's rates. Probably, when the bill comes, I could argue customer service out of the surcharge, but I'd still be charged for the call at a time when I did not want to place it and by a company through whom I might not want to place it. Remember that my goal was to find out who would carry the call _before_ I made it so that I could get the rates and know in advance what it would cost. Since my goal was to find out the rates, it seemed logical for me to ask Customer Service, but as Steve points out logic has nothing to do with it (especially with Mother and her ex-children). > Perhaps an easier way to tell is to 0+ the call, and see whose > "bong" you get. John Levine emailed me the same suggestion. It's the best so far. I can say "oops" if a live operator answers, hang up, and pay nothing. At this point I'm still waiting for the last four digits of the phone number, so I haven't done anything yet. David W. Tamkin Box 59297 Northtown Station, Illinois 60659-0297 dattier@genesis.mcs.com CompuServe: 73720,1570 MCI Mail: 426-1818 ------------------------------ Subject: Re: The Elusive LATA Line Organization: I.E.C.C. Date: 31 May 93 15:23:50 EDT (Mon) From: johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) > I had a simple desire: I wanted to know whether an area on the edge of > my LATA was inside it or outside it so that I'd know which carrier to > ask for the cost of the call before I dialed there. I usually dial 0 + number, find out whose bong, tinkle, etc. I get, and hang up. If it's intra-LATA, you'll get the local telco, interlata you'll get your IXC. This works in RBOC and GTE areas, not always in independent areas since on the one hand they're allowed to provide their own LD service, but they usually contract with a nearby RBOC or AT&T for operator services. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us, {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl ------------------------------ From: dave@westmark.com (Dave Levenson) Subject: Re: Telesharketers (was Re: Blocking ..) Organization: Westmark, Inc. Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 18:04:57 GMT In article , Jack.Winslade@axolotl. omahug.org (Jack Winslade) writes: > What percentage of residential subscribers would go out of their way > (even if it was as simple as dialing a code or telling the service rep > to enable it) to voluntarily receive sales calls. > How close to ZERO would this percentage be ?? I think it would be very close to zero. But a related question should be posed: If blocking of unsolicited telemarketing calls were the default condition, how much would a subscriber accept in payment from the telemarketer to allow the calls in? Would you accept a $2.00/month credit on your telephone bill? A $10.00/month credit? If they insist on taking my time presenting me with unsolicited advertising, why should they not pay me for the privilege? Just a thought! Dave Levenson Internet: dave@westmark.com Westmark, Inc. UUCP: {uunet | rutgers | att}!westmark!dave Stirling, NJ, USA Voice: 908 647 0900 Fax: 908 647 6857 ------------------------------ From: tarl@persian.sw.stratus.com (Tarl Neustaedter) Subject: Re: Telesharketers (was Re: Blocking ..) Date: 31 May 1993 20:30:38 GMT Organization: Stratus Computer, Software Engineering In article whester@nyx.cs.du.edu (William R. Hester) writes: > In my most perfect of all worlds [...telemarketers...] would credit my > telephone account $1 each time I answered. In addition, I would > receive a credit of $0.50 per min. for as long as I held the > connection. A side issue: That's only $30/hour. I don't know about the rest of you, but when I do consulting on something thoroughly unpleasant (such as listening to a telemarketer :-), I charge considerably more than $30/hour. Consider that when contemplating what a telemarketer costs you. A better set of rates: $10/call ($1000 surcharge if I was asleep) $2/minute additional charge. That brings the hourly rate up to $120/hour, about what I paid a lawyer recently. And lawyers will do anything -- that sounds about right. While we're fantasizing, I'd waive the surcharge if the telemarketer stands 1000 yards down-range while I take a pot-shot at him. I'm a poor enough shot at that distance that the danger is minimal, but the satisfaction would be fantastic. (Can you detect the words of someone who has once too often been dragged out of a sound sleep by a telemarketer?) tarl ------------------------------ From: todd@friend.kastle.com (Todd A. Scalzott) Reply-To: todd@friend.kastle.com Subject: Re: New Rockwell V.32bis Chip Set Organization: Kastle Development Associates, Arlington, VA, USA Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 06:52:46 GMT moswald@cwis.unomaha.edu (Mike Oswald) writes: > alex@grian.cps.altadena.ca.us writes: >> ..."additional bonus of optional 16550 UART with FIFO..." >> About bleedin' time. It's not rocket science, but having just a teeny >> few characters worth of buffering under Windows will sure as heck help >> on total through put. > Where would I need to make changes in Windows if I have 9600 v.32/v.42 > external modem and I was wondering about how to help my COMM programs > performance? Get to the Program Manager, hit Alt-F4 and select OK. Problem solved. :-) (Sorry, I couldn't resist that one.) In all seriousness, though, insure that you have a 16550 UART on board. Most UARTs these days are socketted, so you can pull the old (16450 or 8250) and pop in a 16550. Also available are improved COM drivers for Windows its self, such as TurboComm. These are all commercial apps, though. [try comp.os.ms-windows.misc or comp.dcom.modems] Todd Scalzott, Systems Programmer todd@kastle.com Kastle Development Associates ...!uunet!friend!todd ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Author Queries: Phone Mysteries From: upchrch!joel@peora.sdc.ccur.com (Joel Upchurch) Date: Mon, 31 May 93 12:37:09 EDT Organization: Upchurch Computer Consulting, Orlando FL andys@internet.sbi.com (Andy Sherman) writes: > I seem to recall that SCCS correctly notified the monitoring center in > Springfield that a fire alarm had gone off in Hinsdale. The assholes > in Springfield chose to assume that it was a malfunction. (Text Deleted) > The lesson from Hinsdale is not that remote monitoring is bad. There > are two lessons from Hinsdale: a) don't create a single point of > failure in the area (i.e. don't make Hinsdale an unreplicated hub for > everything in sight); b) if you use remote monitoring, you cannot > afford to ignore a single alarm. All must be investigated. It seems to me a lot depends on how reliable the alarm indicators are. If it turns out that 99 times out 100 the fire alarm goes off there is no fire, then it isn't very surprising that the monitors treated it like a sensor problem rather than a real fire. If the system is prone to generating false alarms and is set up so that it's difficult for the monitor to verify that there is a real problem, then it isn't surprising that things like this can happen. It seems to me that with the current technology, that allows us to send video signals over phone lines and even better signals over ISDN lines, it would be good to have some way for the monitors to visually verify the problem. You could scatter a bunch of cheap fixed mount B&W CCD cameras around the building. When a alarm occurs the monitor could activate the video system for the building and check the camera for the effected area. You might also set it up so that video information is constantly sent to the monitoring center, cycling through the various cameras, so the monitor would have a chance to pick up problems that other sensors would miss. (If your mail bounces use the address below.) Joel Upchurch/Upchurch Computer Consulting/718 Galsworthy/Orlando, FL 32809 joel@peora.ccur.com {uiucuxc,hoptoad,petsd,ucf-cs}!peora!joel (407) 859-0982 ------------------------------ From: Darrin West Subject: Re: Great Wrong Number (was Misdialed Numbers) Organization: Jade Simulations International, Inc., Calgary, AB, Canada Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 23:37:13 GMT As long as people are interested in hearing this stuff: The best wrong number I ever had wasnt a result of how witty I was. I got a call from what seemed a *very* drunk young lady. After few incomprehensible sentences, she finally said "Cngratilehshuns, yer a faather." I realized that this must be the famous call from the hospital that all fathers wait so patiently for. Boy they must have used a lot a drugs on that poor kid. Anyway, I tried to carefully explain that she had dialed the wrong number, but she kept insiting that I was a daddy! I said "no, I don't think so", and she hung up. I wonder if she ever tried the call again, or if she figured that the father was trying to back out some how. I would pity the poor guy if she ever got hold of him with that impression! And he wouldn't even know what hit him or why. "I *called* you and *you* said..." Snicker. Hope it worked out. Darrin West, MSc. Jade Simulations International Corporation. west@jade.ab.ca ------------------------------ From: hhallika@tuba.calpoly.edu (Harold Hallikainen) Subject: Re: WAN From North to South America Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 23:34:50 GMT You might look at VSAT networks. A friend is in the business of setting up domestic VSAT networks, but he may be able to help in international stuff as well. The rates I've heard have been real reasonable. Try calling Bill Sepmeier at National Supervisory Network, phone 800 345 8728, email bill.sepmeier@f325.n104.z1.fidonet.org. Harold ------------------------------ From: Mike.Pollock@p19.f228.n2613.z1.fidonet.org (Mike Pollock) Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 12:00:25 -0500 Subject: Re: Caller ID Mistakes Paul Robinson wrote: > Anybody know whether this happens often? Does the Caller-ID report > include an error check? Are all boxes required to verify the check? Paul, It's my understanding that most Call ID boxes *do not* have error correction, however error checking is available in the data string. Call ID units from Phone Labs are among the few boxes which do feature Check Sum error correction. My CIDCO unit is constantly showing the Code #1 error message, indicating some undefined data reception error. I don't know if I have ever received a wrong number, since I've never tried to check, but it might be possible. Mike [Moderator's Note: Remember, the batteries need to be replaced in Caller-ID boxes also, maybe every 15-18 months or so. They say you can wait until the display grows dim or disappears; I do not think you should wait that long. PAT] ------------------------------ From: gnelson@gandalf.rutgers.edu (Gregory J. Nelson) Subject: Re: Want a Good Phone Date: 31 May 93 14:40:24 GMT Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J. kilgore@wuntvor.pillar.com (Stan Hall) writes: > Now its time for me to talk about my favorite phone in the house. Of > course it is black rotary W/E. I just bought four of these phones _new_ for $15 apiece. When I ordered them, I was fully expecting to get reconditioned equipment. They arrived sealed in the origial boxes and cloth bags (with silica gel). Complete with schematics. They are mil-spec (don't know if this was true of all WE phones) and the date of manufacture was in 1968. Pretty good deal IMHO. Gregory J. Nelson (gnelson@gandalf.rutgers.edu) [Moderator's Note: I want to apologize to Terry Kennedy and Herman Silbiger for an error which occurred in issue 364 earlier today on this thread. Herman quoted both Stan Hall and Terry Kennedy; the quoted text from Terry got dropped but his name remained ('in issue 353 Terry Kennedy said ...'), and part of Stan Hall's message got double quoted '>>' making it appear it came from Terry. Those things will happen with the volume of stuff originating here, but it was a problem for Terry, and I am sorry it got past me incorrect. PAT] ------------------------------ From: cagnol@taloa.unice.fr (John Cagnol) Subject: Re: French DTMF - Is it the Same as Everwhere Else? Date: 31 May 1993 10:31:23 +0200 Organization: University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France In article gmontgomery@sdesys1.hns.com (Guy Montgomery) writes: > I am trying to find out whether the Frech PSTN uses "standard" DTMF > for tone handsets and PBX DID connections. The feedback I am getting > is that the answer is no; therefore you cannot use US phones to access > French tone based services (i.e. answering machines) and vice versa, > and equipment that can dial in to a US PABX may not be able to dial > into a French PABX. > Does anyone know if France is indeed different, if so is there a well > known (e.g. CCITT) standard that describes the tone set? Is there a > comprehensive listing anywhere of countries versus the handset tone > system they use ? I use an American telephone (Panasonic KX-T2365) and an AT&T answering machine (model 1306) on the French network and I've no problem. Morever I use AT&T USA direct service with the touch tone system from other phone than mine, and it works fine. Therefore I think France Telecom (the French telephone company) uses the standard CCITT DTMF. John Cagnol ------------------------------ From: ANdrew.Grillet@p611.f102.n257.z2.fidonet.org (ANdrew Grillet) Subject: Re: How to Evaluate Software Organization: FidoNet node 2:257/102.611 - The Embassy, Broxbourne Herts Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 09:06:00 +0000 On (22 May 93) e28bgid2 wrote: > I am working on an applied research project on software quality, and I > ask the cooperation of the Net. > My field of interest is measuring the quality of applications. That > means answering to some questions, such as "are there any goto's?", > rating the answers, hashing results with some queer software and > saying "good usability, bad maintainability" and so forth. > What I need are the questions. There are some lists in literature, but > they are not specific for a technologic area. I recommend the questions: 1 Can the SW recover if you accidentally drop the manual on the keyboard? (Ie I regard anything with hot-keys as unsafe for general use.) 2 Can a complete novice (Ie someone who does not have any prior contact with the package) shut it down cleanly if he finds it running, and needs to use the PC for somthing else (Bin that copy of Wordperfect now.) 3 Are ALL prompts intelligable to NON-USERS (I have had plenty of "Please Mister, my keyboard hasn't got an 'any' key, what do I do?" If any nore of my staff answers press CTRL-ALT-DEL I think we'll all be sacked.) In general, in an office environment, machines are often shared, and many man hours are wasted because no one knows how to shut down apps they do not use. Regards, Andrew Gated @ the Embassy ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 07:10:45 -0600 From: rickie@trickie.ualberta.ca Subject: Re: AT&T Getting Desperate? Reply-To: rickie@trickie.ersys.edmonton.ab.ca In article , co057@cleveland.Freenet. Edu (Steven H. Lichter) writes: >> All of the L/D carriers are trying to get as much business as they >> can. > I can attest to that. I recently moved to Washington and signed with > MCI for long distance. I remembered seeing a commercial that said > they were offering $30 free LD for new accounts. I asked about it and > was told that I could have my choice of $30 free domestic LD or $100 > (!!!) free international LD. Since my wife has a job in Canada at the > moment, you can guess which one I picked. |-------------------------------| Let me guess, he picked the international LD offer? But, but I don't think Canada is considered international, cause you don't dial the international access code (01 or 011)? Richard Nash Edmonton, Alberta Canada T6K 0E8 UUCP: rickie@trickie.ersys.edmonton.ab.ca Amateur Radio: ve6bon.ampr.ab.ca [192.75.200.15] ------------------------------ From: julian@bongo.tele.com (Julian Macassey) Subject: Re: Glazit Telephone Refinisher Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 13:48:53 GMT Stan Hall writes: > Now its time for me to talk about my favorite phone in the house. Of > course it is black rotary W/E. > What it could use is a little bit of buffing up. It surface it > covered in light scratches that looks like someone took some steel > wool after it. Does anyone what would be the best thing to buff the > scratches out with? What the professional phone refurbishers use is a calico buff and some Tripoli paste. What I use at home that does the same job with more labour is Brasso. Disassemble the phone and using a rag, rub the plastic (ABS) shell with Brasso. Let dry and polish. Cracks can be repaired with MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) which you can buy in paint stores. You can also use "ABS cement" which plumbing stores carry. In the good old days, when you rented your 500 sets, between customers they went back for tarting up. This was called "R&R" Repair and Refurbishment. You may notice that some phones that have been "R&Red" have been painted. Yes, you can paint phones -- any colour you want. Julian Macassey, N6ARE julian@bongo.tele.com Voice: (213) 653-4495 Paper Mail: 742 1/2 North Hayworth Avenue, Hollywood, California 90046-7142 ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #368 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa00444; 2 Jun 93 19:32 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA17408 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Wed, 2 Jun 1993 16:56:35 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA17501 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Wed, 2 Jun 1993 16:55:29 -0500 Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1993 16:55:29 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306022155.AA17501@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #370 TELECOM Digest Wed, 2 Jun 93 16:55:30 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 370 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Call Trace Costs (Will Martin) Useful Out-of-Order Numbers Slowly Vanishing? (Laird Broadfield) BT Freeway HELP!! (Tariq N. Ahmad) Will a Modem (and Fax) From the US Work in Italy? (Jonathan Lieberman) JM8 Modular Connector (Bruce J. Miller) White House Gets a Real Internet Address (Nigel Allen) Stutter Dial Tone Device (Mike Pollock) Avoiding Calls From Long-Distance Phone Companies (Elana Beach) Direct-Dialing Ex-Soviet Republics (Richard Budd) Princess Ringer Help (Peter A. Morenus) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 2 Jun 93 11:11:41 CDT From: Will Martin Subject: Call Trace Costs There have been some messages in the Digest over recent months discussing Call Trace and citing the costs for each call traced, as outlined in new service offers from various telcos. One thing that has struck me has been how consistently these charges have appeared to be too high. I speculate that they are priced excessively high for several reasons: 1) Because it is likely to be used as an alternative to Caller-ID subscription, the telco is pricing Call Trace so high so that anyone using it to any extent will find it cheaper to start getting Caller-ID instead. 2) If Call Trace is actually used to prosecute or in some other way act against a harassing caller, the telco will end up investing quite a bit of man-hours in the case, and even if they charge extra for a "case-preparation fee" or other added-on charges for their doing the job they should be required to do anyway, they probably will expend more on that specific case than they collected in fees for those specific calls, so they'd want to collect more from all the not-followed-up-on calls to cover the whole cost of the department. [The "everything has to be a profit center" syndrome ...] 3) They want to discourage people from using this unless the person is REALLY feeling annoyed or harassed. To me, the seemingly-universal telco attitude to this is directly contrary to principles of good public service and being supportive of the great majority of the consumers who support the telco with their monthly payments. But what can you expect from an industry which has actively encouraged the development of the "telphone boiler room" telemarketing method and the subsquent plethora of scams and impositions that telemarketers have imposed on the public? The telcos' "holier-than- thou" attitude about such abuses has always been clearly hypocritical -- they know perfectly well when and where boiler rooms are set up, and could easily nip such operations in the bud, except that they really support them for the revenue they generate. Anyway, to get back to Call Trace; the only way those high charges could be justified would be if Call Trace would operate in this fashion: When the consumer does a Call Trace, it automatically generates a printed report on a postcard, which is put into the next day's mail to the billing address for the line that originated the Call Trace. This card would actually show the number that was traced, plus the billing name and address for that number. it doesn't matter if it is an unlisted number or an out-of-area number or any other "unusual" situation. if someone is annoyed enough by a phone call to do a "Call Trace" on it, they are OWED this information! The data on these telco-generated cards are also kept in a database for future reference in case of legal action. The telco cards themselves can be used as evidence in legal proceedings. (In the vast majority of cases, the fact that the callee can discover the caller's identity, or at least the phone's location, will stop future harrassment calls after the callee gets the card and confronts the caller or phone owner. It won't help all that much for payphone-originated calls, but it will kill off the 90% done by kids from their home phones.) I would consider that an accumulation of Call Trace records for a given calling line should be considered as grounds for discontinuing telephone service to that location or individual. It can't be automatic or strict, since such discontinuance-of-service-for-cause would have to be done on a case-by-case basis, but I would hope that a history of making annoyance calls could be somehow tied to an individual as easily and as tightly as a bad credit history is. Sure there are ways around it, but it is at least something. And it would be yet another way for "computer error" to falsely label an innocent individual. So that would have to be done carefully. Now, there are objections that come immediately to mind -- one is that a non-harrassing call from an unlisted phone can be Call-Traced and thus the "non-published" aspect of the calling phone line is lost. As someone who doesn't have an unlisted number, but is in the phone book along with the rest of the real people in this country, I really don't have much sympathy with those who feel they are so high and mighty they need unlisted phone service. But that's my personal opinion. If there is some way to get around this but still give really usable Call Trace results to the consumer for the first and single harrassing call, I'd like to learn it. I'd consider making Call Trace available only to residential lines, for example, though that could easily be worked-around by a company collecting non-published number data this way. Another possibility is to limit the Call Trace to a small number per line per month, but then the really harassed person is punished. In what other ways should the existing Call Trace procedure be changed so as to really benefit the consumer -- the ordinary person who does not use the phone to annoy people, but just relies on it as a tool to get thru daily life? Maybe if we can get a list together of needed changes, we can each use them when contacting our local PUCs or equivalents when the local telco presents rate-increase requests. Will ------------------------------ From: lairdb@crash.cts.com Subject: Useful Out-of-Order Numbers Slowly Vanishing? Date: 2 Jun 93 13:30:24 GMT Well, I'm a little disappointed to see some that at least one of the perpetually out of order numbers I've used for years for testing has died entirely, and a couple of others have become less interesting. +49 30 123456 seems to have gone entirely. This was the first relly intersting OO I got; I've been using it for at least 12 years. It would answer with SIT, then an announcement in German. More interesting yet, when Germany "unified", the announcement changed to SIT and a different (and much grumpier) voice with a different announcement. Now it's just a fast busy (generated I know not where.) +81 3 5275 0000 I got this one from the Digest a couple of years back. Until lately it gave a *great* SIT/voice announcement, terrific quality, with music in the background, first in Japanese, then in English, to the effect that you had reached the "telephone office of KDD Japan ..." Now it has no SIT, and says something in Japanese followed by reading a string of digits (which I'm not patient enough to figure out, but I don't think it matches the number I dialed.) +1 819 793 1234 used to give SIT, then what someone claimed was an Eskimo OO announcement, now there's not SIT, but there's a (language?) announcement, followed by an English announcement. According to the quickie NANP table I've got, that's Quebec&NWT. +1 809 755 9950 Actually, I can't remember if this used to have SIT or not, but it doesn't any more. I don't think it used to have Spanish then English, either (same voice). (I think it's Spanish -- it doesn't sound quite round enough for Portugese.) My table shows this a the Carribean. Anybody got any other interesting OOs, or get any different results calling these? Laird P. Broadfield lairdb@crash.cts.com ...{ucsd, nosc}!crash!lairdb Hi! I'm a shareware signature! Send $5 if you use me, send $10 for manual! [Moderator's Note: Does anyone recall what 809 number it is/was that when dialed was intercepted with a recording which said "The number you have dialed is restricted from international calling; please hang up and try your call again. This is a Cable and Wireless recording." Hang up and try the call again? What for? If the number is restricted now it will be when I redial in a few seconds also. PAT] ------------------------------ From: ahmadt@project4.computer-science.manchester.ac.uk (Tariq N Ahmad) Subject: BT Freeway HELP!! Date: 2 Jun 93 14:34:22 GMT Hi Y'All, I recently got hold of a BT Freeway (yes I know they're old) cordless phone. I can hear people on the other end clearly but they complain of not being able to hear me. The phone has few toggles and things, but I haven't a clue as to what they're for. Does anyone have a manual or any other advice?? Please mail me directly if at all possible. Thanks. ahmadt@cs.man.ac.uk ------------------------------ From: lie6@midway.uchicago.edu (Jonathan Lieberman) Subject: Will a Modem (and Fax) From the US Work in Italy? Reply-To: lie6@midway.uchicago.edu Organization: The University of Chicago Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1993 14:37:39 GMT My boss is going to Italy for the summer, and wants to know whether the phone system there is compatible with the American modem in his pc and an American fax machine. I know that the electricity is 220v but you can get an adapted fo that. Thanks. Jonathan Lieberman lie6@midway.uchicago.edu The University of Chicago ------------------------------ From: miller@VFL.Paramax.COM (Bruce J. Miller) Subject: JM8 Modular Connector Organization: Paramax Systems Corp, Valley Forge Labs, Paoli, PA Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1993 18:44:49 GMT We are going to be using a number of Codex 3600 modems designed for analog leased line used. Codex says in their manual that the proper plug to use is a USOC JM8. The cables supplied with the modem have these wide modular plugs with only the outer pairs of pins used for the four wire line - the center four contacts are unused. The following note is also contained in the manual: Note: The RJ series of jacks should not be used to connect data equipment to non-switched private line networks. There is a substantial difference in transmit levels permitted in the private line service and those permitted in the public switched network. 8-pin USOC JM8 modular jacks should be used for connection to non-switched private line networks. [end of manual note] Several questions I hope someone in the know can answer: Is a JM8 mechanically interchageable with an RJ45? If this is true, can we use RJ45's to connect two modems back to back if their xmit levels are set down to -15 dbm (instead of the 0 dbm used for leased lines)? (Codex says back-to-back operation at -15 dbm is permissible.) Again, if the two plugs are mechanically compatible, what bad things will happen if an RJ45 is used at 0 dbm in a leased line connection? (Crosstalk, smoke, fire?!!) Enquiring minds want to know ... Any enlightenment would be appreciated, email preferred, but post if you think this is of general interest. miller@gvls1.vfl.paramax.com (Bruce J. Miller) (or 72247.202@compuserve.com) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Jun 93 00:02:42 EDT From: ae446@freenet.carleton.ca (Nigel Allen) Subject: White House Gets a Real Internet Address Organization: Echo Beach Reply-To: ae446@freenet.carleton.ca Here is a press release from the White House. I downloaded the press release from the PR On-Line BBS in Maryland at 410-363-0834. Letter from President Clinton, Vice President Gore Announcing White House Electronic Mail Access Contact: White House Office of Media Affairs, 202-456-7150 WASHINGTON, June 1 -- Following is a letter from President Clinton and Vice President Gore announcing White House electronic mail access: Dear Friends: Part of our commitment to change is to keep the White House in step with today's changing technology. As we move ahead into the twenty-first century, we must have a government that can show the way and lead by example. Today, we are pleased to announce that for the first time in history, the White House will be connected to you via electronic mail. Electronic mail will bring the Presidency and this Administration closer and make it more accessible to the people. The White House will be connected to the Internet as well as several on-line commercial vendors, thus making us more accessible and more in touch with people across this country. We will not be alone in this venture. Congress is also getting involved, and an exciting announcement regarding electronic mail is expected to come from the House of Representatives tomorrow. Various government agencies also will be taking part in the near future. Americans Communicating Electronically is a project developed by several government agencies to coordinate and improve access to the nation's educational and information assets and resources. This will be done through interactive communications such as electronic mail, and brought to people who do not have ready access to a computer. However, we must be realistic about the limitations and expectations of the White House electronic mail system. This experiment is the first-ever e-mail project done on such a large scale. As we work to reinvent government and streamline our processes, the e-mail project can help to put us on the leading edge of progress. Initially, your e-mail message will be read and receipt immediately acknowledged. A careful count will be taken on the number received as well as the subject of each message. However, the White House is not yet capable of sending back a tailored response via electronic mail. We are hoping this will happen by the end of the year. A number of response-based programs which allow technology to help us read your message more effectively, and, eventually respond to you electronically in a timely fashion will be tried out as well. These programs will change periodically as we experiment with the best way to handle electronic mail from the public. Since this has never been tried before, it is important to allow for some flexibility in the system in these first stages. We welcome your suggestions. This is an historic moment in the White House and we look forward to your participation and enthusiasm for this milestone event. We eagerly anticipate the day when electronic mail from the public is an integral and normal part of the White House communications system. President Clinton Vice President Gore PRESIDENT@WHITEHOUSE.GOV VICE.PRESIDENT@WHITEHOUSE.GOV ----------------- Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada ae446@freenet.carleton.ca ------------------------------ From: Mike.Pollock@p19.f228.n2613.z1.fidonet.org (Mike Pollock) Date: Wed, 02 Jun 1993 00:18:25 -0500 Subject: Stutter Dial Tone Device > A few weeks ago there was a post about a device called the "Call > Alert", which is a light that indicates pending voice mail, which > could otherwise be detected only by picking up the handset and > hearing "stutter tone" -- interrupted dial tone. I called Hello Direct > as suggested in the posting, but they said the item had been > discontinued. > Is there an alternative available? Try the: PHONE LABS STUTTER DIAL DETECTION UNIT MODEL STD1 BASIC FEATURES o Voice Messaging Stutter Dial Detection o Message Waiting Light Indicator o Automatic Message Light Off o Manual Message Light Off Button o Wall, Desk or Phone Mount o A/C Adapter Included o Test Mode o Includes Modular Telephone Cord o Two-Year Limited Warranty. To find a local dealer: PhoneLabs 757 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017 212 752-9300 212 755-2709 Fax Mike ------------------------------ From: elana@netcom.com (Elana Beach) Subject: Avoiding Calls From Long-Distance Phone Companies Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1993 04:50:11 GMT Lately I have started to notice a veeeeeery interesting pattern on my incoming calls ... there have been times when I answered the phone with my usual "Hello, this is Elana" and the line seemed to be dead ... no noise of any kind. Puzzled me, wondering what was going on, would keep repeating "hello" like anyone. Then something would come alive on the other end, an operator would say: "Hello is this Elana ______?" as if they hadn't heard my usual greeting. I soon got wise, and learned to recognize a call from my now-former LD carrier as soon as I heard (or rather didn't hear) no sound on the line after I answered. This was quite handy because I had a bit of a bill dispute with them awhile back. Being able to recognizTXTze an incoming call from them helped to me to avoid I them when I needed to. (Fortunately the bill situation is now being resolved and I have switched to MCI from Sprint.) Today I used this knowledge to very humorous advantage against AT&T. Phone rang, I answered with usual default greeting and the line again seemed to be dead. I just waited, thinking that Sprint had no reason to call me now. Then the line came alive with an AT&T sales-pitch-er on the line, asking for me by full name. AH-HA!!! Time for some fun. I said, "Sorry, she's not here." Woman asked when I'd be back. Said I, "Not for several months. Elana's out of the country until then." The sales woman asked if *I* could make a long-distance carrier decision for this number she was calling. Said I: "I don't think so. Elana would KILL me!" The nice AT&T saleslady concluded that it probably would not be worth trying to call for awhile in that case, and then politely hung up. Didn't even ask when that Elana character was due to come back home to the States! Nice way to avoid any sales pitches from AT&T for awhile! In the meanwhile ... Could someone tell me what kind of mechanism is happening here? Why does it sound like a dead line IN THE FIRST PLACE right after I answer the phone??? Keep smilin'! :) Elana [Moderator's Note: What you have here are companies (various, not just telcos; the bill collectors use these a lot also) whose time is so valuable to them -- they could care less ahout *your* time -- that they have a type of computer which dials ahead of the solicitors (clerks, collectors) and gets the next call recipient on the line ready to listen to the pitch. Once the machine, which is programmed to recognize some speech hears 'hello', it immediatly signals a person at the other end to pick up a phone and start the conversation, usually by switching the call through something similar to an automatic call distributor to the first available agent/clerk position. That person then automatically gets a display on their tube showing what number they are talking to, what the call is to be about (will you sign up with us, pay your bills, whatever) and commences the conversation. Where things go awry sometimes is the 'dialer' -- as the machine is called -- gets too far ahead of the clerks behind it. It has been programmed for about how long a call will last, and when that time is up it places the next call. The clerks get backlogged, the 'dialer' has detected a 'hello' (or some speech pattern from the place it called) but it has no one available to give the call to ... it is supposed to remain silent after hearing an answer and simply give the call to someone -- anyone free to place another call -- at the company. That is why after a few seconds of silence, you heard someone come on the line and ask 'is this so and so?'; most people do not respond with their name as part of the answer-phrase, at least not from their home phone. Had there been more than a few seconds delay, the machine would have started talking to you itself: a recorded voice would have said something about 'I have a very urgent call for you, and am trying to connect you now. Please hold the line.' Given another five or ten seconds, it would have repeated itself, or said said something like, 'please continue to hold, I'm trying to connect your call'. (Translation: you sit there and cool your heels. Wait until we get around to you.) They call those devices 'dialers'. Is this the height of arrogance, or am I dreaming? You see, *your* time -- you the person who was called to the phone -- is worth diddly. The minimum wage clerks behind the 'dialer' are far too busy to actually dial the number themselves when they are in a position to place a call and actually speak. The companies which make these awful devices claim the savings in time to the clerks -- the ten seconds or so they would spend manually dialing and listening to ringing before you answered -- is tremendous when totalled over a full day among all the clerks. You can do the math and figure out the total hours saved in a large phone room operation each day. Whenever I get a call from one of those machines, I *immediatly* hang up the phone unless the person behind the dial begins speaking within about three seconds of my lifting the receiver. At the first mention of 'please hold the line for an urgent call' or more than about three seconds of silence, I hang up. You should do the same. For extra points, try using *69 automatic return last call to the machine. It will just ring forever, or maybe it will answer and sit there in silence, but either way, a port on the machine has been tied up and kept from being a nuisance to other people like yourself. :) PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 01 Jun 93 19:27:45 EDT From: Richard Budd Subject: Direct-Dialing Ex-Soviet Republics Organization: CSAV UTIA jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu (James R. Saker Jr.) writes in TELECOM Digest V13 #354: > Speaking of rumors ... has anyone heard if any of the former Soviet > republics (Latvia, Kyrg., etc.) are direct dialable yet? According to > Sprint, AT&T and Worldcom's tariffs, they're listed independently to > allow for billing breakouts, but are still accessed by country-code 7. > Last I heard, Moscow was the only direct-dialable part of the former > USSR. All areas of the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) are direct dialable thanks to fiber optic cables strung to them from Sweden and Finland. Direct international dialing was a top priority of the newly democratic governments of all three of the Baltic states. They wanted communication from the outside world routed directly into their country and not through Moscow, as telephone and post were in the days of the USSR. Direct dialing was also the reason Estonia, Lativa, and Lithuania wanted their own Country Codes and network domain codes very quickly. The domain codes are .EE for Estonia, .LV for Latvia, .LT for Lithuania. I can't speak for Lithuania, but Estonia and Latvia also established new zip codes quickly too. I just read today that Latvia will introduce its new currency, the LAT, on June 28. Estonia introduced their currency, the KROON in September, 1992. And Vladimir Menkov wrote in TELECOM Digest V13 #363: > This is not the case. One can direct-dial telephone numbers in a > number of cities in Russia with AT&T or Sprint, including most > provincial capitals, such as Cheboksary or Murmansk. I don't have > personal experience with other ex-Soviet states, but I suppose that > many republics are accessible through 7. Most cities in Ukraine are also direct dialable. I may be in Ukraine the latter half of the year. I'll try calling the US if someone sends me some bucks. Otherwise, you'll have to settle for calls to Slovakia. Richard Budd USA-klub@maristb.bitnet CZ-budd@cspgas11.bitnet SQ-to.be.announced ------------------------------ From: Peter.A.Morenus@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu, Jr. Subject: Princess Ringer Help Date: 2 Jun 1993 19:21:32 GMT Organization: Cornell University Photography Hey, It's little, it's pretty, it lights, but it doesn't ring! Anyone know the wiring for the ringer on my Princess phone. The manufacture date is 10/63. If I remember correctly the network is a 4010. Thanks, Peter Morenus pam2@cornell.edu ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #370 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa16013; 3 Jun 93 18:44 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA19560 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Thu, 3 Jun 1993 15:57:48 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA11112 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Thu, 3 Jun 1993 15:57:09 -0500 Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 15:57:09 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306032057.AA11112@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #371 TELECOM Digest Thu, 3 Jun 93 15:57:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 371 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Retaliatory Crimes (Paul Robinson) Advantages of Pre-pay Phone Cards (Henry E. Schaffer) Replacement Antenna For Cellular "Bagphone"? (Jim Kresse) U.S. GAO Report: Telephone Interruptions (Jim M. Bowden) Voice/Fax Line Sharing (Reid Goldsborough) States of Phone Line/Detecting Offhook From Another Room (Randall Smith) Modem Waiting for the BONG (Edwin Slonim) Network Service Provider Information Wanted (Eelco H. Essenberg) Motorola Tel-Locate Alpha Protocol (Bob Jaques) Videophone Information Wanted (Henry C. Schmitt) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu 3 Jun 1993 00:48:56 -0400 (EDT) From: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> Reply-To: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> Subject: Retaliatory Crimes From: Paul Robinson The Moderator of Telecom Digest, Pat Townson wrote on that mailing list (also known as the Usenet news group comp.dcom.telecom), some responses about some person or organization whose fax machine was seeking out fax numbers of other people by essentially trying every number in the Indianapolis area. He then discusses a response to a similar action: a cracker who, after 'trolling' for numbers to try, then using numbers that give what he wants, breaking into some company's system, presumably their computer system, their PBX, or both and a response by whoever the victim was. Feel free to edit this message to fit. I wanted to talk about the ethics (morality) of retaliatory responses in kind or the possibility of such actions being possible. For the IBM-PC lists, consider if someone could do this to you, i.e. call into your desktop computer and trash it. For the mainframe, ethics and objectivism lists I've sent this to, what is your opinion of the ethics of retaliatory responses, e.g. you break into my computer system, I break into yours and erase your files? For the readers of TELECOM Digest I wonder what your opinons are: Original Title: Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis PT> [Moderator's Note: [material relating to suggested responses to use on a 'trolling fax machine' deleted.] PT> The security department in one large corporation *is* responding PT> in a similar way to hackerphreaks they catch on their site: If PT> they capture the calling number, they wait a few days and call PT> back. [Item indicating caller then is able to access the called-party's machine directly and run a formatting program to damage their computer. The actual text appears below in another comment.] This assumes the called-party has a program running that would allow access to his computer's DOS from the telephone. I have seen reports about at least two programs that are used to hack phone numbers for making unauthorized calls. They are, in both of the cases I've seen, outbound dialing programs, and do not accept incoming calls. For some outside party to get access to my computer, the program that provides access would have to accept commands to be submitted to DOS, or allow me to shell to DOS. Just because a computer answers doesn't mean you can even get a response, let alone run a program or access the DOS prompt. The modem answers the phone. The computer can simply wait for an appropriate request string and if it doesn't get it, ignore further messages or even disconnect the call. One of the reports I read in Phrack [an on-line magazine devoted to cracking computers and telephone systems] stated that in one case, a BBS that people posted hacking material on answered the phone and left silence waiting for the CALLER to switch to answer mode. In some cases they might use a WATSON [a combined modem, touch-tone decoder and voice-mail box that allows the called computer to receive touch-tone responses] or similar device to require the caller to enter a touch-tone sequence. In short, some of these intruders have better incoming call security on THEIR online systems than the commercial sites they broke into! [This was Pat Townson's remarks about retaliation by companies that had been hit by crackers; 'they' probably refers to the corporate security people:] PT> If a computer answers, they proceed to format the hard PT> drive, and leave a single line textfile message saying "You PT> have been visited by someone who knows a lot more about PT> hacking than you will ever know!" ... self-help! .... don't PT> get mad; get even. PAT] Assuming this is true or that it happened, this is not a good idea. While the person in question (who was called back) is doing something wrong, the executives and security people who run their system risk that the person in question can turn around and file charges against them for the same thing. Further, since this is being done by the security department of a corporate entity, there is the possibility of the defendant (who might be looking at a trial anyway) whose lawyer will then file civil AND criminal charges of Conspiracy and Racketeering! There is also the doctrine of 'unclean hands'. It's going to be hard for them to claim damages against the cracker or criminal activity on his part when they are doing worse; (especially if what the incoming caller did essentially amounted to stealing computer time or phone service. In his case, it constitutes mere 'embezzlement', 'unauthorized access' or 'toll fraud'. In their case, it's 'malicious destruction of a computer system'. If someone runs unauthorized charges on my credit cards, let's say I'm stuck for the $50 fraud maximum on all of them, this will not give me permission to set fire to their car, forge documents and raid their bank account, or steal their property to make up the difference, or to break into their house and paint the inside walls black. (I've been told this is one of the worst things that can be done to someone's property is to paint their inside walls black.) Also, using retaliatory activity against someone who is alleged to commit a criminal act may *fatally damage* an attempt to prosecute them. Because if the plaintiff is doing the same thing, i.e. invading the defendant's computer system, this could be used to show that this is common practice, i.e. that the defendant didn't do anything wrong since *trained professionals* are doing the same thing, or worse. In short, unless and until a company is willing to declare the law to be nonexistent, e.g. that the government has essentially ceased to function or has become morally bankrupt, using self help is not a good idea. If you don't intend to prosecute and don't think the so-called 'victim' will, then you might get away with it. On the other hand, if it got out that the professional computer security people of a major company were involved in *intentional criminal activity*, the resulting bad publicity might be much worse. Honest professionals are not supposed to engage in 'tit-for-tat' tantrums, or 'steal from me, I burn down your house' mafia style activity. Paul Robinson -- TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM ------------------------------ From: hes@ncsu.edu (Henry E. Schaffer) Subject: Advantages of Pre-pay Phone Cards Organization: North Carolina State University Date: Thu, 03 Jun 1993 17:04:19 GMT On a trip to Japan I bought one of their phone cards and was very pleased with the freedom from the hassle of carrying many coins, and the cost savings in practice. Since I was a traveler I made a number of long distance phone calls from pay phones which take either coins or cards. However they don't make change for coins - e.g. if you put in two 100 yen coins and the call charge amounts to 110 yen it keeps both coins. The card only costs you the 110 yen amount. However the major reason why I would use pre-pay cards is the ability to minimize risk. If I give a child a $5 (or whatever amount) card to call home with -- my risk is limited to the face value. If the card is lost there is no required hassle of contacting anyone or of worrying about risks. Also this situation, plus the limitation of the card to telephone calls, makes it relatively unattractive to a would-be thief. I consider these advantages to be worth much more than the minor amount of interest lost on the pre-pay deposit. Some features of the Japanese cards which are very nice, but unlikely to show up here without massive conversion of our payphones, relate to showing the user how much money is left. When the Japanese card is put into the phone slot, the digital display immediately shows the balance, and it is decremented as the phone call proceeds. After the call, the phone punches a very small hole in the card if the balance has fallen below certain intervals. This allows the user to get a rough idea of the balance by just looking at the card. henry schaffer [Moderator's Note: Your point about minimizing the risks for children is a good one, and very timely considering something which happened here yesterday. My neighbor has a seven year old child; our little one will soon be four years old, and they play together. For the older one's birthday, I got him a wallet. I used the computer to print out a very 'official-looking' ID card with his name, address, phone number and picture. Normally it is *not* wise at all to allow children in Chicago to play outside simply because of the large amount of gun fire, gang activity, molestors and other creeps who hang around on the side- walks that the police cannot get rid of without 'violating their rights' as the court would say. But a little area in back of our building is a place they can go to play ball; things like that. So he was pleased as punch about this wallet and ID card; I gave him a $2 'Talk Ticket' as well. Sure enough, outside for thirty minutes at most; two older kids came by, knocked him off his bike, stole the bike we bought him last Christmas, and stole his new wallet as well, apparently for the dollar or so in change he had in the coin part. The two of them came running in crying about the bike, the wallet, etc. The Talk Ticket was the least valuable thing of all (the little folks were not hurt other than their stuff getting stolen). It is nice that under this program, if the Talk Ticket is *registered* with the seller when you buy it, (as to your name, etc), it can be cancelled out if stolen and a replacement serial number issued by the seller. So you have 'good as cash' anomynity if desired or at least some protection on larger denomination cards if that is your preference. We (the producers and I) are thinking about a style of Talk Ticket which will be limited to 'one number calling' as well; something children could have to call home, or which could be given to children away at college to call parents, etc. PAT] ------------------------------ From: jim@atvl.panasonic.com (Jim Kresse) Subject: Replacement Antenna For Cellular "Bagphone"? Reply-To: jim@atvl.panasonic.com Organization: Panasonic ATVL Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 14:11:58 GMT I'm looking for an antenna to replace my current "suction cup" version. Any ideas besides Radio Shack or Hello Direct? Thanks! Jim Kresse jim@atvl.panasonic.com Standard disclaimers apply ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Jun 93 10:34:38 -0400 From: at507@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jim M. Bowden) Subject: U.S. GAO Report: Telephone Interruptions Reply-To: at507@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jim M. Bowden) First Copy of General Accounting Office report - free. U.S. General Accounting Office P.O. Box 6015 Gaithersburg, MD 20884-6015 Telecommunications: Interruption of Telephone Service. GAO/RCED-93-79FS, Mar. 5 (35 pages). In the fall of 1991, a long-distance carrier suffered a massive outage that cut off most long-distance communications to and from New York City. Particularly disturbing was a disruption in the region's air traffic control system, which depends on telephone lines for voice and data transmission. GAO found that more than 1,000 such outages occurred during 1990 and 1991, affecting upwards of 69 million customers. Discounting an ice storm that lasted two weeks, the average duration of the outages was 3.3 hours; about half of the outages occurred between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Local telephone companies experienced about 80 percent of these outages; they said that hardware problems, such as computer failure, and software problems, such as programming errors, were the main culprits. Long-distance companies said that cable cuts were the main reason for their disruptions. ------------------------------ From: reidg@pacs.pha.pa.us (Reid Goldsborough) Subject: Voice/Fax Line Sharing Date: 3 Jun 93 18:42:54 GMT Organization: Philadelphia Area Computer Society Help needed. I need to find a better way to share voice and fax on one phone line. I have a Practical Peripherals V.32bis fax modem, Bell of Pennsylvania's Answer Call voice mail service, ProComm Plus for Windows, and WinFax Pro. This has worked fine until now, since I wasn't getting more than an average of three faxes a week. When I was BBSing and someone called, Answer Call would kick in and the person could leave a message for me. If someone wanted to send me a fax, I asked them to call first to let me enable WinFax's automatic reception. The problem arises when I get a voice call while I'm waiting for the fax. The person making the voice call will hear the fax sounds, since WinFax will have kicked in, thinking it's receiving a fax. I've tried using WinFax's manual reception option by waiting for the phone to ring, picking up the receiver myself, and telling WinFax to receive the fax if I hear the fax sounds. But either I'm not fast enough or I disconnect the calling fax somehow. Is there a technique or trick here I'm missing? What's more, I've been getting more faxes lately -- some days as many as five faxes -- so these problems have been happening more frequently. Yet I don't think I could cost-justify adding an additional phone line at this point. Apart from the installation charges, a phone line would cost me a minimum of $7.70 a month (dial tone line plus federal line cost charge). Then there's the $1 per month touchtone charge (how necessary?). Since I do a lot of BBSing and call all over (which I'd continue to do with this dedicated modem/fax line), it might pay to subscribe to a local calling plan. But metro service costs an additional $25 a month. On the other hand, electing not to subscribe to a local calling plan would mean that I'd be charged for every local call. Anybody know how the phone company charges you for these calls? One solution might be to stay with one phone line and buy one of these line managers that are designed to let you share one line with different devices. There are different kinds of line managers, though. One kind somehow switches between voice and fax, but I've heard they're not always reliable. True? Another kind you use in conjunction with a distinction ring service like Bell of Pennsylvania's Identa Ring service. This service lets you use two phone numbers with one phone line, each of which rings with its own distinctive ringing pattern. The line manager/ring detecter detects the ringing pattern and directs the call to the appropriate device. Anybody have experience with these? Or maybe the solution is to buy a modem like the Intel Satisfaction that has built-in line management capabilities? But can it switch among modem, fax, and voice? Do you use it with the phone company's distinctive ring service? Another solution might be completely software based. I've seen some shareware programs designed to make it easier to share one phone line, but they all seem to be DOS based and pretty primitive. Anybody have experience with these, or the other things mentioned above? Thanks in advance. Reid Goldsborough reidg@pacs.pha.pa.us ------------------------------ From: randys@Think.COM (Randall Smith) Subject: States of Phone Line/Detecting Offhook From Another Room Date: 3 Jun 93 18:15:56 Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA This strikes me as an FAQ kind of question, but I couldn't find this group's FAQ on ftp.uu.net. So my zeroth question is: does this group have an FAQ and where can I find it? The real question: I am interested in building a little box that can be inserted inline between a jack and a phone/computer which will have a light on it indicating whether or not that phone line is offhook anywhere else in the house. I think I know enough basic electronics to do the job, but I need to know: 1) What states can a computer line be in and how can you identify them electronically? I count three: on-hook, off-hook (talking), and ringing. However, I don't know what these look line on the phone line. 2) What's the maximum load I can place on an incoming line without messing up the phones on that line or the phone companies circuits? Thanks much for any assistance! Randall Smith randys@think.com [Moderator's Note: The Telecom FAQ is free for the asking; I post it in the comp.dcom.telecon newsgroup about once a month more or less. It goes out to new subscribers to the mailing list, and it can be obtained using anonymous ftp from the Telecom Archives at lcs.mit.edu. Also, I believe the schematic you are seeking is filed in the Archives. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Jun 93 05:39:40 PST From: Edwin Slonim Subject: Modem Waiting for the BONG Is there an AT command or other way of waiting for the BONG when dialing with a credit card? I call from many different locations and phone systems, sometimes via 10xxx access, and even from overseas using USA Direct. The delay until the bong varies enormously from about six seconds to more than 25. If I set my modem to wait 25 seconds after dialing, the "operator" times out, and my modem has a fruitless monologue with a real person operator. Are other tones recognizable too, like the tone from MCI 950 access? Edwin Slonim, Portable Partner Program Intel Israel, PO Box 1659, Haifa, 31072 Israel voicemail (916)356-2005, eslonim@inside.intel.com phone (011)+972-435-5910, fax (011)-972-435-5674 ------------------------------ From: essenber@dutiws.TWI.TUDelft.NL (Eelco H. Essenberg) Subject: Network Service Provider Info Wanted Organization: Delft University of Technology Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 11:28:40 GMT Hello everyone! I wonder if anyone can help with the following: I am a computer science student at Delft University of Technology, specialising in datacommunications. For my graduation research project, I am designing a datacommunications network for a company that has headquarters in Amsterdam (NL) and works with partners in ten other countries including Brazil, South Africa, US, Australia and several western European countries. At the moment, I am gathering information from the local telecom providers (PTT's, Baby Bells) to see what services are available, and what they cost. Things I'm looking into include ISDN and X25-based networks. I suspect other network service providers might also be worth looking into. I'm thinking of companies like BT Tymnet, etc. Can anybody provide me with addresses where I might contact these companies? Also, someone told me companies like IBM have their own nets and rent spare capacity to outsiders. Is this true? If so, whom should I talk to? I really hope anybody can answer these questions. Any information will be greatly appreciated. Answers here or by e-mail. Greetings from the Netherlands, and thanks in advance, Eelco ------------------------------ From: jaques@alantec.com (Bob Jaques) Subject: Motorola Tel-Locate Alpha Protocol Date: 3 Jun 93 15:04:11 GMT Organization: Alantec Is there an online copy of the communication protocol for Motorola alpha-numeric pagers? I think it is called Tel-Locate alpha protocol. Also are there any programs around that allow e-mail interface to these pagers? thanks, bob ------------------------------ From: hcs+@cs.cmu.edu (Henry C Schmitt) Subject: Videophone Information Wanted Reply-To: hcs@yoruba.slip.cs.cmu.edu Organization: Engineering Design Research Center, Carnegie Mellon Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 15:15:33 GMT I checked the FAQs and the archive on lcs.mit.edu, but I didn't see anything on this (maybe I just didn't look hard enough). Anyway, having just been given an AT&T Videophone 2500 (Grandad wants to see his new grandson) I'm interested in how it works. Could anyone point me to information on the protocol it uses? Online Info. would be preferred (obviously), but any pointers will do. Thanks a bunch! Henry C. Schmitt Engineering Design Research Center - Carnegie Mellon Home: 2863 Beechwood Blvd.,Pittsburgh, PA 15217-3114 (412) 421-8482 Work: 2212 Hamburg Hall,5000 Forbes Ave,Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (412) 268-2257 E-Mail: InterNet: hcs@cmu.edu CIS: 72275,1456 AppleLink, AOL, GEnie: H.Schmitt ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #371 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa17595; 3 Jun 93 19:36 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA10913 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Thu, 3 Jun 1993 17:01:31 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA12384 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Thu, 3 Jun 1993 17:00:04 -0500 Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 17:00:04 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306032200.AA12384@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #372 TELECOM Digest Thu, 3 Jun 93 17:00:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 372 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson BT to Buy MCI for $4.3 Billion (Paul Robinson) BT Buys Chunk of MCI (Tyson MacAulay) TAPI v Novell/AT&T CTI(CIT) Specs (Nigel Roles) House of Representatives On-Line (Mark Boolootian) FreeNet Communities (Laine Ruus) Clinton Goes Online with E-Mail (Paul Robinson) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Reply-To: TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM From: Paul Robinson Date: Thu, 03 Jun 1993 17:02:54 EDT Subject: BT to Buy MCI for $4.3 Billion Summary (From Combined Dispatches) [This article was the front-page story in the {Financial Times of London}, the {International Herald Tribune}, the {Washington Post} and the {Washington Times}. Special interest here since MCI is a Washington, DC based company.] British Telecom is planning to spend US $4.3 billion to purchase 20% of MCI Telecommunications Corp of Washington, DC. The two will also form a US $1 billion joint venture as yet unnamed, to be owned 25% by BT and 75% by MCI. The joint venture will be based either in London or in Washington, will initially employ 1,000 people and could expand to as many as 3,000 employees. The announcement comes after last week's announcement by AT&T that it is entering into partnerships with Singapore Telephone and Japan's Kokusai Denshin Denwa Co. According to comments made, MCI "serves 498 or 499 of the 500 largest companies in the U.S. in some fashion." BT will purchase several hundred million shares of Treasury stock that MCI will issue for the purchase. The stock will include options to obtain an additional 5% of MCI's stock, bringing the eventual total to 25%, the maximum foreign ownership permitted of a U.S. Telephone company. BT will obtain most of the cash for the deal from the (earlier reported) sale of its ownership in McCaw Cellular to AT&T. The purchase price means that BT is paying about $64 a share for the MCI stock it is getting. Current stock price for MCI is reported at $52 a share. BT apparently wants to obtain more penetration into the American telecommunications market and was dissatisfied with the performance it was(n't) getting from McCaw. This action by BT may make it easier for AT&T to ask the British Government to allow entry into telephone service in the U.K. Paul Robinson -- TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM ------------------------------ From: tmacaula@ccs.carleton.ca (Tyson MacAulay) Subject: BT Buys Chunk of MCI Date: Thu, 3 Jun 93 11:09:27 EDT From the {Financial Post} (Canada), June 3, 1993 * Dialing into a new international order: Behind the British Telecom-MCI link up* By Andrew Adonis and Nikki Tait British Telecommunications PLC has been dating MCI Communications Corp. for almost three years, so news that they are going up the aisle does not come out of the blue. Yet BT's purchase of a 20% stake in MCI for US$4.3 billion marks a significant departure in international telecommunications. A telling tribute came from the new partnership's arch-competitor: American Telephone & Telegraph Corp., the largest U.S. carrier. "We're pro competition and there's a good competitor shaping up out there," said John Foster, AT&T's European communications services director. The partnership comprises two interrelated deals: the establishment of a US$1-billion joint venture company, 75% owned by BT, to pioneer global services and pool technical and marketing resources; and the purchase of 20% of MCI by BT, slightly offset by the acquisition of BT's fledgling North American business for US$125 million. For BT, the joint venture marks a further stage in the privatized British carrier's battle with AT&T to become the leading supplier of international voice and data services to the world's 2,500 multinationals. The stake in MCI creates a safe -- and, it hopes, profitable -- haven for a fair part of BT's growing cash mountain, putting it beyond the grasp of British regulators and shareholders calling for larger dividends. MCI gains international clout from the alliance-much needed in its own battle with AT&T. BT's US$4.3-billion cash injection also gives it investment opportunities. Bert Roberts, MCI's chief executive, refused to say what they might be, but noted the increased competition in the U.S. local telecommunications market with the expansion of cable services. How does the British investment community view the alliance? With the last kanche of BT shares about to reach the market, analysts suggested yesterday that it would be likely to strengthen the company's appeal to overseas investors, but could weaken it at home. BT is not getting its chunk of MCI cheap. In the past 18 months, MCI's share price has risen to US$52 from US$30, and BT is offering US$64. "There is a feeling that the stake is nothing more than a massive portfolio investment," said one London analyst. "MCI's share performance since early 1992 is incredible. BT could be paying over the odds; on the other hand, it can't any longer be accused of lacking an international strategy." Much depends upon the viability of BT's global strategy. Targeting the "outsourcing" needs of multinationals is the fashion of the day and could yield large dividends as demand for high-technology international value-added services grows. But the number of multinationals is small and servicing them can only be one part of an international strategy. Furthermore, BT's investment record in North America is not unblemished. Last year it sold its stake in Canada's Mitel Corp. at a loss, it has made little money out of McCaw Cellular Communications Inc., the U.S. mobile phone group, which it is about to sell to AT&T and Syncordia, its U.S.-based global out sourcing subsidiary, has still to make an impact. BT chairman Iain Vallance brushed such qualms aside yesterday, pointing to MCI's proven record in capturing market share in the U.S. The BT alliance is a staging post in MCI's remarkable ascent. Starting life in the 1960s as Microwave Communications (filing licences to build a network of microwave towers that connected 17 U.S. cities), in the 1980s it became David taking on the AT&T Goliath. Led by the late Bill McGowan, the upstart turned to the courts, using legal manoeuvers to pry away at the AT&T monopoly. Its opportunity came in 1984 -- coincidentally the year of BT's privatization -- when "Ma Bell" was broken up, leaving AT&T to run the long-distance phone service and the seven "Baby Bells" to handle local phone services. MCI quickly seized about 10% of the long-distance market. The going was tough. At the beginning of the decade, AT&T regained part of its lost market share and in 1990 MCI's shares plunged from a peak of US$45 to US$18. But MCI retaliated with a highly successful "Friends and Family" campaign, offering 20% discounts to groups of customers calling each other frequently, and regained its edge. The alliance comes a week after AT&T launched Worldsource, its strongest bid yet for global telecoms leadership. Although their goals are the same, AT&T and BT/MCI are adopting different approaches. The BT/MCI venture is an exclusive club. "We are not seeking a European partner for this deal at the moment," Vallance said. By contrast, AT&T is working through non-exclusive partnerships and is anxiously seeking a European partner for its Worldsaurce launch on the Continent next year. While BT has been courting American partners, Cable & Wireless PLC, BT's British competitor, has concentrated its energies on less glamoraus ventures, notably on taking stakes and fulfilling franchise contracts in countries with underdeveloped telecommunications systems. It remains to be seen which strategy yields the larger return. But there can be no doubt, as Vallance put it that the BT/MCI venture "sets a new pattern to global telecommunications." -------------- My Comment: This is very interesting because of the relationship that was recently established between MCI and Stentor (the consortium of regional telephone companies in Canada), will this draw Stentor into the global networking relationship do you think? One of the objects of the MCI-Stentor relationship was the provision of seamless corporate networks across North America, could it be that this relation will now include BT? If so this could be boon to Stentor in its battle to remain competitive in a freshly deregulated Canadian LD market. Tyson Macaulay Directorate of Technology and Policy Planning Communications Canada 7th floor, Journal Tower North 300 Slater street Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1A 0C8 (613) 991 4903 e-mail: tmacaula@ccs.carleton.ca tyson@debra.dgbt.doc.ca ...the usual disclaimer about not speaking for my employer...blah, blah. ------------------------------ From: nigel@cotswold.demon.co.uk (Nigel Roles) Subject: TAPI v Novell/AT&T CTI(CIT) Specs Reply-To: nigel@cotswold.demon.co.uk Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 07:26:51 +0000 Does anyone have any comments on the competing Microsoft and Novell/AT&T computer integrated telephony specs., w.r.t. their likely adoption? Here are my thoughts ... It seems that Microsoft TAPI is well published and, how shall I say, comprehensive. The Novell/AT&T spec. is not available yet, and it's parentage suggests a 'not quite so open' intention. However, being server based, it would allow access by not just PCs, but everything else as well. This would include Macs, and (ducking for cover) Mac users love total integration and toys, and (at least in the UK anyway) have money to burn so might be pioneer CTI (or is it CIT) sites. My feeling is that the relative ease of availability of the Microsoft spec., and the fact that Microsoft have a GUI, will make developers go with TAPI; this does restrict the customer base to the PC world, but that's not exactly a small market. ------------------------------ From: booloo@framsparc.ocf.llnl.gov (Mark Boolootian) Subject: House of Representatives On-Line Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 14:24:55 -0700 (PDT) Date: 03 Jun 93 15:41:15 -0500 Subject: press release TEXT OF PRESS RELEASE FROM COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DATED JUNE 3,1993 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For further information please contact: Lance Koonce (202) 225-7922 HOUSE ANNOUNCES PUBLIC ELECTRONIC MAIL SERVICE Chairman Charlie Rose and Ranking Minority Member Bill Thomas of the Committee on House Administration announced today the pilot program of the Constituent Electronic Mail System. This ground-breaking new service will allow citizens to communicate directly with their Member of Congress by electronic mail. The House of Representatives has established an electronic gateway to the Internet, the vast computer network that is used currently by over twelve million people worldwide. Participating Members of the House have been assigned public mailboxes which may be accessed by their constituents from their home computers. In addition, many libraries, schools and other public institutions now provide, or soon will provide, public access to the Internet. The Members of the House of Representatives who have agreed to participate in this pilot program are: Rep. Jay Dickey (AR-07), Rep. Sam Gejdenson (CT-02), Rep. Newt Gingrich (GA-06), Rep. George Miller (CA-07), Rep. Charlie Rose (NC-07), Rep. Fortney (Pete) Stark (CA-l3), and Rep. Melvin Watt (NC-12). These Members will be making announcements in their congressional districts within the next few weeks to make their constituents aware of the new service. The Constituent Electronic Mail System represents a significant effort by the House of Representatives to expand communication with constituents. With the tremendous growth of electronic mail over the past several years, and the increasingly inter-connected nature of computer networks, the new service is a natural addition to the current methods of communication available to constituents. At the present time, House Members involved in the pilot program will largely respond to electronic mail messages from their constituents by postal mail, to ensure confidentiality. Constituents of House Members participating in the pilot program who wish to communicate with those Members will be asked to send a letter or postcard stating their interest to the Member's office. The request will include the constituent's Internet "address," as well as that constituent's name and postal address. This process will allow Members to identify an electronic mail user as his or her constituent. The pilot e-mail program will continue until sufficient feedback from participating offices has been collected to allow improvements and modifications to the system. When House Information Systems and the Committee on House Administration are satisfied that the system is sufficiently error-free, other Members of the House will be allowed to add this new service as technical, budgetary and staffing concerns allow. For more information,Internet users are encouraged to contact the House of Representative's new on-line information service. Please send a request for information to CONGRESS@HR.HOUSE.GOV (1) (1) Please be advised that the commercial "at" symbol is not recognized by some computer systems when transmitted electronically. The "at" symbol is an important part of the electronic mail address for the U.S. House information service, and should be inserted in place of the question mark in the following example: "CONGRESS?HR.HOUSE.GOV" ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 11:05:04 -0400 Reply-To: freenet-admin@nptn.org From: Laine Ruus Subject: FreeNet Communities This is a list of the various places where FreeNet is running, or is in the works ... Laine G.M. Ruus Bitnet : laine@utorvm Data Library Service Internet : laine@vm.utcc.utoronto.ca University of Toronto NATIONAL PUBLIC TELECOMPUTING NETWORK Affiliates and Organizing Committees (May 1993) COMMUNITY COMPUTER SYSTEMS Big Sky Telegraph - Dillon, Montana Modem: 406-683-7680 Internet: 192.231.192.1 Visitor login: bbs Buffalo Free-Net - Buffalo, New York Modem: 716-645-6128 Internet: freenet.buffalo.edu Visitor login: freeport Cleveland Free-Net - Cleveland, Ohio Modem: 216-368-3888 Internet: freenet-in-a.cwru.edu Visitor login: Select #2 at first menu Columbia Online Information Network (COIN) - Columbia, Missouri Modem: 314-884-7000 Internet: bigcat.missouri.edu Visitor login: guest Denver Free-Net - Denver, Colorado Modem: 303-270-4865 Internet: freenet.hsc.colorado.edu Visitor login: guest Heartland Free-Net - Peoria, Illinois Modem: 309-674-1100 Internet: heartland.bradley.edu Visitor login: bbguest Lorain County Free-Net - Elyria, Ohio Modem: 216-366-9721 Internet: freenet.lorain.oberlin.edu Visitor login: guest Medina County Free-Net - Medina, Ohio Modem: 216-723-6732 Internet: National Capital Free-Net - Ottawa, Canada Modem: 613-780-3733 Internet: freenet.carleton.ca Visitor login: guest Tallahassee Free-Net - Tallahassee, Florida Modem: 904-488-5056 Internet: freenet.fsu.edu Visitor login: visitor Tristate Online - Cincinnati, Ohio Modem: 513-579-1990 Internet: cbos.uc.edu Visitor login sequence: cbos, visitor, 9999, Victoria Free-Net - Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Modem: 604-595-2300 Internet: freenet.victoria.bc.ca Visitor login: guest Wellington Citynet - Wellington, New Zealand Modem: +64-4-801-3060 Internet: kosmos.wcc.govt.nz Visitor login: Youngstown Free-Net - Youngstown, Ohio Modem: 216-742-3072 Internet: yfn.ysu.edu Visitor login: visitor STATEWIDE EDUCATIONAL NETWORK AFFILIATES California Online Resources for Education (CORE) - Seal Beach, CA Virginia Public Education Network (VaPEN) - Richmond, Virginia SENDIT - Fargo, North Dakota NPTN/AMERITECH LEARNING VILLAGES (Proposed sites for September 1993 openings) Learning Village Milwaukee - Milwaukee, Wisconsin Home Learning Link - Chicago, Illinois Home Learning Link - Indianapolis, Indiana Home Learning Link - Detroit, Michigan Learning Village Cleveland - Cleveland, Ohio NPTN FORMAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEES Abilene, TX Honolulu, HI Akron, OH Huntsville, AL Anchorage, AK Los Angeles (Central), CA Ann Arbor, MI Los Angeles (Valley), CA Battle Creek, MI New Orleans, LA Bayreuth, Germany Oklahoma City, OK Bremerton, WA Orange County, CA Carbondale, IL Palm Beach, FL Champaign-Urbana, IL Providence, RI Chapel Hill, NC San Luis Obispo, CA Charlotte, NC Santa Barbara, CA Dallas, TX Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Dayton, OH South Bend, Indiana Detroit, MI Seattle, WA Eau Claire, WI Tampa, FL Edmonton, Alberta Tempe, AZ Elliot Lake, Ontario Toronto, Ontario Erlangen, Germany Trail, British Columbia Gainesville, FL Traverse City, MI Granger, IN Tuscaloosa, AL Grass Valley, CA Vancouver, British Colum. Helsinki, Finland Washington, DC For More Information on NPTN Contact: National Public Telecomputing Network P.O. Box 1987 Cleveland, Ohio 44106 Voice: 216-247-5800 FAX: 216-247-3328 e.mail: info@nptn.org Or visit our anonymous ftp site at: nptn.org (cd into: /pub/info.nptn) Tom Grundner President, National Public Telecomputing Network e.Mail: tmg@nptn.org Voice: 216-247-5800 FAX: 216-247-3328 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 00:59:24 -0400 (EDT) From: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> Reply-To: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> Subject: Clinton Goes Online with E-Mail Just reported today (6/2) on page F3 of {The Washington Post}: "Move over 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Bill Clinton has a second address: president@whitehouse.gov". Several paragraphs later, it reports: "People who send complaints or praise by E-Mail won't reach the president directly or jump the queue in getting attention. The messages will be read by the White House correspondence staff, with the same priority as paper letters. A sampling will be show to the president and Vice President Al Gore, who made White House E-Mail a personal priority. (His address: vice.president@whitehouse.gov)." "The White House already had addresses with three commercial E-Mail services. Through them, it was receiving as many as 5,000 messages a week." The article later points out that the messages were sent using sneakernet, i.e. copied to diskette and carried by mail or courier. In the article, it kept printing the E-Mail addresses such that the line breaks kept making the system divide the messages as "president@whi-tehouse.gov" or also, in the second place, the address "vice.president@white-house.gov". So I decided to see if it really was on line, or if the Post had made a mistake; I telnetted to rs.internic.net and did a lookup: Whois: whois whitehouse.gov Executive Office of the President USA (WHITEHOUSE-HST) 198.137.240.100 WHITEHOUSE.GOV Whitehouse Public Access (WHITEHOUSE-DOM) Whois: whitehouse-dom Whitehouse Public Access (WHITEHOUSE-DOM) Executive Office of the President USA Office of Administration Room NEOB 4208 725 17th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20503 Domain Name: WHITEHOUSE.GOV Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact: Fox, Jack S. (JSF) fox_j@EOP.GOV (202) 395-7323 Record last updated on 26-May-93. Domain servers in listed order: WHITEHOUSE.GOV 198.137.240.100 NS.UU.NET 137.39.1.3 whois: The article mentions that selected items will be shown to the President and the Vice President directly. So here's your chance to send positive comments directly as E-Mail, or, if desired, to vent your spleen without delay! Paul Robinson -- TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #372 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa03814; 4 Jun 93 5:17 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA03852 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Fri, 4 Jun 1993 02:32:41 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA03191 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Fri, 4 Jun 1993 02:32:01 -0500 Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1993 02:32:01 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306040732.AA03191@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #373 TELECOM Digest Fri, 4 Jun 93 02:29:30 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 373 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Opinions Wanted: Future of Healthcare Telecom (Bob Ackley) French Phone Electronic Directory in Italian Language (Jean-Bernard Condat) Pager/Beeper in Boston and NYC (Julia Young) Zoom Modem Fuse Problem (Bob Natale) Calling Cards Based on Phone Number (Ole J. Jacobsen) MCI Enters $200M Data Agreement (Paul Robinson) Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas (Carl Moore) Denial of Service Attacks (Jeffrey Jonas) MCI Sends Erroneous Bill - Refuses To Send Corrected Bill (Sandip Dasgupta) Anonymous FTP Sites For GSM Information (Sirbjit Birdi) "ZEnith" Prefix? (Justin Leavens) Questions About a 1A2 System (Ken Reinert) Telecom Trip Report: Deaver, WY (Lou Fernandez) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 04 Jun 93 04:02:05 GMT From: Bob.Ackley@axolotl.omahug.org (Bob Ackley) Subject: Opinions Wanted: Future of Healthcare Telecom Reply-To: bob.ackley@axolotl.omahug.org In a message of <25 May 93 21:56:47>, Harold Hallikainen (11:30102/2) writes: > I have limited contact with the health care industry, so my > perceptions may be way off. However, it appears that doctors seem to > work very independently. It seems that they would benefit from > newsgroups (like this) where one can say "I've got a patient with > these symptoms, any comment?" My supervisor (where I teach part time) > did a lot of computer research on what was ailing his wife. It took a > week or so before the local doctors could figure out what the problem > was. The community we have thru Usenet is really great! Doctors otta > use it! While doctors work independently, for a multitude of reasons they are becoming more closely tied to hospitals. And they are definitely 'wired in' to various on-line systems such as the diagnostic you note above. I've read about at least one dial-up AI diagnostic system which has a vast library of common and obscure ailments, physician dials in and works directly with the computer to narrow down the diagnosis. Several doctors are also BBS SYSOPs (where do they find the time?), but I don't know how successful they've been in that endeavor -- remote symptom diagnosis and advice is risky at least from the liability standpoint. Of course, there's Dean Edell on talk radio but I've only heard him advise people to see their doctor quickly if he perceives a problem -- I don't think he's actively treating patients anyway. In any case, many doctors' offices are now hooked up to hospital mainframe systems and can retrieve lab and xray results for their patients, among other things. I don't know if they can enter doctors' orders for treatment, tests or prescriptions directly into the hospital computer systems - yet (it's a matter of being allowed to, the technology is already in place). It DOES reduce the necessity for many trips from the doctor's office to the hospital. AT&T has a remote system that allows a rural hospital to have xrays read by a radiologist over a phone link (VERY few rural hospitals have a radiologist anywhere near, let alone on the medical staff). I looked *VERY* closely at the B&W monitor at a demo some years ago and I could not discern any dots or scan lines, just the xray image. The rep said that the image was 1K x 1K bytes, giving 2^8 shades of gray. I think that this particular area of telecommunications can only expand. Bob's Soapbox, Plattsmouth (1:285/1.7) ------------------------------ From: jbcondat@attmail.com Date: 03 Jun 93 23:59:59 GMT Subject: French Phone Electronic Directory in Italian Language Since the beginning of February, the French "Annuaire Electronique" is available in italian language. You can access it, from France, by dialing 3614 code RAE, and from other countries, by MinitelNet or by a telephone line: +33 36 43 14 14 code RAE (Ricerca Annuario Elettronico). +----------------------------------------+ | *R*icerca | | *A*nnuario | | *E*lettronico | | | | 1 Ricerca di un abbonato | | | | 2 LA POSTA : codice di | | avviamento postale | | | | 3 Sapere tutto sull'elenco | | elettronico | | | | 4 Sapere tutto sul minitel | | | | 5 L'elenco elettronico | | e teletel dall'estero | | | |----------------------------------------| | N! scelto: ... poi Invio | | (C) France Telecom 1992 | +----------------------------------------+ For all versions, all diagnostics, instructions and list of professionnals are translate into the appropriate language. Five different options are available: "Search for a subscriber", "The Post Office: Postal Code", "All you need to know about the Electronic Directory", "All you need to know about the Minitel", "Electronic Directory and Teletel from abroad". Called the "11" in France, this service is already available in: * English: 3614 code ED [Electronic Directory]; * Spanish: 3614 code GTE [Guidia Telefonica Electronia]; * German : 3614 code ETB [Elektronisches Telefonbuch]. Jean-Bernard Condat General Secretary Chaos Computer Club France, B.P. 155, 93404 St-Ouen Cedex, France Private Address: P.O. 8005, 69351 Lyon Cedex 08, France Phone: +33 1 40101764, Fax: +33 1 47877070 InterNet: jbcondat@attmail.com or cccf@altern.com ------------------------------ From: juyoung@kiwi.ucs.indiana.edu Subject: Pager/Beeper in Boston and NYC Organization: Computer Science, Indiana University Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 17:17:58 -0500 I would like to know more info about getting a pager in New England. I am about to graduate and plan to look for a job in either Boston or NYC, so I may be travel a lot between both places. However, I don't want to miss any call that my potential employer may make. Will a pager be the best means in this situation? I am also considering have an answering machine, or a 800 number, but it would be quite expensive if I always need to make LD call to check my message and the 800 number isn't that cheap. Will I have only one number with the pager, no matter where I am in NYNEX region, and how much it would cost me? Julia ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1993 19:09:56 -0400 From: natale@acec.com (Bob Natale) Subject: Zoom Modem Fuse Problem Has anyone else been having problems with Zoom modems blowing fuses? We are experiencing about a 50% blow out rate within a day or two of bringing these modems on line. I don't know the actual count, but we are certainly talking about dozens of units that have failed within the past month or so. Unfortunately, we have been shipping these to our customers without unpacking and burining them in here ... which we will start doing soon if we don't get an answer. (It does *seem* that they either fail quickly, or don't fail ever!) We are using the V.32bis/external Zoom modems. We have called Zoom Telephonics, but they don't have any ideas. Any help from anyone (facts, advice, good guesses) will be appreciated. Thanks. Bob Natale American Computer 301-258-9850 [tel] Director 209 Perry Pkwy 301-921-0434 [fax] Network Mgmt Products Gaithersburg MD 20877 natale@acec.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Jun 93 19:40:22 PDT From: Ole J. Jacobsen Subject: Calling Cards Based on Phone Number As you probably all know, the "old-style" callings cards are being pushed by carriers such as Sprint and MCI as well as several local operators such as Pacific Bell. The argument is that a card number based on your phone numer + PIN is "so much easier to remember." Now, let's say your phone number is 415-555-7890, Pac*Bell might give you 1234 as your PIN, MCI might give you 4321, and Sprint might give you 9876. Sprint in fact will give you a new four digit PIN for every new card you request! I don't know about MCI. So, now all of a sudden, there are several valid combinations of a four digit PIN that will work with your phone number to generate a valid card number. In other words, guessing a valid card number is becoming easier and easier as more carriers jump on this ridiculous bandwagon. Comments? Ole J Jacobsen, Editor & Publisher ConneXions--The Interoperability Report Interop Company, 480 San Antonio Road, Suite 100, Mountain View, CA 94040, Phone: (415) 962-2515 FAX: (415) 949-1779 Email: ole@interop.com [Moderator's Note: The thing is, all those different pins do not work on the same switch; thus a phreak would have the extra job of checking to see which pin worked where. The local telco's pin and AT&T's pin might both work on 1+ dialing, but the last I heard, Sprint's pins would only work when dialing via 800-877-8000. Right or wrong? Ditto the pins from MCI regards their switch. So even though you do have lots of pins which will work with some number, that does not mean they will all work on the same call dialed exactly the same way. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 21:22:28 -0400 (EDT) From: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> Reply-To: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> Subject: MCI Enters $200M Data Agreement From: Paul Robinson From the {Washington Post}, Digest, Page F2, 6/2: "MCI entered into a five-year agreement worth more than $200 million with CoREN, a recently formed organization of eight regional data networking service providers. MCI wiull provide CoREN users with access to a variety of services to transmit and receive information over the MCI network and allow CoREN users to connect to the global Internet computer network." Paul Robinson -- TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Jun 93 10:17:44 EDT From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) Subject: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas Spuyten Duyvil has been referred to as being on the Bronx side of the Harlem River but politically in the borough of Manhattan, New York City. I checked a Rand-McNally atlas and notice such an area (no name provided) on the New York City area map, and it is certainly not a remote area, which includes Broadway (U.S. Route 9) just after it crosses over from Manhattan. Assuming this is indeed the area in question, what phone exchanges would serve it, and how does it stand with reference to Bronx being moved from 212 to 718? I was just in New York City, and wish I had spotted this by then (instead, I made a quick stop in the Bronx to look for area code 718 on a pay phone). Encyclopedia Americana has a note about the Manhattan-Bronx boundary quirk: The Harlem River formerly did not connect to the Hudson except via the small Spuyten Duyvil creek. Then in 1905, the Harlem River was extended in a manmade channel to reach the Hudson, and that part of the creek not lying on the new channel was filled in. But the Manhattan- Bronx boundary stayed put, so that (part of?) the Marble Hill area ended up on the "wrong" side of the Harlem River. Other areas I can think of: 1. Carter Lake, Iowa, was or is reachable in areas 712 and 402. It's next door to Omaha, Nebraska, and ended up west of the Missouri River when the river changed course. 2. Station Square area in Pittsburgh is on the south side of the Monongahela River, but is in zipcode 15219 and gets mail and phone service from downtown (across that river). I'm not aware of any shift in that river, and there is no area code boundary there (it's all within 412). 3. Rikers Island is part of Bronx, but the Rand-McNally atlas shows it being reached via Hazen Street from Flushing, Queens, zipcode 11370. 11370 also has Rikers Island Street. Does anyone know what is on Rikers Island (is there a prison there?) and what phone exchange(s) would serve it? Bronx and Queens ended up in different area codes (212 and 718 respectively) when 718 was formed, but now Bronx has also moved to 718. 4. Roosevelt Island has its own zipcode, 10044. It's in the same set of phone exchanges as are found in nearest part of Manhattan island. To get there, either take a tramway from Manhattan or a vehicular bridge from Queens, with the latter now crossing 212/718 border. Highest house numbers on Broadway in Manhattan are 4760 thru 5170, in zipcode 10034. Lowest house numbers on Broadway in Bronx are 5171 thru 5970, in zipcode 10463, which also includes Marble Hill Avenue. Broadway 5971-out is in zipcode 10471. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Jun 93 11:16:36 EDT From: jeffj%jiji@uunet.UU.NET (Jeffrey Jonas) Subject: Denial of Service Attacks In a recent article, Pat suggested using call return to tie up a telemarketer's phone line. What can I, a mere subscriber do, should somebody set their daemon dialer to my number and repeatedly dial me? I'd use call trace a few times, but I really lose all control of the phone. If I leave it on hook, it'll ring. Turning off the ringers is just ignoring the problem. Go off hook and I'm accepting the call. If I get to a dial tone, I've got to place a call or I'll get the "please hang up" and the siren since dial tone is extended only for about half a minute. (If I could hold the dial tone for a while, I'd just stay off hook for hours at a time and then dial my call when I'm ready. I know that's terribly antisocial, but if I'm on deadline, I want to call OUT and not let anybody call IN). I guess what I'm asking is "is there a way I can set my phone to deny ALL incoming calls." Yes -- temporarily block ALL incoming calls. (hmmm -- I don't subscribe to such services, but I suppose I could forward all incoming calls to another number, and still place outgoing phone calls. I wonder if the voice mail systems allow a vacation or night setting where ALL calls go to the answering system without even ringing. I guess I should have specified that I want a way to do this as a casual user, on demand, without subscribing to the service and paying monthly charges whether or not it's used). Yes, I understand that to deny me use of my phone, the prankster is tying up his phone line as well. But perhaps the prankster has all day, and use of somebody else's line. (As a curiousity -- do ISDN phones allow you to drop calls without answering? That would allow call block with on premesis equipment) Jeffrey Jonas jeffj@panix.com [Moderator's Note: If someone 'has set their Demon Dialer to ring you over and over' you have an *excellent* case for taking that person to court in a criminal action. Why don't you get two lines, and have one of them wired from telco for outgoing service only and the other wired for incoming service only. The one wired for incoming service only goes to an answering machine (or voicemail) and has a bell you can easily turn off and on at will. That is one way of solving it. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Jun 93 11:26:32 -0700 From: News Admin Subject: MCI Sends Erroneous Bill - Refuses to Send Corrected Bill Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 18:26:28 GMT Yesterday, I received my phone bill from Pacific Bell, which also contained long distance charges from MCI. The amounts of the bill looked rather high (for the MCI portions of the bill) and so I began checking out the figures and guess what I found! All the calls to INDIA had been billed at an arbitary rate! So, I called the MCI customer service line and she told me the following: a) They were aware of a billing error for the months of April and May. b) They would issue me a credit for the amount in error. c) When I asked for a revised bill, they refused. When I asked for the supervisor, she too refused! She claimed that it was MCI's policy not to send a revised invoice. d) I was told that this error had happened for ALL calls made to INDIA. However, they would issue credits ONLY to customers who called their customer service. Others would still be billed for higher amounts. When I asked that they publicly issue an advertisement/or broadcast a message indicating the billing error, they said it was not their policy to do so. I was rather surprised that a phone company could send an erroneous bill and then get away without sending a revised bill. Would they have done the same if they had undercharged me, instead of overcharging me ? Also, is their some goverment regulatory agency to which I could complain about the "MCI policy"? Any specific department in FCC? Should I be complaining to the PUC? Any information will be greatly appreciated. Sandip Dasgupta Hewlett-Packard ------------------------------ From: Sirbjit Birdi Subject: Anonymous FTP Sites For GSM Information Organization: Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 19:47:11 GMT I'm currently doing abit of research on GSM standards. Can anyone tell me (email) if there is an anonymous FTP site on the INTERNET, which has a archive of material on GSM (ie. any information such as standards, news, or even product/services offered.) Thanks, Sirbjit Birdi (alias Serge) DC92SSB@brunel.ac.uk [Moderator's Note: What you do is tell them it is your policy not to pay bills without an invoice to pay from, and that the invoice has to match the amount of the check being written. Tell them your accountant insists on it. Then, just refuse to pay until a correct invoice shows up. It happens all the time. You will eventually get the invoice that way. No matter what anyone says, just keep asking for a correct invoice to be tendered. Don't bother calling the PUC or asking for a supervisor; just keep asking for an invoice. Chances are you won't get one until the point it goes into collection -- but then when the collector makes demand for payment you repeat yourself again: 'send me an invoice'. If you withhold payment you may find however they *do* put the credit through with the end result being the charges *will* show up in the correct amount, but 'past due' on the next bill. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1993 16:01:24 -0800 From: leavens@bmf.usc.edu (Justin Leavens) Subject: "ZEnith" Prefix I bought a California roadmap this weekend to see if I could find a way around holiday traffic for my return trip (and the answer is *no*). But I was interested to see on the map instructions for reaching the California Highway Patrol from a regular phone (not a call-box) in the event you needed to. The directions were to dial '0' for the operator, and to ask the operator to connect you to "ZEnith 1-2000". This was a fairly recently published map, and I was kinda curious if anyone knew anything about what exactly this was? Obviously some kind o' internal thing. Justin Leavens : Microcomputer Specialist : University of Southern California leavens@bmf.usc.edu My opinion is that my opinions are my opinions [Moderator's Note: 'Zenith' plus four digits (I never saw it expressed as 'ZEnith-1' before) was the name some telcos used for automatic rev- erse charge service prior to the implementation of 800 service nearly thirty years ago. Most telcos called it 'Enterprise' (plus four digits) while others had 'Zenith numbers'. In any event, they were (and from what you say, *are*) nothing more or less than the ancestors to 800 service as we know it today. Long before long distance calls could be dialed direct, it was common for business places to have an Enterprise number so their customers could reach them at no charge, just like now. In those days (I think they quit issuing Enterprise/Zenith num- bers in the late 1970's, and grandfathered what subscribers still had the service) one asked the long distance operator to connect with Enterprise 5941 if you wanted to call the University of Chicago on their nickle. The long distance operator had a flip chart at hand with many notes in it; if the translation to the Enterprise/Zenith number was not listed, she called 'Rate and Route' in Morris, IL (815 + 181 for you who remember the old routines) and that bureau would look it up like any long distance point and tell the long distance operator how to get there. The operator would then connect to the translated number and make it a collect call without bothering to ask the called party if they would accept charges. Basically, just what an 800 number does today. Like 800's, Enterprise/Zenith numbers could either be national, international, or very limited in their service area. They could be be intrastate only, interstate only to nearby states, etc. They followed more or less the 'service bands' that WATS and IN-WATS (official name for 800 service) used until the cost for long distance calls dropped to the point several years ago where it was no longer practical to have limited coverage areas just to save a penny here or a half-penny there on calls. (Does *anyone* buy -- does any carrier sell -- 'banded WATS' any longer?) ... I seem to remember that the Bell System tended to use 'Enterprise' while GTE and other independent telcos tended to refer to the same service as 'Zenith'. See the file in the Telecom Archives 'enterprise.funny.numbers' for a history on this. As 800 service became universal and widely accepted in the late 1960's, Enterprise/Zenith began fading away. And you say there is still one in California! My, my! PAT] ------------------------------ From: reinert@cs.odu.edu (Ken Reinert) Subject: Questions About a 1A2 System Date: 3 Jun 1993 15:44:21 GMT Organization: Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Va Here are a few (hopefully simple) questions that the 1A2 gurus can answer :) These involve a small 1A2 system, three lines coming in and an intercom between stations (eight or nine phones throughout the office). 1. One incoming line has DTMF, the other two are strictly pulse dial. Am I correct in assuming that this can be changed at the CO, and is not a function of the 1A2? 2. All the phones are rotary dial types. If I hang a Touch-Tone (tm) phone on the system, I can dial out (on the DTMF line only, natch) but the intercom doesn't quite work. I can dial another station, and their phone will light up, but _no buzzer_. Likewise, they can dial me, and I get a light but no noise. Can this be fixed up easily, at the KSU, say with a jumper or board, or will the entire KSU have to be replaced? (Pardon my ignorance here, as I haven't tinkered with these things much. I'm trying to find an alternative to a completely new system that the powers that be want to pawn over to the tune of ~$5000.) Thanks, Ken P.S. Please email if possible; I'm disappearing for a week on a mucho-needed vacation, and I don't want to lose replies to the bit-bucket. I'll post a summary after I return. ------------------------------ From: lff@sequent.com (Lou Fernandez) Subject: Telecom Trip Report: Deaver, WY Organization: Sequent Computer Systems Inc. Date: Thu, 3 Jun 93 22:03:50 GMT I spent the Memorial Day weekend visiting my great aunt in Deaver, WY and found some interesting wrinkles in their telephone service. Deaver is a small town in northern Wyoming near the Montana border. It's in a basin between the Bighorn mountains and those that form Yellowstone Park. The phone book covers a dozen or so towns using about 20 exchanges. The land area covered is a few thousand square miles. The Deaver/Franney exchange is 307-664. Phone service appears to be provided by U.S. West although I wasn't positive. The first surprise about the phone service is that they can make intra-exchange calls by dialing only the last four digits of the phone number. I think this capability is fairly rare now although I know it used to be more common. Does anyone know of other U.S. locations where this is still possible? Also, the calling instructions in the phone book tell you that ALL inter-exchange calls are long distance; that is, all local calling areas consist of exactly one exchange. You must dial 1+number for intra-state long distance. I don't think they are likely to run out of exchanges in 307 any time soon. BTW, if you are ever in that area, Devil's Canyon, Shell Creek Canyon and the Medicine Wheel monument are spectacular and beautiful places. Louis F. Fernandez Sequent Computer Systems lfernandez@sequent.com Beaverton, OR 97006-6063 ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #373 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa27476; 4 Jun 93 18:55 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA07231 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Fri, 4 Jun 1993 16:24:47 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA03538 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Fri, 4 Jun 1993 16:23:25 -0500 Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1993 16:23:25 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306042123.AA03538@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #369 TELECOM Digest Tue, 1 Jun 93 20:58:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 369 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: 16550AFN Chip (Terry Kennedy) Windows and the 16550AFN Chip (A. Padgett Peterson) Re: French Phreaking on Northern Telecom PBX (Vance Shipley) Re: Another Tibetian Report (Josh N. Pritikin) Re: Orange Card Opinions Wanted! (Brian T. Vita) Re: Orange Card Opinions Wanted! (Charlie Mingo) I-LOVE-NY, U-DIAL-PA (David Leibold) New House, New Telecom Stuff (Russell Kroll) AT&T's Two Conference Services (John R. Levine) ---------------------- There were many complaints that issue 369 was not received, so it is being sent again at this time. ---------------------- TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively -- to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800 service. In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for the file 'products'. The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail- ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu. Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom. Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there, where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not require the use of our products and services. The two are separate. All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi- zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein. Send tithes and love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :) Phone: 312-465-2700. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: terry@spcvxb.spc.edu (Terry Kennedy, Operations Mgr.) Subject: Re: 16550AFN Chip Date: 31 May 93 16:45:10 EDT Organization: St. Peter's College, US In article , padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson) writes: > Intel had considered the need for a serial port and this task was > handled by an 8450 "UART". Since the PC could process information > faster than any modem at the time, no buffering was needed other than > the PC's RAM. Flow control was mostly the XON/XOFF type handled by > software when anyone bothered. Intel had nothing to do with the 8250 (it's 8250, not 8450, btw). The Intel offering was the 8251 (no relation, despite the similarity of the number). The 8250 was a Western Digital design, to update their 1602 UART to include baud rate generation and other things. The competing part (and the one many felt to be the best) was the Signetics 2661, which was a mostly-compatible superset of the 2651. Via a cross-manufacturing agreement with National Semiconductor, who was cross-licensed with Western Digital for the 8250, a number of parts (built by NS) became available with the designation "INS8250". I believe this is where the Intel confusion comes in. > When the sixteen bit AT came out (1985) a faster UART was needed & the > 16450 made its introduction. Faster and able to support at least > 19,200 kb but any buffering was still the responsibility of the PC. No, it wasn't needed, at least not in properly-designed boards. The AT took the PC bus from 4.77Mhz to 6 (and later 8) Mhz. This was too fast for the required setup times for the 8250. Rather than simply introducing a wait state whenever the port was selected, vendors who wanted to recycle existing designs for the AT asked for a chip with faster setup times. Hence the 16450. > The problem was that with multi-tasking, the processor could not > always get around to servicing the serial port before another > character came in. When this happened, the first character would be > lost. Much creative use of time-slices and priority setting took care > of some of it but this was a kludge. Tasking has little to do with it. The problem is that many interrupt service routines for the PC leave interrupts disabled for the complete interrupt processing routine, rather than re-enabling them immediately upon entry. This means that an unrelated event (like a hard disk write) could disable serial (and other) interrupts for an extended period of time. This is just another aspect of the incredibly bad design of the serial support in the PC. I believe that serial support was tacked on at the last minute to support some hypothetical target market. I offer the following observations to back this up: a) The choice of the 8250 because it was the easiest part to drop into an ex- isting design, rather than the best part for the job. b) The use of tri-state drivers for the serial interrupt, rather than open- collector, so that multiple ports can't share the same interrupt. c) The lack of functionality of the INT 14 serial interface - no way to send a break, no way to manipulate the modem control lines, and no interrupt- driven I/O. > (am told the current revision is 16550AFN). The base part is 16550A. The FN specifies a plastic DIP package (as opposed to ceramic, or PLCC, etc.) > Next we discovered that the buffer in the 16550 had to be told to turn > on else it acted just like a 16450 8*(. Next was the revelation that > the stock serial driver for Windows might not turn the buffer on > either. It does in Windows V3.1. There's a .INI setting to override it, as well. > Now this is a $15.00 retail chip but most board manufacturers seem to > think it is made of gold. Until I came across my board at a large swap > meet, I had not seen an I/O board for under $100.00 with it so when > this one surfaced for half that, I grabbed it. The reason is that the part is still something like $8.50 in hideously large quantities (like 10,000). Most import multifunction boards use custom silicon to implement the com ports and printer port (and sometimes a game port) on a single chip. If you've seen any of these, there's almost no IC's on the card besides the custom blob and the RS-232 drivers/receivers. This is quite common in the import business. You'll find that a hard disk data cable can be bought at your local computer store for less than the cost of *one* of the connectors on it. It's a combination of economy of scale and the fact that the cable makers are also making their own connectors offshore. Since I doubt National Semiconductor is willing to give up the rights to the 16550A's mask, I doubt you'll see it in these cards any time soon. > IMHO the 16450 should have been put to rest at least a year ago but is > aparently still being used by some PC manufacturers. Caveat y'all. Again, almost all of this is due to sloppy programming and poor hardware design on the PC. Consider that machines like the PDP-11/03 could support multiple DLV11-J cards (4 *unbuffered* 1602 UARTs) quite happily - and the PDP-11/03 was slower than the original PC. For that matter, when I was doing hardware design, I had a 4Mhz Z-80 system running six terminals at 19200 baud on a card with eight unbuffered 8251's. And, in addition to running the serial code, that system had six copies of WordStar running! Terry Kennedy Operations Manager, Academic Computing terry@spcvxa.bitnet St. Peter's College, Jersey City, NJ USA terry@spcvxa.spc.edu +1 201 915 9381 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 31 May 93 10:37:12 -0400 From: padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson) Subject: Windows and the 16550 UART The following is the text accompanying the WFXCOMM software driver downloaded from the Supra BBS (503.967.2444). Incidently the p/n of the original UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter) was 8250 not 8450. Seems my memory was faulty as usual. Warmly, Padgett WinFax PRO 3.0 Windows COMM Driver Readme Notes March 31, 1993 ================================================================== Using updated Windows communications driver (WFXCOMM.DRV) The WFXCOMM.DRV file should be copied to the Windows\System directory. When enabled, this driver should permit WinFax and all other communication programs using the same COM port to operate at 14,400 bps. The updated Windows communications driver is named: WFXCOMM.DRV To enable this driver, edit your SYSTEM.INI file, and change the COMM.DRV= line as follows: comm.drv=WFXCOMM.DRV The driver tests for the presence of a 16550 UART, and will not enable the FIFOs if the UART is not of the correct type. Advanced settings for this driver are also available. The settings for both transmit and receive FIFO thresholds are adjustable via SYSTEM.INI entries in the [386 Enh] section. To define the number of bytes loaded into the transmit FIFO on each interrupt, edit: ComxTXSize=y where x is the COM port number y is a number between 1 and 16 The default value is 8 bytes, but 16 bytes provides a reduction in interrupt overhead, with no change in fax transmission reliability. If you use a transmit FIFO setting of 1, the driver cannot stream at maximum throughput. To define the interrupt threshold for the receive FIFO, edit: ComxRXSize=y where: x is the COM port number y is one of: 1, 4, 8, or 14 The default value is 14 bytes, which matches the setting in the original Windows 3.1 commmunications driver. Setting the receive threshold to a lower value increases receive reliability. A setting of 8 is recommended for most systems. ------------------------------ From: Vance Shipley Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 08:54:42 -0400 From: vances@xenitec.on.ca (Vance Shipley) Subject: Re: French Phreaking on Northern Telecom PBX Organization: Xenitec Consulting, Kitchener, Ontario, CANADA Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 12:54:38 GMT In article jbcondat@attmail.com writes: > (3) As soon as you have the vocal message, dial "0" then "*" for > having the automatic dial service; > (4) Dial "0" and your asked phone number ended by "#"... some seconds after > you have your communication! > How can I suppress this un-credible fonction of Meridian Mail? Meridian Mail has not had any blocking for transferred numbers installed in these cases. It is a simple matter to to restrict the numbers which can be dialed after you dial the zero (which requests transfer service). The Meridian Mail system does not (or did not, I think they changed) come with any restrictions as a default. The installers should ensure that any trunk access codes are restricted. Many PBX vendors have been sued for not having given this proper attention. Vance Shipley, vances@xenitec.on.ca ------------------------------ From: Josh N. Pritikin Subject: Re: Another Tibetian report Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 12:35:14 -0400 Organization: Sponsored account, School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon > First, you find the section for the area of the city that the business > is located. What you do if you do not know this information is beyond > me.) Then you turn to the beginning of that section and start to leaf > through the section till you find the business catagory that is the > same as the company you are looking for. Then you start to scan > through the listings till you find the particular company that you > want to call. > (Does anyone know how Hong Kong, Japan, and other Asian countries have > solved the listing problem?) My Chinese friend says that first you translate the Chinese characters into pinyin. Pinyin is a phonetic representation of Chinese that uses the English alphabet. So all the names are sorted in the usual alphabetic way. However, many words in Chinese sound the same so you have to search for the wanted entry after you find the right phonetic section. Chinese word processors are interesting too, but they don't have much to do with telecom. joshp@cmu.edu ------------------------------ Date: 31 May 93 10:09:24 EDT From: Brian T. Vita <70702.2233@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Re: Orange Card Opinions Wanted I started using the card about three months ago and it appears to be making a substantial dent in the calling card portion of my telephone bill. Most of my calling card calls are under five minutes and the lack of a first minute surcharge has translated into a savings of about 30%. The downside of the card is as follows: 1. The 800 access can be tedious. A 10XXX code would be preferable. 2. You MUST place your calls from a DTMF phone. I still carry my AT&T card in case I have to place a call from a rotary. 3. Although the call quality is superb, this is strictly a plain vanilla service without operator services, conferencing, etc. If you need these features, AT&T has them available through a similiar card (albiet at a higher per minute price). Bottom line: If you make a lot of short (< five minute) calls and don't require fancy features, this card WILL save you money. I've been recommending the card to my heavy hitting friends. Brian T. Vita CSS, Inc. CI$70702,2233 ------------------------------ From: charlie.mingo@his.com (Charlie Mingo) Reply-To: charlie.mingo@his.com Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 15:02:10 Subject: Re: Orange Card Opinions Wanted! The MODERATOR writes in a message on 30 May 93 > One reader has pointed out the Orange Card switch does not handle data calls very well. Just my two cents: I use the Orange Calls exclusively for data calls, and it seems to have no problem handling v.32bis calls between the New York area and Washington, DC (where my calls tend to go). I'm still waiting for any news on adding Canada, though ... [Moderator's Note: Readers not familiar with the Orange Card should note it is a no-surcharge, flat rate 25 cents per minute calling card. It is most cost effective when used for short calls from payphones or hotels where a surcharge would normally apply. It can be used to call anywhere in the USA -- even local calls can be made. There is a twelve dollar one-time fee to join the service. There are no monthly fees or other surcharges. Calls are billed in six second increments with a thirty second minimum. Most important, profits from the sale and use of Orange Cards are used to support TELECOM Digest financially. This is a way you can painlessly help meet production costs for this Digest while saving on your phone charges. For a brochure and service appli- cation, write me: 'ptownson@eecs.nwu.edu' or Fax: 312-743-0002. PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: I-LOVE-NY, U-DIAL-PA From: woody Date: Mon, 31 May 1993 00:31:58 An Associated Press report notes that the 1 800 I LOVE NY tourist information line for New York state actually goes to a Philadelphia operator. The state tourism authority considered 18 bids for the 800 line (the tourist office couldn't handle the inbound job itself), but the only New York state company among those bid almost $300k. ATR, based in Brookhaven PA, was selected as the company to handle the tourist inquiries; its bid would be about $200k. At least names and addresses taken by the inbound call bureau are e-mailed to Albany where information is mailed out. David Leibold djcl@zooid.guild.org dleibold1@attmail.com dleibold@vm1.yorku.ca ------------------------------ Subject: New House, New Telecom Stuff From: rkroll@unkaphaed.jpunix.com (Russell Kroll) Date: Mon, 31 May 93 15:13:36 GMT Organization: Unka Phaed's UUCP Thingy, Houston, TX There is a good possibility my family will be involved in having a new house built within the next year or so. After seeing the way phones are done in this 30 year old house, I'd like to have it done right the first time. I'd like to know what other people would do regarding wiring to make it right to begin with. Please send via e-mail, and I'll summarize the results if there's enough interest. rkroll@unkaphaed.jpunix.com (Russell Kroll) Unka Phaed's UUCP Thingy, Houston, TX, (713) 481-3763 1200/2400/9600/14400 v.32bis/v.42bis ------------------------------ Subject: AT&T's Two Conference Services Organization: I.E.C.C. Date: 31 May 93 13:53:14 EDT (Mon) From: johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) AT&T has two different conference call services, the old one which is called "Classic" and the new one which is called "Alliance". Alliance is the one you get when you dial 0-700-456-1000, and can also be set up by an operator on 800-544-6363, and can handle call-me conferences where the conferees all call a 700 number set up for the duration of the conference. (This is great for semi-public conferences or, e.g., telephone sales meetings where most of the salesmen are on the road.) Classic is the one you get when you ask for the conference operator, and seems to be somewhat cheaper and less flexible. Does anyone know why they still have both kinds of conference? Alliance seems to be technically superior. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us, {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #369 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa28398; 4 Jun 93 19:31 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA24231 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Fri, 4 Jun 1993 17:03:47 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA19069 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Fri, 4 Jun 1993 17:03:00 -0500 Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1993 17:03:00 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306042203.AA19069@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #374 TELECOM Digest Fri, 4 Jun 93 17:03:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 374 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis (Christopher Zguris) Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis (or Toronto) (David Leibold) Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis (Anthony E. Siegman) Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis (Andrew Klossner) Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis (Arthur L. Shapiro) Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books (Laird Broadfield) Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books (John R. Levine) Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books (Carl Oppedahl) Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books (Arthur Rubin) Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books (Andy Rabagliati) Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books (Cont Tim Hogard) ---------------------- TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively -- to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800 service. In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for the file 'products'. The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail- ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu. Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom. Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there, where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not require the use of our products and services. The two are separate. All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi- zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein. Send tithes and love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :) Phone: 312-465-2700. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 4 Jun 93 03:01 GMT From: Christopher Zguris <0004854540@mcimail.com> Subject: Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis Someone mentioned getting a junk fax advertising a 976 number for lottery numbers and said that couldn't find their real telephone number. A while ago I called the local phone company -- New York Telephone -- to complain about a handbill I found on the ground in Manhattan (actually, there were many of them with naked women) that advertised a 976 number. New York Telephone couldn't do anything about it but they did give me the company that ran the 976 number and a telephone to reach them at -- couldn't you do the same with the 976 advertised for the lottery numbers? Also, I've gotten those beep-beep calls over and over, when I connected a fax to the line a fax did come through and I called the party back. With autoredialing fax machines, people can make honest mistakes like that! Christopher Zguris 485-4540@MCIMail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 04 Jun 93 00:27:55 EDT From: David Leibold Subject: Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis (or Toronto) ian@sq.com mentioned a rather unscrupulous sounding telemarketeer bombing Toronto-area fax machines with dubious pitches for 976 numbers. The likely culprit is Marvin Fine and his DFD Telebroad- casting or Vista company. Fine/DFD/Vista has received considerable loads of bad press in the past few years. Add to that recent court cases and reported fines levied. Reports in the {Toronto Star} and {Toronto Computes} on all this tell a rather sad tale indeed. For the latter publication, DFD had a campaign with artwork which bore more than a casual resemblance to a Toronto Computes ad campaign. To sum up, Fine/DFD/Vista gets involved in 976 numbers, outbound campaigns (fax and voice), much of this on behalf of apparent third parties. One Toronto politician received bad press after availing himself of one of Fine's services. dleibold@vm1.yorku.ca dleibold1@attmail.com djcl@zooid.guild.org ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 04 Jun 93 12:45:02 PDT From: Anthony E. Siegman Subject: Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis > We've been getting junk faxes from some sleazebag organization > selling "lucky lottery numbers" hiding behind a 976 (pay per call > number), and have not been able to find out the number. Their fax > dialer self-identifies as "9" (I determined this by watching the ID > LCD window when one of the faxes was rolling in) to foil automated > callback, and we don't yet have caller-id on our FAX line. Sigh. Seems to me this one could be easy to handle, if you're willing to be mean and aggressive enough. I would call the 976 number, with a recording device or live witness sitting by my desk, immediately identify myself, state plainly that I would NOT pay for the call, and demand to have the sender of the faxes identified. If I didn't get this information I'd probably repeat several times, enough to build up significant charges. Then when the charges came in on my bill I'd call the customer service rep at my telco, explain why I wanted the charges removed, and if they didn't want to do this I'd ask for an appointment to discuss this with them in person, noting that I'd be bringing along either my attorney and/or a reporter for the local paper, whom I'd be calling for a story on telco sleaze, based on TELECOM Digest materials. At worst I'd be out $10 or $20 and some time; at best I could make everyone else involved unhappy enough that something really might be done about this. ------------------------------ From: andrew@frip.wv.tek.com (Andrew Klossner) Date: Fri, 4 Jun 93 15:15:38 PDT Subject: Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis Reply-To: andrew@frip.wv.tek.com Organization: Tektronix Color Printers, Wilsonville, Oregon > "Caller-ID, where available, revealed an origination number > that differed in only the last digit." I predict that these calls will turn out to come from a university with its own PBX and a set of dial-out lines. I predict further that the university's telecom department will be uninterested in helping to find the culprit. > The security department in one large corporation *is* > responding in a similar way to hackerphreaks they catch on > their site: If they capture the calling number, they wait a few > days and call back. If a computer answers, they proceed to > format the hard drive ..." This sounds more like boast than truth. PCs and Macintoshes do not respond to calls in unless they're running a BBS, in which case they're unlikely to have been used for phreaking in this manner. More sophisticated computers, like Unix systems, will typically require a password, and the access thus gained is not adequate to format the hard drive. Andrew Klossner (andrew@frip.wv.tek.com) ------------------------------ From: ARTHUR%MPA15C@MPA15AB.mv-oc.Unisys.COM Date: 04 JUN 93 17:28 Subject: Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis In 13/364, our Esteemed Moderator writes: > If they capture the calling number, they wait a >few days and call back. If a computer answers, they proceed to format > the hard drive, and leave a single line textfile message... Pat, I work on "real" computers and am as baffled by PCs as the next guy, BUT is this possible? How could an incoming data stream to an user's fax application, say WinFaxPro, format the hard drive??? This strikes me as poodle-in-the-microwave material. But it's entertaining. Arthur L. Shapiro ARTHUR%MPA15C@MPA15AB.MV-OC.UNISYS.COM If you bounce: ARTHUR%MPA15c@TRENGA.TREDYDEV.UNISYS.COM Software Engineering *** The above is a new Internet address *** Unisys Corporation Speaking as a civilian, rather than for Mission Viejo, CA Unisys, unless this box is checked: [ ] ------------------------------ From: lairdb@crash.cts.com Subject: Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books Organization: "Well, a head on top, an arm on each side, two legs...." Date: 4 Jun 93 05:06:17 GMT In johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) writes: > [Moderator's Note: A compilation copyright is still possible for phone > directories to recognize the labor by the people involved in putting > it all together. PAT] > The court decision specifically rejected the traditional "sweat of the > brow" rule for copyrightability when it said that white pages are no > longer copyrighted. It's considered irrelevant how much work went > into it. > To many of us, this seems like a strange ruling that flies in the face > of literally centuries of precedent and perverts the intent of the . law. But barring either a ruling from the Supreme Court or a modified > copyright law, that's currently how the law stands. >[Moderator's Note: Indeed, is that what the honorable court said, that >the amount of work involved means nothing? Then here is my gesture to >the court: there are two names on my mailing list from the honorable > court. As of today they are off this list, and will never again[...] Jeez Pat -- lean down (if you can unstiffen your neck enough to do so) and pick the chip up and put it back on your shoulder. The court's decision actually makes quite a bit of sense, and does not at all mean what you seem to think it does. Review for a moment the motivation behind the _concept_ of a copyright: to recognize and protect the value of the creative work a person put into an intellectual property. The short version of what the court said is that there is no creativity in simple facts. They _didn't_ say there was no creativity in the choice of typestyles, or the layout, or the cover design, or the choice of paper, or any of the rest, just that there was no creativity in the facts themselves. Nor did they deny the concept of "anthology copyright"; the idea that the process of editing and presenting a collection of original works involved creativity. They just said that the individual facts, in and of themselves, didn't have any inherent creative value. See the difference? (BTW, does the MFJ get the Digest? :-) Laird P. Broadfield lairdb@crash.cts.com ...{ucsd, nosc}!crash!lairdb ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books Organization: I.E.C.C. Date: 4 Jun 93 09:47:10 EDT (Fri) From: johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) > What you're saying the court ruled (and I am certain you are correct) > would equally apply to this Digest: you wrote the articles, all I did > was 'merely' compile it all for distribution. ... Hey, Pat, take a chill pill. Compilations are still quite copyrightable, so long as some creative effort goes into the selection and arrangement. In the case of the Digest, you exercise considerable judgment about which submissions to select and, particularly for special issues, how they are arranged. In my comp.compilers book, there was no argument about copyrighting the bulk of the book, since I used my own judgment in selecting and arranging the articles, just as you do. The quibble was about the KWIC and author indices which were indeed mechanically generated from the articles. The point about the white pages (I don't particularly agree with this, but this is the theory) is that since the set of names to be listed and the order in which they are to be listed are "obvious", there's no creative effort involved. Put the Supreme Court back on the list, who knows, they might learn something from it. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us, {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl ------------------------------ From: oppedahl@Panix.Com (Carl Oppedahl) Subject: Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books Date: 4 Jun 1993 14:34:35 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC In Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com> writes: >Recently, in a Moderator's Note, Pat mentioned that Illinois Bell >Telephone would put coded listings in its telephone book to catch >people who duplicated it. (I guess to threaten to sue them if they >did not pay a licensing fee or something.) > The question is whether they still bother to do this. About a year or > more ago, it was reported in an article prominently mentioned in the > Business or Money section of one of the local papers, a major decision > of the United States Supreme Court. Yes, the Feist case held that certain white pages phone book information was not copyrightable. But the Feist case did not remove all protection from white pages listings. Thus it is reasonable to speculate that nearly all publishers of white pages still load the pages with spikes. Carl Oppedahl AA2KW (intellectual property lawyer) 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112-0228 voice 212-408-2578 fax 212-765-2519 ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books From: a_rubin%dsg4.dse.beckman.com (Arthur Rubin) Date: 4 Jun 93 19:56:30 GMT Reply-To: a_rubin@dsg4.dse.beckman.com (Arthur Rubin) In johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) writes: >[Moderator's Note: Indeed, is that what the honorable court said, that >the amount of work involved means nothing? Then here is my gesture to >the court: there are two names on my mailing list from the honorable > court. As of today they are off this list, and will never again > receive a copy of any publication I work on. Let them start their own > mailing list and spend an entire holiday weekend working on getting > out a huge backlog of submissions, etc. Who does the court think > developed the software and the database to begin with and the hardware -- > the stuff we call the 'compilation' -- to make it all work, the cheesy > little outfit now ripping off telco? What you're saying the court > ruled (and I am certain you are correct) would equally apply to this > Digest: you wrote the articles, all I did was 'merely' compile it all > for distribution. My revisions to the software I use, my compilation, > editing and distribution techniques mean nothing rules the court in > its wisdom. So fine, they'll be getting nothing from me in the future. > Thank you for sharing. PAT] I don't think your being QUITE fair, Pat. I think there were a combination of factors in the Feist case, including lack of originality, and lack of choice (the choice of listings is determined by tariff and the PUC -- TPC cannot refuse to include a listing.) I'm sure you provide much more selectivity than TPC. Arthur L. Rubin: a_rubin@dsg4.dse.beckman.com (work) Beckman Instruments/Brea 216-5888@mcimail.com 70707.453@compuserve.com arthur@pnet01.cts.com (personal) My opinions are my own, and do not represent those of my employer. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books Reply-To: andyr@wizzy.com Organization: W.Z.I. Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1993 00:46:40 -0600 From: Andy Rabagliati In article our Moderator writes: > [Moderator's Note: ... I > refuse to give the court, the copyright office or the Library of Congress > any of my work, period. I've got names from each of those places on my > mailing lists -- all will be removed today. PAT] Pat, you are the moderator of a public service newsgroup, and have chosen to accept that responsibility. I hope the mailing list you refer to is not the TELECOM Digest list. If it is, you should put them back on. Cheers, Andy. ------------------------------ From: thogard@wrdis01.af.mil (Cont Tim Hogard) Subject: Re: Coded Information in Telephone Books Date: 4 Jun 93 19:43:53 GMT Organization: 653CCSG Robins AFB >[Moderator's Note: I'm not a lawyer either, but my answer to the court >is expressed in the message before this one. If I cannot copyright the > effort which goes into the compilation of my publication(s), then I > refuse to give the court, the copyright office or the Library of Congress }>any of my work, period. I've got names from each of those places on my }>mailing lists -- all will be removed today. PAT] If your "work" is to help promote your product isn't it best to let any one use it? Its like a copyrighted ad. The phone books were to help the phone company sell phone lines. Now that everyone has one, its mostly to keep customers happy. It would be the the phone co best interest if you didn't call anyone. You removing names seems a bit childish after all is the judge who made the rulling on your list? If so I would put him there. -tim ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #374 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa00316; 5 Jun 93 15:13 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA05383 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Sat, 5 Jun 1993 12:45:03 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA24962 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Sat, 5 Jun 1993 12:44:26 -0500 Date: Sat, 5 Jun 1993 12:44:26 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306051744.AA24962@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #375 TELECOM Digest Sat, 5 Jun 93 12:42:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 375 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Ameritech PCS Trial Update #5 (Andrew C. Green) Are You a GTE Tele-Go Participant? (Andrew C. Green) Analog Lease Lines (James Dollar) Voice/Fax Line Sharing (Laurence Chiu) Small (East-)German Town Gets Telephone (Koos van den Hout) Compuserve White Pages (Harry@ISI.EDU) Even the White House Discovered the Risks! (Paul Robinson) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1993 18:44:02 CDT From: Andrew C. Green Reply-To: acg@hermes.dlogics.com Subject: Ameritech PCS Trial Update #5 Time for yet another Ameritech PCS Update, that entertaining trial of digital spread-spectrum portable phones being conducted by Ameritech in the Chicago area. You may recall that these test phones were issued to several hundred people in the Chicago area for testing from September of last year to December of this year. The phones operate with digital transceivers installed in downtown Chicago, the Lincoln Park residential area to the north, and the northwest suburb of Arlington Heights. Yours truly was selected as one of the member-of-the-general-public testers. New Developments: Actually there haven't been very many to speak of. The eagerly anticipated arrival of units with inbound calling capability (currently you must be paged and call back) remains, well, anticipated. The original rumored deadline of last March was obviously blown, and an Ameritech marketing guy I just spoke with said he really had no idea when the new units would materialize. From past experience, however, it turns out that the people in the testing area of Ameritech are often kept a bit in the dark about goings-on in the rest of the company, so anything can happen. Third-hand rumors reported by the likes of me should not be taken seriously. We test users recently received some more official mailings, one of which is apparently a test of How to Jack Up the Rates. A letter was received explaining that the past few months of billing for usage only (3 cents/minute, in my case) with no monthly charges was only "Phase I", and we were now entering "Phase II". This apparently has New and Improved Rates, whereby I pay not only the same airtime charge, but also $8.95/month in service charges. God knows what Phase III will be. :-) To be honest, it's not a terrible price, and alleviates my wife's refusal to pay monthly PCS bills that cost less than the postage required to mail the check. My neighbor, also in the PCS trial, is being charged an almost-pointless flat $2/month, but is slightly gouged, in his opinion, with a 13 cents/minute airtime fee. Billing itself, to answer some queries I've received, is fully itemized, much better than my regular cellphone billing, with every call listed, using what appears to be billing and printing software and stationery borrowed from somewhere else. My "account number" has six zeroes in front. Another recent mailing boasts of expanded service areas. It appears that suburban service is expanding to additional shopping areas and other high-traffic sites such as pools, supermarkets and the Arlington Park horseracing track. We received revised maps showing the new areas, and also some wallet cards for quick reference. The maps are standard local maps with service areas "fogged-in" airbrush-style, the blurry boundaries indicating where the signal may drop off. Some initial tests showed the service areas to be wildly optimistic; our house is literally next door to Northwest Community Hospital, a new addition to the service area, yet my PCS failed to find the signal until I walked into their parking lot. The map indicates 1/2 mile coverage at that site. My neighbor's PCS is slightly better at finding the signals than mine is, so I'll be testing further where possible to see how accurate the new maps are. Hmmm ... better start at the racetrack. Purely for scientific reasons, you understand. AM Radio fun with PCS: When in Private mode, you can configure the phone to remain switched on when it's closed. In this mode, it will ring like a regular phone when the base unit plugged into your home phone line receives a call. When in this standby mode, it displays "PHOnE On" in its display as a reminder, or "------------" if the Pager is on. When both are on, the display cycles between the two at a 1/3 cycle: one "beat" of "PHOnE On" followed by three "beats" of the hyphen string. And no, I didn't sit there with a stopwatch measuring it. One day while sitting at the PC wearing my Walkman (me, not the PC), I discovered that an annoying "boop ... boop ... boop ..." noise on the AM band was coming from the PCS sitting next to the Walkman on the desk. I remembered the old trick of "listening" to a pocket calculator by placing it next to an AM radio, and stacked the PCS on top of the Walkman. Talk about a beehive of activity ... you'd think the PCS was designed with maximum sound effects in mind. I tuned the Walkman to a strong AM radio station (780) and listened. In the background was a brisk "dip-dip-dip-dip" heartbeat at about 100 cycles per minute, with a loud "boop ... boop ... boop ..." overlaying it at 35 cpm as the PCS ticked off the interval before it would have to change the LCD readout again. Next, I opened the flap, as if preparing to dial the phone. This caught the booping by surprise, and its pitch increased noticeably in anticipation of making a call. I pressed the green button to start transmission to the base unit and get a dial tone, listening to see what would happen. Well. You'd think I'd pulled the fire alarm. Within a second, the excited "beep ... beep ... beep. .." accelerated to a steady whining note, and a brief sputtering growl erupted in the background as the PCS established a handshake with its base unit, followed immediately by a steady, rasping whine as the two components locked on to each other. That seemed to be about all for the repertoire, as actually dialing the tones got me no feedback at all, but I can't complain; it's quite an audio show nonetheless. Assorted Problems: The PCS seems to view commands such as PHONE ON or PAGER ON as suggestions rather than orders. Both my current unit and the previous one replaced under warranty have an annoying tendency to turn their Pager off for no apparent reason, usually several hours after being turned on. This seems to occur most often if both modes are on. The PCS seems to get bored with waiting for incoming pages, and with an abrupt warbling noise it switches its pager off. On at least one occasion I missed an expected page. Although the Owner's Manual tells you to press the green button to obtain a dial tone before dialing, it turns out that you can also dial it cellular-style, entering your number first, then pressing the green button as a sort of "Send" command. I find this preferable, as the PCS is a bit shaky at buffering digits and playing tones at the same time. If you dial rapidly, it's best to push all the digits on its stack at once, then press the green button to pop them off. If you get a dial tone first, then rapidly punch its buttons, the little phone falls flat on its face trying to get all the DTMF out in a hurry. I think I'm getting so used to the behavior of the phone that little irritants don't bother me anymore. For example, when I'm talking on the phone and it drops the signal momentarily, I automatically repeat whatever I was saying, hardly thinking about the dropout. Similarly, I turn as necessary to keep the connection (you always have a slight background hiss from the mike feedback for reassurance), and try not to walk around excessively. Blundering under a steel obstacle in mid-sentence means you have to back up again and repeat yourself, plus (on my particular phone, anyway) there's no handoff capability, so you might as well stay in one place to begin with. So is it as good as current commercial cellular phone service? Hardly, but this is a test, anything can happen, the equipment is new and barely proven, the individual phones vary from one user to the next, and it is difficult, if not downright misleading, to try to draw any conclusions at this point. So I'll draw some anyway. :-) I think this product has a future, but it should be walking before it tries to run, in terms of additional bells and whistles promised. This means that the user should not be required to adopt a sort of drunken circular walk to find and maintain a connection, while simultaneously avoiding collisions with yapping yuppies on uninterrupted analog cellular units. It's not disputed that digital transmissions have certain advantages over analog transmissions, but "transmission" is as much a factor as "digital" is, and this little puppy needs more power. Dragging this conjecture even further, the next question would be, "Would you buy this service in its current state?". I'm not sure: In its current market positioning (going by the glossy pamphlets distributed at signup time), it's fine for use as an occasional communication device. The pricing, in my case, has been commensurate with the quality of service, but that is at a minimum, I'm afraid: While boosting the power required to keep a constant connection seems like a minor issue, it's simultaneously so obvious that one has to wonder why it wasn't corrected in the first place. However, this is the point where we sit back and say, "Look, stupid, this is only a test; you get to play with new and exotic technology at practically no charge, and have major corporations hanging on your every word." Therefore we'll shut up now, keep on pushing them buttons and see what the future brings. Andrew C. Green Datalogics, Inc. Internet: acg@hermes.dlogics.com 441 W. Huron UUCP: ..!uunet!dlogics!acg Chicago, IL 60610 FAX: (312) 266-4473 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1993 14:47:08 CDT From: Andrew C. Green Reply-To: acg@hermes.dlogics.com Subject: Are You a GTE Tele-Go Participant? I've just received a cheerful phone call from an Ameritech marketing guy on a fishing expedition: he's looking to get feedback from anyone (particularly in the Tampa, Florida area) who has been participating in GTE's trial of its Tele-Go system. This is apparently another kind of Personal Communication System test using digital spread-spectrum technology, this one with Oki equipment, but otherwise fairly similar to the Ameritech PCS test which I've been participating in up here in Chicago. He did mention that as Ameritech does not have a presence in Tampa, you need not worry about "giving secrets to the competition". ;-) They're just interested in getting the views of those people (there were about 3000 across eight counties) who were participating in the GTE trial. Anyway, he was contacting me due to my Internet and TELECOM Digest activity, and if I would be so kind as to post this inquiry for him ...? So, if you are a Tele-Go participant, or at least have used the Oki digital spread-spectrum PCS phone equipment in everyday activity, please contact me and I'll forward your thoughts to him. Thanks, Andrew C. Green Datalogics, Inc. Internet: acg@hermes.dlogics.com 441 W. Huron UUCP: ..!uunet!dlogics!acg Chicago, IL 60610 FAX: (312) 266-4473 ------------------------------ From: dollar@NeoSoft.com (James Dollar) Subject: Analog Lease Lines Organization: NeoSoft Communications Services -- (713) 684-5900 Date: Sat, 5 Jun 1993 00:11:16 GMT Dear Tele-Gurus, I am trying to test my newly installed analog lease line. I will be eventually using it to connect two two-wire modems together. In the test, I have installed a hardware loopback jumper at the remote site between pins 1 and 7 and 2 and 8 (I understand that 1 and 2 are the transmit pairs and 7 and 8 are receive pairs). On the local side, I have put one modem on pins 1 and 2 and the other on 7 and 8. This is a drawing of my test: ____ | _|_ | | | | 1 2 7 8 | _______________ | Smartjack | | Remote | --------------- | | - Analog 4 wire Lease Line | --------------- | Smartjack | | Local | --------------- | 1 2 7 8 / / \ \ / / \ \ ------- ------- |Modem1| |Modem 2| ------- --------- Both modems are placed in lease line mode, and work properly if I place a jumper between them ( pin 3,4 on 1 to pin 4,3 on 2). Thanks for you valuable opinions. Jame$ Dollar ------------------------------ Subject: Voice/Fax Line Sharing From: uttsbbs!laurence.chiu@PacBell.COM (Laurence Chiu) Date: 4 Jun 93 19:52:00 GMT Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591 Reply-To: uttsbbs!laurence.chiu@PacBell.COM (Laurence Chiu) In a article to All, Reid Goldsborough had the following to say about Voice/Fax Line Sharing: > Help needed. I need to find a better way to share voice and fax on one > phone line. I have a Practical Peripherals V.32bis fax modem, Bell of > Pennsylvania's Answer Call voice mail service, ProComm Plus for > Windows, and WinFax Pro. > This has worked fine until now, since I wasn't getting more than an > average of three faxes a week. When I was BBSing and someone called, > Answer Call would kick in and the person could leave a message for me. > If someone wanted to send me a fax, I asked them to call first to let > me enable WinFax's automatic reception. [ whole litany of problems deleted here...] I have never tried it myself but if you get a Supra V32bis modem, it comes with a feature called silent answer. It apparently listens to the line once the phone has been answered and makes some determination based on what it hears. If it's a fax tone it seizes the line and lets your software (Winfax Pro) take over. If it is not then it either allows your answering machine or a human to answer. Supposed to work very well and is entirely automatic - your callers do not have to prime you first if they want to send a fax. Trouble is you would need to buy another modem -- perhaps you could sell the Practical Peripherals and buy a Supra. Disclaimer: Although I have a Supra fax modem I am neither affiliated with them nor have any shares in their company. Furthermore I have never tried this feature out since it required that I wire the modem "downstream" of the the answering machine and that was too much hassle for me -- my modem hangs off an extension which is in parallel with the main incoming line. Laurence Chiu lchiu@holonet.net <=== preferred e-mail address The Transfer Station BBS (510) 837-4610 & 837-5591 (V.32bis both lines) Danville, California, USA. 400+ MB Files & FREE public Internet Access ------------------------------ Subject: Small (East-)German Town Gets Telephone From: koos@kzdoos.hacktic.nl (Koos van den Hout) Date: Sat, 05 Jun 93 09:51:19 GMT Organization: HIN / BBS Koos z'n Doos I had a visitor from a small town in East Germany over this weekend. He is from Ortrand, which is near Dresden. We talked about some things, and he told me they got telephone service last January. A new telephone exchange has been set up nearby and the number of telephone connections in the town is rapidly growing (from just the town hall, the public payphone and the vicar to almost everybody). He also told me how the telephone makes you somewhat 'lazy'. When he wants to visit his friends, he calls them first to check out if they are home. He used to just bike over there and find out ... (No, we didn't discuss all the technical details as we head tons of other stuff to talk about. I just wanted to share this with the TELECOM Digest. It's quite different from having more phones then people.) Koos van den Hout ----------------------------------------------- Sysop Student Computer Science (AKA HIO) BBS Koos z'n Doos (+31-3402-36647) Inter-: koos@kzdoos.hacktic.nl 300..14400 MNP2-5,10,V42bis) net : kvdhout@hut.nl | PGP key by finger | Fido: Sysop @ 2:500/101.11012 Schurftnet : KILL !!! | koos@hacktic.nl | Give us a call !! [Moderator's Note: How, in general, are efforts coming to bring the (former) East German telephone network up to the standards of the west? I recall that when 'the wall came down', and the transisition from two governments to one was underway, trying to get calls in or out of the east side was difficult. There was *much* upgrading and expansion of circuits to be done, etc. Is that still in progress or finally finished? Have the dialing codes finally been standardized? PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Jun 93 14:45:47 PDT From: Harry@ISI.EDU Reply-To: harry@ISI.edu Subject: Compuserve White Pages Gang, I'm trying to find a guy I KNOW gets email through Compuserve. I can't reach him by phone and his people are oblivious to email, etc. So, I had the notion that since I know the guy's name, I could look him up in Compuserve's `white pages'. To make a boring story short, the meat of three messages from Postmaster@compuserve is this: > The CompuServe Information Service currently ha s over 1.2 million members > and is growing rapidly. Due to the volume of requests, we are not able to > provide addresses of our members to people who do not subscribe to > CompuServe. AND > Our members have access to a directory that is online. AND FINALLY > It's not that we can't/don't allow it. We don't have anything in place at > this time that would facilitate it. I know this concern has been brought > up several times, and we are working on it. I have a gut feeling that if a "member" - aka someone who has PAID, can read a directory, why can't anyone on the Internet?? If I can't ftp or telnet directly, can I telnet to a dialout [Internet dial outs -- now there's a topic I'd like to see discussed!] and dial to a Compuserve number? Or????? Suggestions? Methods? Madness? Thanks! Harry@isi.edu [Moderator's Note: It is like this: Compuserve *expects to be paid* for all use of their system. They are hooked into the Internet -- some would suggest grudgingly -- primarily to provide inbound/outbound email *for their subscribers*. In other words, they are not that concerned if non-subscribers reach them on email or not; it is up to their sub- scribers to provide an email address to people they want to have write them via CIS. Recall also that CIS does have allowances for email and *charges money* when those allowances have been exceeded. The allowances are quite liberal IMHO, but can be exceeded. The address 'postmaster@ compuserve.com' is there mainly to provide a standard address where the rest of the net is concerned; unlike many a site postmaster who will make genuine efforts to locate users; re-route mail which has gone astray, etc, CIS' first concern is working with their own customers. Yes, they are up to over a million subscribers now. Their 'directory of subscribers' is much like a telephone book for a large city; a big percentage of the users choose not to be listed. I can't provide the exact figures but my estimate is 30-40 percent of CIS customers choose to have 'non-published' account numbers, something the Internet really has no provision for. If you have an account on an Internet site, then someone fingering you will see the particulars. Even CIS customers cannot get the non-pub listings from their own system, let alone outsiders. CIS defaults to non-pub mode. When you open an account with them you will not be in the user directory unless you go to the user directory program and take affirmative steps to create a listing. CIS cannot be reached by telnet. You *can* say 'telnet compuserve.com'; all that happens is you wind up somewhere in Ohio on a site where compuserve is aliased for getting mail, etc. It is like 'telnet mcimail.com', where you wind up in Reston, VA on the gateway machine, not MCI Mail itself. They have talked about taking finger requests or possible finger <==> email type things and searching their directory with the understanding that a large percentage of the subscribers won't be listed there anyway, then emailing back responses, but I doubt it is a big priority with them. Remember, most (maybe all) commercial services connect with *us here on the Internet* because it is the prudent thing to do; not because they really want to. Maybe if enough CIS users demanded they wanted a user directory available for outsiders, it would happen; but when a large percentage don't even bother listing themselves locally, I can't imagine it happening any time soon. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1993 20:21:12 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Even the White House Discovered the Risks! From: Paul Robinson Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA After posting the message about the White House E-Mail system, someone asked if there was an address for Mrs. Clinton, e.g. Hillary. I tried calling up the White House SMTP port and seeing if a "hillary" was a valid adddress. The SMTP gateway gave a 250 ("ok") response in request to the command "VRFY hillary". More than a half dozen people pointed out to me that the SMTP gateway at WHITEHOUSE.GOV would accept *anything* for a VRFY address. One guy noted that the server gave the following response: vrfy h.ross.perot 250 I guess they wanted to preserve PRIVACY of the people there (and as someone pointed out to me, knowing who is on the Whitehouse E-Mail system might be a National Security Risk). But the kicker is that even the White House saw the risks involved, because within a day after I reported what I had tried for the alleged E-Mail address "hillary" the SMTP gate there no longer accepts VRFY requests! But they still don't have it right; reports from people who who sent me capture buffers show that a refused VRFY request should return code "550 Access Denied to You" but instead is returning code "500 Syntax Error". Paul Robinson -- TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM Moderator's Note: I notice that attempts to either finger a specific user at whitehouse.gov or do a general finger of users on line gets back a response saying 'finger is not supported by whitehouse.gov -- the two valid users are PRESIDENT and VICE-PRESIDENT.' PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #375 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa10842; 6 Jun 93 17:05 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA12048 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Sun, 6 Jun 1993 14:33:37 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA31674 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Sun, 6 Jun 1993 14:33:04 -0500 Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 14:33:04 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306061933.AA31674@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #376 TELECOM Digest Sun, 6 Jun 93 14:33:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 376 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson PowerBop, the First Cordless Notebook (Jean-Bernard Condat) DMS Switch Extended Local Calling? (James R. Saker Jr.) Small PBX System Wanted (Jim Wenzel) Need Northern Telecom Contact on the Internet (Wayne Veilleux) SMDS HW+SW Solutions For PC Platform? (Gerry Moersdorf) Caller-ID and Call-Waiting (Chris Katopis) Telephones and the Handicapped (kiser@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil) How to Lock a Cellular on a Station? (Leonardo Lazarte) AT&T Any Hour Saver Promotion Snafu (Monty Solomon) Help Needed With Telephone Support System Using LAN (Charles R. Martin) Curtis NAMFAX For Sale (Bill Berbenich) CLID Information Over LD Lines Carrier-Specific? (Justin Fidler) North Carolina Telephone Outage? (Tad Cook) Caller ID Box Recommendations (failsafe@cellar.org) Re: Hunting on Residential Lines (Joe Markovic) Re: Sprint Stupidity (Joe Markovic) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: jbcondat@attmail.com Date: 06 Jun 93 13:59:59 GMT Subject: PowerBop, the First Cordless Notebook Apple European R&D extends mobile computing with wireless communications. Paris La Defense, June 4, 1993 -- With PowerBop, the first notebook integrating cordless communications technology, recently launched in France, Apple European R&D extands mobile computing and enhances communications capabilities. PowerBop, the newest model of the popular PowerBook series, offers the highest degree of autonomy on the notebook computer market today. The ongoing technical cooperation between Apple European R&D Centre based in Paris, and France Telecom, the French PTO operator resulted in the integration of radio capabilities with notebook computers making it possible to connect them to Telepoint services. Telepoint is expanding more and more in Europe and uses the most affordable wireless technology available today. Apple European R&D focuses primarily on modems, on telecommunications in mobile computers and on products that comply with OSI (Open System Inter- connection) standards. PowerBop: A new dimension in communications freedom PowerBop brings notebook users an added dimension of freedom, above and beyond the inherent benefits of Apple's popular PowerBook models. The PowerBop contains a radio modem conform to the CT2 Telepoint standard in accordance with the Common Air Interface (CAI), adopted in June 1991 on an European level. The CT2 standard allows a new generation of personal telephones. Their owners are able to use them in public places in large cities, at home as a traditional cordless phone and in the office via PBX extensions. Within the PowerBop, the radio modem CT2 provides the ability to connect it to a full range of communications services, at any time, from any place that is located between 20 and 500 meters from the base station of the Pointel network "Bi-Bop", launched by France Telecom in Paris and Strasbourg on April 22,1993. These services include: access to the France Telecom videotex service "Minitel", message and file exchange, fax transmission, access to servers and databases. Thanks to the low energy consumption of the CT2 technology, the PowerBop retains its 1.5 to 2 hours of endurance when the wireless modem is being used. The PowerBop features all the advantages of the PowerBook 180, Apple's high-end notebook. The internal floppy disk drive is replaced by the CT2 modem which means that users do not need to carry any additional equipment to communicate via the telepoint network. An external floppy disk drive is supplied as a standard accessory. Like the Bi-Bop pocket phone designed and developped by France Telecom, the Apple PowerBop has a small antenna which folds into a special slot. The Express Modem provided as standard equipment inside the PowerBop, offers a full range of communications functions: * access to one of the 15,000 Minitel services; * fax transmision (reception will be available on the French network from Septembre 1993); * data transmission from 300 to 14,400 bps. The Express Modem can either be connected directly to a telephone line or use the Bi-Bop network for wireless communications up to 9,600 bps. Digital Cordless Market. European operators view telepoint as a mass market application for wireless telephones. At the present time, no European country offers a nationwide commercial telepoint service. However there are currently a number of networks of this type spreading out. Mainly, in the UK, Netherlands, Finland and Belgium. In other parts of the world, others such developments are under way, in Asia, Australia, Canada and the United States. On the sales side, it appears that all the operators have a common desire to implement a pricing structure to allow this technology to be affordable for a consumer market. France Telecom's new Bi-Bop service. France Telecom took a leading role in the development of European telepoint services. On April 22, France Telecom launched the Bi-Bop cordless digital pocket phone in Paris. The system which employs the CT2 cordless standard, sets up a digital radio link between the Bi-Bop terminal and a public or home base station. The Bi-Bop service covers three main types of use: * Public use: Bi-Bop subsribers can call anywhere in the world from major cities, starting with Paris and Strasbourg. The network is designed to cover major thoroughfares and public places. Today, some 3,000 base stations (4,000 by fall 1993) span Paris and the greater Paris area (Ile-de-France) and the network will be progressively extended to other areas. Starting in September 1993, subscribers will also be able to receive calls, and PowerBop notebook users will have fax reception capacities; * With a private home base station connected to a standard telephone outlet, the PowerBop is transformed into a high-performance mobile computing tool allowing one to access all private communications services; * Wireless PBXs are available to companies, allowing PowerBop users anywhere at a site, for example, to benefit from the same computing environment as if the user was at his desk. The PowerBop can also become a mobile fax terminal. Availability: The PowerBop will be available through certified Apple Computer France distributors in June 1993. PowerBop owners must have a special telephone subscription with France Telecom. Nota Bene: At this time, I am in a luxurous cafe on the Champs-Elysees in Paris in holidays and I send this note to _TELECOM Digest_ with my PowerBop ... without any problem... Jean-Bernard Condat General Secretary Chaos Computer Club France, B.P. 155, 93404 St-Ouen Cedex, France Private Address: P.O. 8005, 69351 Lyon Cedex 08, France Phone: +33 1 40101764, Fax: +33 1 47877070 InterNet: jbcondat@attmail.com or cccf@altern.com [Moderator's Note: Thanks for writing to us under these circumstances. We've had people write to the Digest from airplanes and transmit their message over modems attached to the in-flight phones. We've had people write from cellular phones in their cars while driving (or hopefully, while parked!). Now a letter from a cafe in France. :) PAT] ------------------------------ From: jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu (James R. Saker Jr.) Subject: DMS Switch Extended Local Calling? Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 05:23:11 GMT This next week, a relative of mine in NE Ohio will be representing her community in a petition with the Ohio PUC ("PUCO") against United of Ohio to bring extended local calling services to the residents of her community. The community, located one mile outside of Brookfield Ohio, is served by the Warren, Ohio (United) end office, while the town of Brookfield is served by an Ohio Bell end office. Warren is located ten miles due west of the Brookfield community. Since the residents of West Brookfield are serviced by an exchange located ten miles west, all calls to Brookfield (such as calls to their courthouse, doctors, businesses, etc.) are considered intrastate long distance by United. Interestingly enough, residents inside Brookfield (and serviced by Ohio Bell) are provided with extended local calling access to the outskirts of Brookfield, including the two United prefixes in question. After exploring options with United of Ohio (which essentially consisted of either the status quo or the acquision of foreign exchange service at a stiff premium), the residents have petitioned the Ohio public utilities commission to investigate whether United should provide extended local calling services to their community. I've researched United of Ohio's general exchange tariff, and reviewed the statements of United's attorney (which amount to the questionable interpretations of calling statistics from the Warren end office to claims that United's intrastate rates are "competitive" and therefore are an acceptable solution for the community). I've run into essentially one factual question which the entire United case rests upon and am seeking information relating to it: United essentially bases their case upon the fact that if ordered to provide extended local calling services to the two prefixes in question, (regardless of justification), they would be forced to enable the entire serving wire center/end-office to have extended calling services to the foreign exchange in question. Upon investigation, United's end office operates with a Northern Telecom DMS switch -- a modern facility. Is United technically correct when they state that a DMS switch cannot selectively enable extended calling services to two of many (approximatly 35) prefixes? Is this simply a software issue or could it also be a limitation in their central office facility? Or are they incorrect in stating that the DMS cannot selectively offer extended calling services? I've spoken with folks from US West - Nebraska who have indicated that such a service is not only possible with their end- office equipment but is in effect in the Omaha area. If you are familiar with the operation of DMS switches and are familiar with the possibilities discussed above, or have been involved with extended calling petitions (or simply have some ideas/comments), please contact me at: jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu I greatly appreciate your assistance! Jamie Saker jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu Systems Engineer Business/MIS Major Telenational Communications Univ. Nebraska at Omaha voice: (402) 392-754 fax: (402) 391-7283 Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are mine and not my employers, nor the University of Nebraska at Omaha's. [Moderator's Note: Saker's telephone number received truncated as shown above, unfortunatly. Sorry. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Jun 1993 10:28:00 -0500 From: jim.wenzel@grapevine.lrk.ar.us (Jim Wenzel) Subject: Small PBX System Wanted Reply-To: jim.wenzel@grapevine.lrk.ar.us (Jim Wenzel) Organization: The GrapeVine BBS *** N. Little Rock, AR *** (501) 753-8121 We are thinking about putting a small PBX system in for our BBS. Mainly to give us greater control over the internal phone system. My questions are: 1: What price can I expect to pay for such a system, ie 25 lines or so? 2: I would prefer used due to $$ constraints. Any particular systems I should look for? Stay away from? 3: Since I am a novice when it comes to the phone system any pointers other information (faqs/archives) that may be of use would be greatly appreciated. The GrapeVine / Ferret Face BBS (501) 753-8121 PGP Distribution Site, UseNet, RIME, ThrobNet, MediaNet, U'niNet, ForthNet RecoveryNet, MetroLink. Putting Communications back in Telecommunication ------------------------------ From: veilleux@gyzmo.telecom-mais.hydro.qc.ca (Wayne Veilleux) Subject: Need Northern Telecom Contact on the Internet Organization: Hydro-Quebec Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 17:07:53 GMT Hi: I'm looking for an X software running on a UNIX platform that will be able to manage PABX(SL-1) and X.25 Switch (DPN-100) from Northern Telecom. That will have to be possible to integrate it over HP OpenView. Does anyone know of a Northern Telecom contact on the Internet, email address or ftp anonymous server I can contact that would have this kind of information? Thank you very much for any help. Wayne ------------------------------ From: gerry@aicorp.aiinet.com (Gerry Moersdorf) Subject: SMDS HW+SW Solutions For PC Platform? Organization: Applied Innovation, Inc. Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 17:27:06 GMT Does anyone know of a source for a PC hardware and software solution for SMDS (switched megabit data service)? Please email me directly if possible ... thanks in advance. Gerry Moersdorf --- Applied Innovation Inc 614-846-9000 Columbus, Ohio 43085 The datacom pbx guys ------------------------------ From: katop@astro.ocis.temple.edu (Chris Katopis) Subject: Caller-ID and Call-waiting Organization: Temple University Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 00:57:32 GMT I don't know if this has been already covered here, but ... if you have a phone with both the Caller-ID and Call-Waiting services, do you get the incoming telephone number displayed while you are speaking with someone else?? cjk [Moderator's Note: No, you won't get the Caller-ID *while you are on the line talking*. I guess there is no reason telco could not interuppt the connection long enough to send the data in the same way they interrupt the connection long enough to send you a tone signal, but they don't. Probably this is because there would be a great likelyhood of error in the data, it trying to get past your talking, etc. If you flash to accept the new call, leaving the old call on hold, you will not get the new call data. However, regardless of how long the new call rings before you answer, if you choose to disconnect the first call before accepting the second call and hang up your phone, then between the first and second *audible rings on your end* as the waiting call 'rings in' to you, telco will send the Caller-ID data to your display box, just as would ordinarily happen between the first and second rings otherwise. So the answer to your question is yes or no, depending. If you really want the ID on that waiting call, tell the first caller you will call them back and hang up. Wait a couple more rings, see the data and answer the second call. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Jun 93 11:18:40 EDT From: kiser@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil Subject: Telephones and the Handicapped Can anyone point me to catalogs of telecom-related equipment specially designed to meet the needs of the blind, visually-impaired, and mobility-impaired user? Thanks! kiser@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil -or- 74007.303@compuserve.com [Moderator's Note: It used to be, prior to the now infamous break up of the Bell System, that Bell had an excellent reputation for finding solutions to problems like you suggest. They had phones and services for *everyone*. The Telephone Pioneers would learn about someone who was unable to use a telephone in the 'normal' way, and they would go to work on the problem. Visual and aural impairments were minor concerns. They developed the original flashing signals for deaf persons who could not hear the phone bell. They created special attachments for TTY devices on the phone line. The *real* challenges were people who were totally paralyzed, save possibly the ability to blink their eyes and move a pencil or other object they held in their mouth. The Pioneers would go to work on those cases and do themselves and the System proud by finding some very creative solutions involving beams of light which interacted with letters on a display screen, etc. When I say 'Pioneers' of course I am including the Independent Pioneers; those fine people with the non-Bell companies who also chose to be of service to their community in special ways using their employer's largesse. Originally, a ***long*** time ago, the Pioneers were composed of those employees who were with the System from its beginning. As the years went on and that became impossible, the rules were changed and Pioneers were the people who had been employed by the System for at least twenty years, if they chose to participate. Now the rule is still twenty years of employment with telco I believe, but as the ranks thin out there is a category called 'associate' (I think that is what it is called) for the 'newer' (? less than twenty years ?) employees who want to be part of the group. Do MCI, Sprint or the other recent entries have anything resembling the Pioneers? PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Jun 93 01:31:25 EST From: llazarte@cnpq.br (Leonardo Lazarte) Subject: How to Lock a Cellular on a Station? Here in Brasilia, central Brazil, the telephone company is using Cellular technology to implement rural telephones. They use the same system as the normal, urban cells, but a rural telephone is restricted to use a single cell. Fees are closer to wire phones. The problem is, if you are allocated a given antenna, and there is another one close by, sometimes you could be dinamically transferred to the wrong antenna, and as you are not allowed to use it, you will be disconnected. I have been told that it is the telephone, rather than the station who chooses which antenna will be used, based on the strength of the signal. Is there any way of locking the phone on a given antenna? Is that a standard feature? A feature of some models? Or simply impossible? Thanks for any response, or other solutions (other that directional antennas). Leonardo Lazarte - LLazarte@cnpq.br Dep. de Matematica - Univ. de Brasilia - Brazil Please respond via email; news not yet operating here. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 09:56:14 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: AT&T Any Hour Saver Promotion Snafu A couple of months ago we had a discussion here about AT&T's Any Hour Saver promotion where they were going to reduce their rates for calls that appear on the May 1993 bill. The reduced rates are $0.16/0.09 as compared with the regular rates of $0.20/0.11. I received my May bill yesterday and was billed at the regular rate. I called AT&T to complain and they agreed that I should have been billed at the reduced rate and will credit my account. You may want to double check and make sure that AT&T properly bills you for any Any Hour Saver calls on your May bills. Monty Solomon / PO Box 2486 / Framingham, MA 01701-0405 monty%roscom@think.com ------------------------------ From: martinc@cs.unc.edu (Charles R. Martin) Subject: Help Needed With Telephone Support System Using LAN Date: 6 Jun 93 10:23:48 Organization: UNC Department of Computer Science I have a new consulting client who would like to set up a telephone ordering support system using a small LAN. I recall the existence of such systems (my ex-wife managed the development of one such) but these were much too large for the kind of operation my friend contemplates. in outline, the system she would in her wildest dreams like to have would: - use caller ID to determine the caller phone number; - look up that customer's account based on that phone number, or if the number had not been seen before pop up a new-customer screen; - process credit card authorization from the system itself rather than requiring a separate authorization box. The transaction-processing part is easy enough; can anyone tell me how to purchase or create an interface to Caller ID information? Are there good single books on telephony interface that a technical-but-not- telephony person could read? Thanks for any information. Charles R. Martin/(Charlie)/martinc@cs.unc.edu/Dept. of Computer Science/CB #3175 UNC-CH/Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3175/3611 University Dr #13M/Durham, NC 27707/(919) 419 1754 ------------------------------ Subject: Curtis NAMFAX For Sale From: bill@wabworld.atl.ga.us (Bill Berbenich) Date: Sun, 06 Jun 93 12:35:53 EDT Organization: The Home for Homeless Homing Pigeons For Sale - One Curtis NAMFAX, volume 3. $35 ($40 to send COD). The Curtis NAMFAX contains "Comprehensive procedures ... for programming cellular handset and NAM programmable phones. Includes A/B select, lock and unlock procedures plus programming and reset codes." I am selling this book because I just upgraded to volume 4. Volume 3 is dated May 15, 1992 and includes phones in circulation up to that time frame. Newer models of cellular phones often utilize the same programming procedures as previous models, so this book will be applicable to anyone who in interested in that sort of thing. If you are interested in buying the book from me, please use one of the following methods to let me know: E-mail: bill@wabworld.atl.ga.us Phone: 10288-0-700-746-6363 (best bet if you want to talk w/me personally) - or - (404) 899-5199 These volumes cost $179 new from Curtis. This volume has already been "upgraded" so there will be no support from Curtis to whomever buys it. Still, the procedures contained therein are still valid. -Bill ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 18:15:16 -0400 (EDT) From: Justin Fidler Subject: CLID Information Over LD Lines Carrier-Specific? The other day I was wondering if CLID info is passed over LD lines to the destination (e.g., if I make a long-distance call from Washington, DC to Los Angeles, and both originator and receiver have CLID equipment). Well, I made calls to AT&T, MCI and Sprint, and at first, they were all unsure (I think I ended up with customer service people most of the time, and in fact a customer service rep at MCI told me they didn't even HAVE tech people). Finally, I was able to get through to some people at each respective company who knew what I was asking, and they all said it DID pass. However, I think even they are unsure, because a tech at Sprint said they examine it first, then check the laws at the destination to see if CLID info is allowed by law. I don't know how much of this to believe. I was hoping TELECOM Digest readers could answer my question. It's not in the FAQ. Thanks, Justin ------------------------------ Subject: North Carolina Telephone Outage? Date: Sun, 6 Jun 93 19:47:42 PDT From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook) I saw something on Fidonet today indicating that around the first of June there was a major telephone outage in the northeast part of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Any TELECOM Digest readers familiar with this? Anyone know of any effect on the 9-1-1 system? tad@ssc.com (if it bounces, use 3288544@mcimail.com) Tad Cook | Packet Amateur Radio: | Home Phone: Seattle, WA | KT7H @ N7DUO.WA.USA.NA | 206-527-4089 ------------------------------ Subject: Caller ID Box Recommendations From: failsafe@cellar.org Date: Sun, 06 Jun 93 00:42:58 EDT Organization: The Cellar BBS and public access system Happily, I am moving to an area (St. Louis, MO) which has Caller-ID from an area (Philadelphia, PA) which seemingly never may. I have tenatively placed an order for a "60 number capacity" box from SW Bell ( made by AT&T) which will set me back $59.95 plus $5 shipping. I am a novice in the area of Caller ID and have the following questions: 1) Should I consider other makes of Caller ID box? 2) Do the AT&T units have any provision for a PC interface? Do any others? 3) Is the price quoted fair/competitive? 4) Is the price of the Caller ID service ($6.50/month) comparable to that in other parts of the country? Any and all advice in this area will be appreciated! Steve ------------------------------ From: Joe Markovic Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 20:00:00 -0400 Subject: Re: Hunting on Residential Lines In article , jeff@bradley.bradley.edu writes; > Any clever suggestions for fictitious names under which I can have my > second line published? How's about using Alexander Graham Bell? ciao, Joe ------------------------------ From: Joe Markovic Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 10:00:00 -0400 Subject: Re: Sprint Stupidity In article levitt@zorro9.fidonet.org (Ken Levitt) writes; KL> Now the stupid part. Today Sprint rejected the order from Hogan for KL> my number because they already had an 800 number that was routed to my KL> telephone. There is no logical technical reason that two different KL> 800 numbers can't end up at the same phone number. While there may not be a "technical" reason to prevent this, I'd suggest that you consider using a different phone number for the second 800 number. You could do this with the "distinctive ringing, aka Ident-a-call" feature, so that you'd know which of the two 800 numbers was being dialled. ciao, Joe [Moderator's Note: Actually, the way we (Ken and I) resolved it was by taking the 800 number he had via Sprint away from them and placing it on my service. The carrier used for the 800 numbers I resell has no problem with putting as many 800 lines on one terminating number as desired; one, two or twenty. We had planned his configuration so that he would have two 800 numbers; one from me and one from Sprint. Sprint would not work along, so they lost the customer; now Ken has two 800 numbers from me and he got to keep the Sprint number he was using in the process. I'm *glad* Sprint has stupid people working for them; it means that much more business for me! Anyone else out there looking to install an 800 number or get a better deal on the one they have now? Send a note to 'ptownson@eecs.nwu.edu'. All 800 service handled through my office benefits this Digest, a not-for-profit publication. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #376 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa28117; 7 Jun 93 3:13 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA00735 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 7 Jun 1993 00:49:36 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA26245 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 7 Jun 1993 00:49:00 -0500 Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1993 00:49:00 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306070549.AA26245@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #377 TELECOM Digest Mon, 7 Jun 93 00:49:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 377 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: 16550AFN Chip (Jim Graham) Re: 16550AFN Chip (A. Padgett Peterson) Re: 16550AFN Chip (Bob Frankston) Re: Oops, You Didn't Hear That (Jak Grimm) Re: Telecom History (Dave Niebuhr) Re: Strange Prefix (Scott D. Fybush) Re: French DTMF - Is it the Same as Everywhere Else? (James Van Houten) Re: Dialing Change in Minnesota (Carl Moore) Re: Looks Like the Film "Die Hard 2" Got it Wrong Then (Brian T. Vita) Re: Where Does One Find Used Cell Phones? (Dale Farmer) Re: GTE Strikes! or Can't Deliver Phonebooks (Lawrence R. Stash) Re: Is Someone Using My Telephone? (David K. Bryant) ---------------------- TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively -- to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800 service. In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for the file 'products'. The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail- ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu. Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom. Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there, where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not require the use of our products and services. The two are separate. All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi- zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein. Send tithes and love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :) Phone: 312-465-2700. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: jim@n5ial.mythical.com (Jim Graham) Subject: Re: 16550AFN Chip Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 12:58:19 GMT In article terry@spcvxb.spc.edu (Terry Kennedy, Operations Mgr.) writes: > In article , padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com > (A. Padgett Peterson) writes: >> (am told the current revision is 16550AFN). > The base part is 16550A. The FN specifies a plastic DIP package (as opposed > to ceramic, or PLCC, etc.) You're both off. :-) The current part number is the 16550AF. There was a minor change from the 16550A to the 16550AF. t_RXI, found in the data sheet for the 16550AF in the "AC Electrical Characteristics" table, is missing from the 16550A. All other parameters are the same (this is direct from an SE at National Semiconductor who did some digging for me on this topic a while back). The 16550A and 16550AF were, in fact, two different chips, even though for most applications, they are functionally the same. The 16550AFN is the normal 40-pin DIP, while the 16550AFV is the "Chip Carrier Package" (is this what they're called?). Also, just so people know, there are *TWO* key things that the 16550A and 16550AF do to improve performance on the computer. The first is the one that most people talk about, the 16-byte FIFO buffers, which give you some breathing room. The second, which seems to be discussed a lot less (but should be discussed *MORE*), is the fact that with the 16550A/16550AF, multiple characters can be transmitted in a single interrupt, reducing system overhead. The following is from National Semiconductor's Application Note 491 (AN-491, "The 16550A: UART Design and Application Considerations"). This application note, btw, is good reading for anyone who wants to learn more on this topic (I'm only including the relevant bits here, but there's a *LOT* more good info!). ---------------------------- CUT HERE ---------------------------- 1.0 Design Considerations and Operation of the New UART Features [....] The NS16550A receiver optimizes the CPU/UART data transaction via the following features: 1. The depth of the Receiver (Rx) FIFO ensures that as many as 16 characters will be ready to transfer when the CPU services the Rx interrupt. Therefore, the CPU transfer rate is effectively buffered from the serial data rate. 2. The program can select the number of bytes required in the Rx FIFO (1, 4, 8, or 14) before the UART issues an interrupt. This allows the software to modify the interrupt trigger levels depending on its current task or loading. It also ensures that the CPU doesn't continually waste time switching context for only a few characters. 3. The Rx FIFO will hold 16 bytes regardless of which trigger level the CPU selects. This makes allowances for a variety of CPU latency times, as the FIFO continues to fill after the interrupt is issued. [....] SYSTEM OPERATION: THE NS16550A VS THE NS16450 [....] The actual software required to transfer the data between the CPU and the UART is a small percentage of that required to support this transfer. However, each time a transfer occurs in the NS16450, this support software (overhead) must also be executed. With the NS16550A each time the UART needs service the CPU can theoretically transfer 16 bytes while only running through its overhead once. Tests have shown that this will increase the performance by a factor of 5 at the system level over the NS16450. Another time savings for the CPU is a new feature of the UART interrupt structure. Unlike most other UARTs with Rx FIFOs, the NS16550A will issue an interrupt when there are characters below the interrupt trigger level after a preset time delay. This saves the extra time spent by the CPU to check for bytes that are at the end of a block, but won't reach the interrupt level. [....] ---------------------------- CUT HERE ---------------------------- Anyways, that's it for this post. If anyone has questions on this, feel free to e-mail me. jim INTERNET: jim@n5ial.mythical.com | j.graham@ieee.org ICBM: 30.23N 86.32W AMATEUR RADIO: (packet station temporarily offline) AMTOR SELCAL: NIAL [Moderator's Note: Thanks also go to Robert Niland who sent a very lengthy and detailed article -- as large as a typical issue of the Digest!! -- with still more details which space prohibits using. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Jun 93 11:26:31 -0400 From: padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson Subject: Re: 16550AFN Chip Terry quoted something originally written by Padgett: > In article , padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com > (A. Padgett Peterson) writes: I am not going to quote from Terry's excellent posting with facinating detail on the 8250/16550 other than to agree with him. For example my combo IDE, serial, parallel, and game board has exactly the LCC he describes however I have seen boards with pairs of 16450s on them (and am now seeking one to see if I can create two boards each with one 16550 (modem) and one 16450 (mouse) from the board I purchased with two 16550s. This is an example of our differing worldviews -- Terry sees the world as an imperfect place that could have been designed better while I see it as one that can be improved with what we already have and be "good enough for government work" -- I guess that is the difference between a scientist and an engineer or possibly reflects my avocation as a hot-rodder, a Saturday wandering in a junkyard is my idea of relaxation. Just as an aside, the first computer I really understood was a PDP-8 and by 1980 had written a "terminal emulator" program for the VAX that allowed file transfer (and could do binary file transfer using something much like uuencode/decode, anyone remember "TekHex ?"). Just looked back at the souce code and all of the commas in QIO and QIOW calls still give me a headache. Warmly, Padgett ------------------------------ From: Bob_Frankston@frankston.com Subject: Re: 16550AFN Chip Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 20:34 -0400 Some quick additional notes on serial chips for the PC: 1. An XT quite easily handles 9600 bps in the background while performing other tasks. In the old days I'd run background communications on such a system. I did run into a problem when I got an early Compaq and their keyboard clicker masked too long. They immediately fixed it. Even on a 486 the system might mask against interrupts for a millisecond in order to handle network events. This will cause lost characters. I regard error correcting protocols and/or a 16550 to be a necessity. 2. There are now quad 16550 replacements by Startech. The 16552 and 16554 (two and four). The latter is used in an STB board. 3. Programming standards on the PC are nonexistent. As noted in Terry's letter, people are sloppy about interrupt handling and do things like leaving low priority interrupt handlers masked against higher priority interrupts. My pet peeve is that many don't understand interrupt design and instead of relying on the persistent of a level trigger on the THRE (transmit hold register empty) interrupt to refire it as soon as it is enabled, they The elegant approach is to disable the THRE interrupt when the output buffer is full. Whenever one inserts a character into the output buffer, just reenable the interrupt and it will fire immediately. This leads to very simple, maskfree programming. Instead, I see programs that keep setting masks and transmitting the initial character as a special case. There is a price for elegance. When IBM created the 50Z they did their own silicon for the serial chip and it was edge triggered which meant that the THRE interrupt was easily lost and thus "proper" code broke. The surprising thing was how many programs continued to work. 4. (XT again). The ROM Basic on the PC implemented its own serial I/O handling since the BIOS was so bad. Basic did buffering and flow control. But IBM did manage to ship a terminal program written in Basic that I could outtype at 1200 bps. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Jun 1993 23:28:13 -0400 From: grimm@bnr.ca Subject: Re: Oops, You Didn't Hear That Organization: NorTel Australia Pty. Ltd. G'day y'all, Yesterday I was calling CLEAR NZ a few times. Once I accidentally transposed two of the digits, so I dialed 64-9-358-1089 (incorrect) instead of 64-9-358-0189. The voice at the end of the line said: " STRIPPERGRAMS !! " I initially thought this was a joke, but the guy assured me it was true, and told me the correct number. Do you think this is some sort of practical joke being played on CLEAR NZ by Telecom New Zealand? It might be. I am sure that CLEAR NZ was given their number by TNZ. Jak Grimm, NorTel Australia | J Grimm (BNRUNIX) 380 StKilda Rd. Melbourne | grimm@bnr.ca Victoria Australia 3004 | ph +61 3 2064659 ESN 640 | fx +61 3 2064644 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 06 Jun 93 20:08:57 EDT From: dwn@dwn.ccd.bnl.gov (Dave Niebuhr) Subject: Re: Telecom History In TELECOM Digest V13 #364 Jack.Winslade@axolotl.omahug.org (Jack Winslade) writes: > In a message dated 19-MAY-93, David Ohsie writes: >> In article kennykb@dssv01.crd.ge.com >> writes: >> In the interest of accuracy :-), there is not currently a 324 exchange >> in Far Rockaway (or in any part of Queens according to my phone book), >> althought there is a 327. > I know the office that served the 718-343 (nee 212-343) prefix out in > Glen Oaks area also served at least one prefix in the 516 area as > well. I believe Long Island Jewish was served by this office. This is quite possible since there is a 516 CO in New Hyde Park that serves a small portion of 718. LIJ is located in New Hyde Park which is right on the Queens - Nassau border. > Speaking of NYC geography, (I think I asked this once here but got no > response) there is a small area (Sputen Duyvil) that is geographically > on the Bronx side of the river, but politically in the borough of > Manhattan. I'm curious to know how this area made out with the Bronx > cutover to AC 718. Anyone know for sure? After living on Long Island for 30+ years thanks to Uncle Sam's Air Force, I've never heard of this before. I agree with Jack, if anyone has any info let us know. Dave Niebuhr Internet: niebuhr@bnl.gov / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, LI, NY 11973 (516)-282-3093 Senior Technical Specialist: Scientific Computer Facility [Moderator's Note: As a matter of fact, Carl Moore wrote in the Digest about that place a few issues ago; but his message got here before this one from Dave. PAT] ------------------------------ From: fybush@world.std.com (Scott D Fybush) Subject: Re: Strange Prefix Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA Date: Sun, 06 Jun 1993 23:48:04 GMT David A. Cantor writes: >> I stayed overnight in Mystic, Connecticut, and was perusing the local >> telephone directory. It is SNET territory. There were several >> references to prefixes (office codes?) 111 and 112. 111 was listed as >> Ledyard, CT, and I don't remember where 112 was. 111 was identified >> as a Ledyard prefix in the section on what exchanges you can dial from >> where, and in the numerical list of prefixes for the state. 112 was >> also in the numerical list. > It's unlikely that it was either a misprint or a "spike". The 111 > exchange was indicated at least five times in print: once in the > numerical list of exchanges for the state, once each on three > different renditions of a local map showing the relationship of > exchanges to each other, and once in a table showing what exchanges > could call what other exchanges. In my original post, I indicated two > occurrences, but I didn't say they were the only ones. What's more, the 111 and 112 exchanges show up in ALL the SNET directories, and have been there since the 1991-1992 editions (I just checked some older SNET books and they all start with "221 Westport.") I suspect they're billing codes of some sort. On a similar note ... NETel's ads for custom calling features always include a list of exchanges where the feature being advertised is "not yet available." These ads regularly include 508-512 and 508-515 ... even though there are no N0X or N1X exchanges in Massachusetts. Calls to 508-512-XXXX and 508-515-XXXX get the usual intercept message that calls to nonexistent exchanges get from NETel (an amateurish-sounding muffled male voice saying "We're sorry ... etc.") Any ideas? Scott Fybush -- fybush@world.std.com ------------------------------ From: alarm@access.digex.net (James Van Houten) Subject: Re: French DTMF - Is it the Same as Everywhere Else? Date: 6 Jun 1993 10:12:03 -0400 Organization: Metropolitan Security Services, Inc, Ft. Washington, MD USA In article gmontgomery@sdesys1.hns.com (Guy Montgomery) writes: > I am trying to find out whether the French PSTN uses "standard" DTMF > for tone handsets and PBX DID connections. The feedback I am getting > is that the answer is no; therefore you cannot use US phones to access > French tone based services (i.e. answering machines) and vice versa, > and equipment that can dial in to a US PABX may not be able to dial > into a French PABX. I think you are getting the wrong information. I was in Paris a few years ago with President Bush. We (The White House Communications Agency) are responsible for providing telecommunications for the President. We installed our own equipment as well as interfaced to the French telco. I found that the French system uses DTMF as we know it here in the USA. They use a different phone jack, but an adapter is readily available. They also use a different character for the * and # but they are the same tones. I don't think you will run into any problems at all. Just to let you know I was using an AT&T 5500 cordless phone over there on a standard phone line with no problems. Have fun and good luck ... James Van Houten, Metropolitan Security Services, Inc Ft. Washington, Maryland, USA / +1.202.672.6926 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Jun 93 10:20:40 EDT From: Carl Moore Subject: Re: Dialing Change in Minnesota What does "shrinking the boundaries" mean? I did have the "Bronx to 718" case, where the Bronx was moved to existing area 718 (not to new area 917) to relieve crowding in 212. (By the way, I made a quick stop in the Bronx over the weekend and found 718 on a pay phone there; earlier, I noticed intercept in English and Spanish telling me to use 718 when I tried area code 212 for a Bronx prefix.) What "Baby Bell" serves Minnesota? I have already had the note about U.S.West areas switching to 1 + NPA + 7D for intra-NPA long distance, in order to accommodate NXX area codes. You're telling me that 612 will be needing this instruction anyway for N0X/N1X prefixes, with the rest of the state going along for sake of uniformity? I am currently listing a deadline of Jan. 1, 1995 for the NXX area codes. This is covered in the history.of.area.splits archive file. ------------------------------ Date: 06 Jun 93 06:03:37 EDT From: Brian T. Vita <70702.2233@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Re: Looks Like the Film "Die Hard 2" Got it Wrong Then >> [Moderator's Note: I would think those fax machines would work the >> same way as the airfones and have outgoing service only. Of course > Looks like the film "Die Hard 2" got it wrong then. > Does anybody remember anything they got RIGHT in "Die Hard 2"? As I recall, Bruce Willis was supposed to be calling his wife's Airfone from an East Coast airport. Didn't the payphone say "PacBell" on it? Brian T. Vita CSS Inc. CI$70702,2233 ------------------------------ From: dale@access.digex.net (Dale Farmer) Subject: Re: Where Does One Find Used Cell Phones? Date: 6 Jun 1993 15:58:12 GMT Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA J. Eric Townsend (jet@nas.nasa.gov) wrote: > I've decided to possibly take the plunge (and bite from my pocketbook :-) > and get a cell phone. Not wanting to get trapped in one of these "to > get this price you have to sign with company X" scams, I figured: hey, > I'll buy a used phone. > There aren't any, best I can tell. Try your local pawn shops, they have all kinds of unusual things on the shelves, with widely varying prices. Caveat emptor. Dale Farmer ------------------------------ Date: 6 Jun 93 13:34:50-0400 From: LAWRENCE.R.STASH@gte.sprint.com Subject: Re: GTE Strikes! or Can't Deliver Phonebooks jkimbro@hercii.lasc.lockheed.com writes: > A call to Southern Bell service rep went something like this: > Me: All my neighbors received their phone books but I didn't. > Her: Okay, that's handled by another company. Let me give you a number to call. > Me: Okay. WRONG!!! Shame on you and PAT too. PAT is my hero as far as fighting corporate beauracracy and standing up for the little guy (I can't believe you let this one go). The Phone Company is responsible for the delivery of the phone books (I don't care if they subcontract it out to God and all of his angels -- your LEC is responsible for seeing that you get your books). The above conversation should have went like this: Her: Okay, that's handled by another company. Let me give you a number ... Me: NO NO Brain donor, I live at 123 Park Place, you call the number and make sure I get my phone books. I doubt even GTE would tell you to call the delivery people directly, I would like to think we would do it for you ;) Lawrence R. Stash Lawrence.r.stash@gte.sprint.com Just my opinions - of course GTE's may differ! [Moderator's Note: Good point. PAT] ------------------------------ From: dbryant@netcom.com (David K. Bryant) Subject: Re: Is Someone Using My Telephone? Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1993 06:42:54 GMT dh395@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Steven J Tucker) writes: >> Just a few questions: I have a funny suspicion that somebody >> has been playing with our telephones: A few unaccounted tolls have >> come up recently and I was wondering how easy it is to do this by >> getting to the little grey things we have outside our houses and just >> connecting a telephone to it. (In NZ we have these little grey things >> outside most houses that contain telephone wires.) Anyway what would >> the signs be? I have heard it can be done, how easy is it to do? What >> wires go where? All replys by email please. >> Can't people also listen to your phone conversations in this way? > Steve, if someone was on your line to use it for free calls, you would > have more than "a few" calls, your would have confrence calls for > $4000 each. > And there are much eassier ways to listen to your phone calls than to > sit outside your house with a handset and listen. > Nobody would waste thier time w/ what your decsribing. Really??? That's exactly what I used to do as a teenaged phone phreak. Just walk up to the side of a house and pop the cover off the terminal block and hookup a lineman's handset -- remember the old ones that you dialed with the tip of a ballpoint pen?? Just a random hit and move on. One call I remember was to NBC in New York to find out what the Saturday Night Movie was for the following week. It took about 15 minutes but I got all the way to the control room! ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #377 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa29238; 7 Jun 93 3:51 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA03236 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 7 Jun 1993 01:18:42 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA16124 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 7 Jun 1993 01:18:12 -0500 Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1993 01:18:12 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306070618.AA16124@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #378 TELECOM Digest Mon, 7 Jun 93 01:18:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 378 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: North Carolina Telephone Outage? (Marvin Hoffman) Re: North Carolina Telephone Outage? (Arthur Coston) Re: Telephones and the Handicapped (Peter M. Weiss) Re: Telephones and the Handicapped (Gary Morris) Re: Telecom Trip Report: Deaver, WY (Jonathan F. Carpenter) Re: Telecom Trip Report: Deaver, WY (Carl Moore) Re: Modem Waiting for the BONG (Tad Cook) Re: Modem Waiting for the BONG (Rob Levandowski) Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas (David J. Greenberger) Re: Pager "Codebooks" - Any Nice Ones Out There? (Steve Edwards) Pager "Codebooks" - Summary of Responses (Richard A. Fowell) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: HOFFMANMK@conrad.appstate.edu (Marvin Hoffman) Subject: Re: North Carolina Telephone Outage? Date: 6 Jun 1993 20:17:19 GMT Organization: APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY In tad@ssc.com writes: > I saw something on Fidonet today indicating that around the first of > June there was a major telephone outage in the northeast part of > Chapel Hill, North Carolina. > Any TELECOM Digest readers familiar with this? > Anyone know of any effect on the 9-1-1 system? I was in Chapel Hill yesterday and I both read about it and talked with my daughter who lives there. At a creek crossing a major cable was cut during a sewer line construction project. The story in the paper mentioned that at the location of the digging a total of 1600 cable pairs were cut. Also the paper reported that about 4600 customers were affected. The location of the cut is near a mall and a shopping center so numerous businesses were affected. A travel agent said the outage was costing $10,000 per day in his/her business. Repairs took about two days. Amateur radio was activated with hams being stationed at several publicized locations in order to relay calls to Emergency Medical, Fire, Police, etc. Also SoBell had several places at which emergency public use phones were located. Considerable finger pointing over who was at fault. Contractor for the Water and Sewer utility indicated that the phone company located cables and said it was okay to dig. Phone company said this was not so and would bill the contractor for repairs and business losses. Perhaps on Monday someone at Chapel Hill will add to this. Marvin Hoffman, KD4EGV Appalachian State University Boone, NC ------------------------------ From: arthur@ais.com Subject: Re: North Carolina Telephone Outage? Date: 6 Jun 93 18:06:45 GMT Organization: Applied Information Systems, Chapel Hill, NC In article , tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook) writes: > I saw something on Fidonet today indicating that around the first of > June there was a major telephone outage in the northeast part of > Chapel Hill, North Carolina. > Any TELECOM Digest readers familiar with this? > Anyone know of any effect on the 9-1-1 system? Yes, indeed, Chapel Hill suffered a major and persistent outage. The local water/sewer utility cut one of Southern Bell's large sets of cables while putting in a new sewer line. About 4000 pairs appear to have been cut, covering both business and commercial customers. The cut happened on Tuesday, 1 June, and many customers did not have service restored until Friday. We were very lucky not to be included among the companies hit -- the outage was within a block of our office building. As expected, there have been various reports laying blame. The OWASA (the water company) said representatives of Southern Bell said they were no longer using the cables. Southern Bell claims that they had said no such thing. In the end, it took the splicer crews nearly four days to put things back together. Lines that were out did not show any "out of service" indication; they just appeared to ring normally. 911 service was a problem. Southern Bell installed banks of phones at strategic locations. Cellular phones were used and the police greatly increased patrols. I haven't heard any reports of any problems with emergency services. Businesses have been hard hit. For example, my travel agency finally got a line to work to the reservation system on Friday. Until then, they could do nothing. At a small local bank (Village Bank), they did not have access to their processing center for ATMs or for regular teller machines. This was still true Friday. They were still locking the door behind customers because their alarms were not totally working. They have a week's worth of processing piling up to be cleaned up this weekend. It is frustrating how long it took to remedy this problem. We have come to expect redundancy in systems so it is surprising when a single failure takes this long to repair. Arthur Coston Applied Information Systems arthur@ais.com ------------------------------ Organization: Penn State University Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 15:51:30 EDT From: Peter M. Weiss Subject: Re: Telephones and the Handicapped In article , kiser@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil says: > Can anyone point me to catalogs of telecom-related equipment > specially designed to meet the needs of the blind, visually-impaired, > and mobility-impaired user? Though this is not an answer to your question, but first, there are two files in the telecom-archives directory at lcs.mit.edu: deaf.communicate.on.tdd tdd.specifications Also, the following points may assist you in your search: Date: Fri, 4 Jun 93 09:34 EDT From: "Peter M. Weiss +1 814 863 1843" Subject: more handicap-related sources (abstract) To: ada-law@ndsuvm1 This was abstracted from >>> Internet/Bitnet Health Sciences Resource (version 06-01-93) Compiled by: Lee Hancock Educational Technologist Educational Techology A Division of Dykes Library University of Kansas Medical Center 66160-7181 (913) 588-7342 (c) Lee Hancock 1993. This document is copyrighted for non-commerical distribution only. Please retain complete credits with any distribution copies or partial copies. Thank you. Please send any comments, suggestions, corrections, additions, deletions to Le07144@Ukanvm or Le07144@Ukanvm.cc.ukans.edu Thank you. ADA-LAW NDSUVM1 or VM1.NODAK.EDU Discussion of any aspect of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other disability-related laws. BACKS-L UVMVM Research on low back pain, disability DDFIND-L GITVM1 Forum for Information Networking on Disability DISRES-L RYERSON or RYEVM.RYERSON.CA This is the disability research list covering any kind of disability-related research. misc.handicap This newsgroup covers all areas of disabilities, technical, medical, educational, legal, etc. HANDICAP Access: ftp - handicap.shel.isc-br.com or 129.189.4.184 Login: anonymous Password: your e-mail address This is an anonymous ftp site that contains only disability-related files and/or programs. There are about 40 directories with 500 files/programs covering all types of disabilities. The "Handicap BBS List", a list of 800 BBS's carrying disability-related information, originates here. THE HANDICAP DIGEST To Subscribe: E-mail: wtm@bunker.shel.isc-br.com The Handicap Digest is an electronic-mail only digest of articles relating to all types of issues affecting the handicapped. The articles are taken from the Usenet newsgroup, the Handicap News. (misc.handicap) and various Fidonet conferences such as ABLED, BlinkTalk SilentTalk, Chronic Pain, Spinal Injury, Rare Conditions, and several others. Corresponds to Listserv: L-HCAP list at NDSUVM1 EUITNEWS A newsletter for EUIT participants and an experiment in providing short, frequent updates directly to you (by e-mail or fax). EUIT staff will receive your message if you send e-mail to EUITEDIT@BITNIC. EDUCOM.EDU or EUITEDIT@BITNIC. Let us know if you missed previous messages and want copies. Let us know if you have colleagues who also want toreceive EUITNEWS. Please allow us two weeks for updating our lists. EASI is dedicated to assisting higher education in developing computer support services for people with disabilities. PUBLICATIONS--(all available in ASCII): EASI currently has four publications available. COMPUTERS AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: NEW CHALLENGES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION is a detailed overview of how individuals with disabilities can use computers in post-secondary education. COMPUTER ACCESS FACTS gives basic information on disability legislation, demographics and adaptive computer technology. EASI FIXES covers computer access considerations in software development. The EASI OUTREACH brochure talks about EASI activities and how to become involved. EASI is currently developing a legal issues brochure and a publication on how to convert electronic text to Braille documents. ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT SERVICE: EASI has established an electronic document service that offers several documents about disabilities and computer use by individuals with disabilities. Among the documents available are an introduction to the EASI library, a sign-up flyer for people who want to become more involved, various EASI brochures, facts about the Americans with Disabilities Act, information on electronic access to library systems, and a document on how computers can be designed to be more accessible. ELECTRONIC LINK-UP: EASI has an e-mail list, hosted by the University of Michigan, which allows people to send questions or information to the entire EASI e-mail list. This is often used by people who are looking for specific answers to questions on what type of hardware or software is available to help individuals with disabilities. Join the e-mail list by contacting Jim_Knox@um.cc.umich.edu. For more information, contact EASI@educom. HISTORY AND ANALYSIS OF DISABILITIES NEWSLETTER To Subscribe: E-mail message to FCTY7310@RYERSON Covers news, conferences, seminars, books, articles, theses, research, organizations, analysis, etc. on history of disabilities and disabled persons, conceptual analysis of disability issues. Produced 2 to 3 times per year. Sponsored by History of Disabilities Network, Centre for Independent Living, Toronto (CILT), and ALTER - International Society for the History of Disabilities (Paris). Available in paper copy for $10 (US or Canadian funds) for four issues. THE BLIND NEWS DIGEST The Blind News Digest is an electronic-mail only digest of articles dealing with blindnews or any type of vision impairment. The articles are from the Usenet newsgroup, misc.handicap, and is also gatewayed with the Fidonet conference, BlinkTalk. Please note that other non-vision related articles from the misc.handicap newsgroup are carried in the Handicap Digest mailing list (L-HCAP) To Subscribe: E-mail: wtm@bunker.shel.isc-br.com Listserv: BLINDNWS list at NDSUVM1 /Pete ------------------------------ From: garym@alsys.com (Gary Morris @ignite) Subject: Re: Telephones and the Handicapped Organization: Alsys Group, San Diego, CA, USA Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1993 04:24:38 GMT In kiser@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil writes: > Can anyone point me to catalogs of telecom-related equipment > specially designed to meet the needs of the blind, visually-impaired, > and mobility-impaired user? You want the "Accessolutions" catalog from Harc Mercantile, Ltd. 71 pages of a variety of equipment from phone ringers with strobe lights, pocket pagers that vibrate when your phone or doorbell rings or smoke detector goes off, TDD devices, talking clocks, Closed Caption decoders (and encoders), etc. Most of it is for hearing impaired, but there is also quite a bit of general purpose phone equipment. You can request a catalog by phone. HARC Mercantile, Ltd PO Box 3055 Kalamazoo Michigan 49003-3055 800-445-9968 or 616-381-0177 616-381-2219 TDD 616-381-3614 Fax Gary Morris Internet: garym@alsys.com TeleUSE/Ada Development UUCP: uunet!alsys.com!garym Alsys Group (TeleSoft) Phone: +1 619-457-2700 x128 San Diego, CA, USA Fax: +1 619-452-1334 ------------------------------ From: jfc@world.std.com (Jonathan F Carpenter) Subject: Re: Telecom Trip Report: Deaver, WY Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 20:32:14 GMT In article lff@sequent.com (Lou Fernandez) writes: > The first surprise about the phone service is that they can make > intra-exchange calls by dialing only the last four digits of the phone > number. I think this capability is fairly rare now although I know it > used to be more common. Does anyone know of other U.S. locations > where this is still possible? In Williamstown, Mass (area code 413, exchange 458) you can dial local numbers by just dialing the last five digits (which would be 8-XXXX). And when I lived in Essex Junction, Vermont (about 15 years ago) you could do the same, but they had several exchanges. Jon Carpenter ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 6 Jun 93 16:58:14 EDT From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) Subject: Re: Telecom Trip Report: Deaver, WY It had been announced that U.S.West areas would go to 1 + NPA + 7D for intra-NPA long distance, to prepare for area codes having to general- ize to NXX. But I noted long ago that the first NNX area codes were to be of form NN0, raising the possibility that in sparsely used areas, such as Wyoming, you could disallow prefixes of NN0 form and thus retain 1 + 7D. In remote areas back east, I have seen cases of my having to travel ten+ miles to reach the area served by the next phone exchange. I wonder how far that can get in a place like Wyoming. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Modem Waiting for the BONG Date: Sun, 6 Jun 93 12:10:20 PDT From: tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook) Edwin Slonim writes: > Is there an AT command or other way of waiting for the BONG > when dialing with a credit card? > I call from many different locations and phone systems, sometimes via > 10xxx access, and even from overseas using USA Direct. The delay > until the bong varies enormously from about six seconds to more than > 25. If I set my modem to wait 25 seconds after dialing, the > "operator" times out, and my modem has a fruitless monologue with a > real person operator. Substitute a W (wait) for the comma (delay) in your dialing string. This causes the modem to wait for the next appearance of 350+440 Hz (which is dialtone, but also a component of the BONG) before sending any digits that appear after the W. tad@ssc.com (if it bounces, use 3288544@mcimail.com) Tad Cook | Packet Amateur Radio: | Home Phone: Seattle, WA | KT7H @ N7DUO.WA.USA.NA | 206-527-4089 ------------------------------ From: macwhiz@roundtable.cif.rochester.edu (Rob Levandowski) Subject: Re: Modem Waiting for the BONG Organization: Computer Interest Floor - University of Rochester, NY Date: 6 Jun 93 22:05:40 GMT In Edwin Slonim writes: > Is there an AT command or other way of waiting for the BONG > when dialing with a credit card? > I call from many different locations and phone systems, sometimes via > 10xxx access, and even from overseas using USA Direct. The delay > until the bong varies enormously from about six seconds to more than > 25. If I set my modem to wait 25 seconds after dialing, the > "operator" times out, and my modem has a fruitless monologue with a > real person operator. > Are other tones recognizable too, like the tone from MCI 950 access? My brand new Practical Peripherals PM14400FXMT, which purports compatibility with Hayes' patented command set by license, uses the "$" character in the dial string to mean "wait for bong (calling card tone)". Good value for those looking for a modem, too, at $225 w/software and cable for Macintosh from MacConnection, although the fax software's a bit weak. Rob Levandowski Computer Interest Floor / University of Rochester ------------------------------ From: David.J.Greenberger@uunet.uu.net Subject: Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas Reply-To: djg2@cornell.edu Organization: Young Israel of Cornell Date: 6 Jun 93 13:58:27 GMT Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) writes: > Spuyten Duyvil has been referred to as being on the Bronx side of the > Harlem River but politically in the borough of Manhattan, New York > City. I checked a Rand-McNally atlas and notice such an area (no name > provided) on the New York City area map, and it is certainly not a > remote area, which includes Broadway (U.S. Route 9) just after it > crosses over from Manhattan. Assuming this is indeed the area in > question, what phone exchanges would serve it, and how does it stand > with reference to Bronx being moved from 212 to 718? I was just in In New York, boroughs for the most part correspond to counties: the borough of Manhattan is New York County, the borough of the Bronx is Bronx County, etc. There's one exception, though, and you speak of it. If I'm not mistaken, it's considered part of the borough of the Bronx yet in New York County. Since, if I recall correctly, the split was made by boroughs, that puts it in 718-land. David J. Greenberger BBS: (212) 496-8324 HST DS Internet: djg2@cornell.edu RIME: Common, ->48 ------------------------------ Date: 6 Jun 93 17:34:47 From: sceard!newline!steve@UCSD.EDU (Steve Edwards) Subject: Re: Pager "Codebooks" - Any Nice Ones Out There? fowell@netcom.com (Richard A. Fowell) writes: > I'd like to have a nice "codebook" scheme that our folks at work could > use to make their pager use more useful. My thought is that, by Here's the list my wife dreamed up for me: 001 - Bring home dinner - anything ready to eat 002 - Bread 003 - Milk 004 - Juice 005 - Cheddar cheese 006 - Contadina Linquini 007 - Any kind of fish 008 - All kinds of fruit 009 - Mushrooms, brocolli, cauliflower 010 - Tomatoes, celery, carrots 011 - Cottage cheese 111 - Video for kids 222 - Video for us 333 - Wine 444 - Meet us at health club 555 - Cookies & Kudos (a type of granola bar) 666 - Pie 777 - Chicken Thus, I could receive 008011111222333666 and have a good idea of what her plans for the evening were ... (BTW the list was created in her 7th month of pregnancy - thus the heavy emphasis on food!) Steve Edwards Internet: steve@newline.uucp Voice: +1-619-723-2727 Newline CompuServe: 73677,3561 Fax: +1-619-731-3000 ------------------------------ From: fowell@netcom.com (Richard A. Fowell) Subject: Pager "Codebooks" - Summary of Responses Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1993 06:05:38 GMT Last week I asked what coding schemes people used with pagers to send information (besides/instead of) the call-back phone number. Response summary: People frequently added a priority code, and occasionally an identity code. Excerpts from specific responses follow. ========================================= Rich Greenberg (richgr@netcom.com) wrote: My previous job had two such codes ... It was a field service office for a large computer maker. If the number in the pager was the office, a three digit code following the number was a "severity" indicator. If the number in the pager was != the office, a two digit code following the number was an "originid" indicator. Robert Eden (robert@cpvax.cpses.tu.com ) wrote: The only info I really want is a priority. I use the area code field with all digits the same as a priority. 000 - just saying hello ... 555 - routine ... 999 - The computer just blew up... don't bother Charles E. Jones (cej@ccsitn.att.com) wrote: I'm involved in software development and verification, and we've found a need to know just how "hot" a given page is. We've now add a 'priority' of 1 through 5 to each page, by adding a '*N' (where N is 1-5) to the call-back number. The '*' appears as a '-' on the pager. (There's specific call-back time limits for each level.) Thanks to those who responded - Richard A. Fowell (fowell@netcom.com) ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #378 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa00549; 7 Jun 93 5:44 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA30557 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 7 Jun 1993 03:09:59 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA32304 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 7 Jun 1993 03:09:10 -0500 Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1993 03:09:10 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306070809.AA32304@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #379 TELECOM Digest Mon, 7 Jun 93 03:09:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 379 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: Disaster Recovery (Pat Turner) Re: Hinsdale Disaster (Alex Pournelle) Re: Hinsdale Disaster (Mark Evans) Re: Avoiding Calls From Long-Distance Phone Companies (Steve Forrette) Re: Avoiding Calls From Long-Distance Phone Companies (Tony Waddell) Re: Avoiding Calls From Long-Distance Phone Companies (Marc A. Runkel) Re: Calling Cards Based on Phone Number (Steve Forrette) Re: Calling Cards Based on Phone Number (John R. Levine) Re: Stocks via Internet (Steven King) Re: Unitel Offers Canada's Version of Friends and Family (Meg Arnold) Re: New Rockwell V.32bis Chip Set (Rick Duggan) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: turner@Dixie.Com Date: Sun, 6 Jun 93 22:39 EDT From: rsiatl!turner@rsiatl.UUCP Subject: Re: Disaster Recovery Al Varney writes: > Actually, the emergency 5ESS(tm) switch-on-a-trailer is used as a > training lab (attached to a building) when not in use elsewhere. This > lab has the advantage (over "mothballed" ones) of being in continuous > use, with hardware/software upgrades installed, etc. > The number of such emergencies vs. the cost of maintaining such a > backup facility would put it out of any TELCo budget. You can't just > park a switch somewhere (powered down) and expect it to work 15-20 > years later when you need it. BellSouth has a DMS on wheels (several semi trailers actually). When not in use for training or disaster recovery, it is parked outside an Atlanta CO where it is in use. I don't know how (or if) the traffic is shared between the stationary CO and the portable one. An article in {Telephony} said the CO could be on the road in something like an hour. Does anyone know what is done to restore the database of the old switch? Sure you can splice in at the cable entrance facility, but how do you convert cable pairs to the CO's translations? Can ESS tape backups be converted to DMS format? Trunk side connections would be easier. Bellsouth has a portable microwave tower, but I assume its just in case the existing link was OTS. SONET would make the trunks even easier to connect. BTW, the FAA backs up many of it's facilities in the same way. There is a portable radar set up in Richmond, FL after the site's 60' diameter antenna and radar dome crashed into the equipment building during Andrew. In our case Inmarsat can be used to restore the telco circuit, because of the low bandwidth of the radar data (3X2400bps). This was considered when the AT&T link into Key West (another radar site) failed. An Inmarsat rig and HF backup was prepped to send down there, but AT&T had a replacement microwave tower (I assume) up before too long. Other radar sites provided overlapping coverage in the mean time. Not the opinions of the FAA ... Pat Turner KB4GRZ FAA Telecommunications turner@dixie.com ------------------------------ From: alex@grian.cps.altadena.ca.us (Alex Pournelle) Subject: Re: Hinsdale Disaster Organization: College Park Software, Altadena, CA Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 00:43:05 GMT rsiatl!turner@rsiatl.UUCP writes: > Todd Inch writes: >> I would hope the critical systems (air traffic control, 911) would >> have some limited microwave or radio backup? Probably not. > There is actually more to it than just what I have mentioned, but this > should give you an idea of how seriously the five thumbed people at > the FAA take their communications. Hmm, I appear to have hit a nerve ... I think that an apology is in order. I was only quoting the WSJ. I have a friend in the Seattle office of the FAA; she certainly had only the requisite numbers of thumbs when she left LA. But: their office is using 1mbps LANs, XTs and 300 people on a single 250-user license of Novell NetWare. Performance doesn't even enter into the equation, not to mention the fact that about 35 people have to sit with their thumbs in because they can't log on. This is unfortunately indicative of the FAA approach. Perhaps it's due to the raiding of the fund, but there is a perception of incompetence that is hard to dispell. Not to say there aren't pockets of brilliance. The way planes are rerouted due to weather conditions at the destination is effin' brilliant (article in air&space lastish). But the extra care taken to not introduce new technology to the field is worrisome at best, and looks like incompetence from the outside. Jumping categories, Alex Pournelle, freelance thinker Also: Workman & Associates, Data recovery for PCs, Macs, others ...elroy!grian!alex; voice: (818) 791-7979 fax: (818) 794-2297 bbs: 791-1013; 8N1 2400/12/3 ------------------------------ From: evansmp@uhura.aston.ac.uk (Mark Evans) Subject: Re: Hinsdale Disaster Organization: Aston University Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 11:57:24 GMT Harold Hallikainen (hhallika@tuba.calpoly.edu) wrote: > In article Cliff Sharp chi.il.us> writes: >> From listening to the ham radio operators who had taken over >> emergency services for places like Hinsdale Hospital (by special >> dispensation of the local FCC Chief Engineer), it was my impression >> that this was done by the use of a mobile unit/truck outside the >> building. I may be wrong, but my (sometimes faulty) memory tells me >> that "inside" phone service was not restored until two to three weeks >> after the disaster. The "trucks" also were mentioned on the local >> news services as being made available to people who were otherwise >> unable to access "normal" telephone service, and very long lines of >> people were reported. > It does seem like telephone companies would have trucks with > switches and satellite terminals in them. Just drive the truck up, > plug it in and you have a few thousand lines back in service. All > calls that could not be switched locally would go to the satellite. It would be a far easier job to splice the landline trunks into your mobile unit; this might be up to a few hundred copper pairs or fibre optics for a major centre. By comparison the local loops are several tens of thousands of wire pairs, and a large portion of the hardware is dealing with these. A bare switching unit with only trunk connec- tors and hardware for linking to a few hundred phones (possibly carried in another few trucks) is quite feasable as a portable piece of hardware. It is simply a case of drive it to the site and hook up the trunks, even if they have to be patched due to damage, this should not take too long. You have then restored service to all undamaged parts of the network served through that site. Thus having minimized the problem to only the local loops served directly out of that CO, any of these circuits which are highly important could be connected to the mobile unit; you also have some form of tempoary service to cover this area. Mark Evans evansmp@uhura.aston.ac.uk +(44) 21 429 9199 (Home) evansmp@cs.aston.ac.uk +(44) 21 359 6531 x4039 (Office) ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: Avoiding Calls From Long-Distance Phone Companies Date: 7 Jun 1993 00:12:01 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA In article TELECOM Moderator noted in response to an article by elana@netcom.com (Elana Beach): > [Moderator's Note: What you have here are companies (various, not just > telcos; the bill collectors use these a lot also) whose time is so > valuable to them -- they could care less ahout *your* time -- that > they have a type of computer which dials ahead of the solicitors > (clerks, collectors) and gets the next call recipient on the line > ready to listen to the pitch. Once the machine, which is programmed to > recognize some speech hears 'hello', it immediatly signals a person at > the other end to pick up a phone and start the conversation, usually > by switching the call through something similar to an automatic call > distributor to the first available agent/clerk position. Ah yes, the so-called "predictive dialers." Pat mentioned how they are designed to avoid having the clerk spend time dialing the call and waiting for the call to be set up. But there is a lot more to them than just saving the dialing/call setup time. They also completely eliminate any time being spent on uncompleted calls. If the call just rings and rings, or reaches a busy signal, then the dialer can just abandon the call without human intervention. Most of the newer ones also have answering machine detection as a feature. This is why there is often a delay between when you say "Hello" and when an agent responds, even if there is an agent free at the time. The dialer has to hear you say "Hello" and then hear a certain amount of silence before it connects the call. It assumes that if the call is answered, and the voice on the other end talks for more than a couple of seconds, that it is an answering machine playing its outgoing greeting, and can therefore abandon the call. The amount of savings to a call center can be a lot more than a trivial amount. Considering the amount of calls that don't answer, are busy, or are answered by a machine, many call centers have a call completion rate of 20-30%. By using the predictive dialer, they can multiply the efficiency of the agents by several times what it would be without the predictive dialer. Note that I'm not condoning their use, and personally dislike them as much as our Moderator. I take the same policy -- I hang up as soon as I realize it's a predictive dialer calling. If the agent comes on the line before I realize what's happened, I sometimes ask that if the call is important, that they redial the call manually and I'll consider talking to them then. This quickly ends most sales pitches, as well as gets my message across that I don't like their dialer. What really gets me is when I get a call from one of these beasts on my cellular phone -- I get to pay airtime to receive the call, and then wait while their dialer decides what to do with me. Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ From: aawadde@gw.PacBell.COM (Tony Waddell) Subject: Re: Avoiding Calls From Long-Distance Phone Companies Organization: Pacific * Bell Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 18:41:47 GMT In article elana@netcom.com (Elana Beach) writes: > Today I used this knowledge to very humorous advantage against AT&T. > Phone rang, I answered with usual default greeting and the line again > seemed to be dead. I just waited, thinking that Sprint had no reason > to call me now. Then the line came alive with an AT&T sales-pitch-er > on the line, asking for me by full name. AH-HA!!! Time for some fun. > I said, "Sorry, she's not here." Woman asked when I'd be back. Said > I, "Not for several months. Elana's out of the country until then." > The sales woman asked if *I* could make a long-distance carrier > decision for this number she was calling. Said I: "I don't think so. > Elana would KILL me!" The nice AT&T saleslady concluded that it > probably would not be worth trying to call for awhile in that case, > and then politely hung up. Didn't even ask when that Elana character > was due to come back home to the States! I did this once. A call came in from a roofing company and the lady on the other end of the line asked for Mister or Misses Waddell (that's always a good clue, isn't it?). Like you, I said no, they're out of the country for two months and I'm just house sitting. End of conversation. About two months later, and for all I know, it might have been exactly two months later, I got the follow up call. For some odd reason, I said I _was_ Mr. Waddell when asked, and guess what the first thing the sales lady asked? How was my trip!! and Where did I go!! I was so astonished that I actually listened to most of her sales pitch before I politely got her off the line. I've since found a pretty good way to get most sales calls and charity calls to leave me alone. I simply tell them, "Gee, I'm awfully sorry, but I'm not working right now and simply can't afford it." As I mentioned, this usually works (especially for charity calls), and it's not even a lie, because if I'm home, then I'm not working right at that moment. ------------------------------ Date: 06 Jun 1993 13:49:30 -0400 From: marc.runkel@registrar.umass.edu (Marc A. Runkel) Subject: Re: Avoiding Calls From Long-Distance Phone Companies Organization: University of Massachusetts - Amherst elana@netcom.com (Elana Beach) writes: > Could someone tell me what kind of mechanism is happening here? Why > does it sound like a dead line IN THE FIRST PLACE right after I answer > the phone??? [Moderator's unbiased and informative note deleted] While PAT did a fair job explaining the technical details of an automated dialing system, he did a poor job explaining why firms use them. Having been an Information Systems Manager for a small telemarketing firm that worked for non-profit organizations, perhaps I can explain a little of the reasons why telemarketing firms use them. First, it is next to impossible to notice when you received a call from a good 'predictive dial' dialing system, although the good ones are definitely in the minority. The better ones allow the telemarketer to actually hear the hello over the phone. (It actually comes out more like "'ello", but that's close enough). The only drawback of these systems is that it actually will hangup on a certain amount of calls a night. This number is inversely proportional with the amount of 'lag time' between calls for the telemarketers. The way it works is this: The system continually adjusts itself depending on the size of the telemarketing group (the more callers, the better) the average phone call length, the current number of active calls, and the age of the calls (how long the caller will be on the phone). It can predict when a telemarketer is going to be idle, so about 15 seconds before that time period it will make three calls for each idle telemarketer. Almost two-thirds of all telemarketing calls end up in no connects, so there is a very good chance that at least one of the three calls will end up being a human being. The first call that results in a human answering the phone gets passed off to the waiting telemarketer. The systems that I am familiar with wouldn't keep someone on hold, they would just hangup if no telemarketers were available. NOTE: This almost NEVER happens, especially not were I worked (I think we had one or two and these were caused by an telemarketer going on break when they weren't supposed to). We were in fundraising, and it's tough to get cash out of someone when you've kept them holding. At this point, if the system doesn't expect any other seats to open it will drop the other two calls. More than likely, they ended up being busies or no answers. Of course, there is always the possibility of someone not getting to the phone until the connection was dropped, but the theory is, what they don't know, don't hurt us. :-) Now the benefits to a system like this is rather easy to see, and it's not the ten seconds spent in dialing the number that is the big savings. First, you don't have operators dialing busies, no answers, answering machines, etc. You have them on the phone. The more they are on the phone talking, (engaging in talk-time) the more money you raise. Of course, the more money you raise, the more cost-effective it is for the organizations to keep giving you business. (Most fundraising firms charge by hour of telemarketer phone time or by contact). So, that's why. And PAT, of course the time of the telemarketer is more important to the telemarketing firm than your time. They aren't paying you. BTW, telemarketers for my former company were not minimum wage workers, they were unionized and made over $10/hour including bonuses. Also, I'm shocked to see you advocating sabotaging someone elses business simply because you don't like their practices. I thought it was you giving the holier-than-thou lecture about dialing people's 800 numbers just to cost them $$. NOTE: I don't work for a telemarketing firm anymore, so please, keep your flames to yourself. Marc A. Runkel marc.runkel@registrar.umass.edu Network Analyst Of course, this is just my Registrar's Office * Systems Support Group tiny, insignificant, humble University of Massachusetts, Amherst opinion. If you don't like it.... [Moderator's Note: I assume an agent leaving their work station but forgetting to uplug their headset (i.e. take it off their head, lay it on the desk, but still plugged in) messes up the dialer also; many/most automatic call distributing systems use a pair in the headset jack to indicate if the position is occupied or not. A headset plugged in with no call on it means give that agent a call. I had a predictive dialer call me one day and when I answered, toss me to such a position. I heard ambient background noise in the room; the other agents talking, etc. I assume when I finally grew bored by this variation on a theme and hung up the dialer immediatly seized and put another call on there. I stick by what I said, which was, I think, that one does not have a moral or ethical right to start trouble or harass someone else on the phone, whether it is their nickle paying for it or yours. But when you *are* harassed on the phone; abused by wrong numbers because the First National Bank of Chicago won't correct errors in its fax machine autodial directory; stuck with junk faxes; have your 800 bill run up by phreaks, etc, then you certainly have the right to make some effort to see what is going on and stop the nuisance. The difference is I do not start trouble, I do not look for trouble, but I do not walk away from it. Play games and I will play them in return. I try to live very quietly here and wish only to not be confronted by obnoxious people of any stripe. If experience shows that you do not speak English or at least comprehend and obey simple instructions given in that language, then one does what one has to do. If I sound 'holier-than-thou' it is because I am :) ... As Bob Dobbs, a/k/a Ivan Stang of the Church of the Sub-Genius 'Hour of Slack Radio Ministry' once phrased it, "... the reason I don't practice what I preach is because I'm not the kind of person I'm preaching to." So the Octopus Mega-Corporation calls up delinquent children in the middle of the night and formats their hard drives for them. When he is questioned the director of OM Corp security, a former military official assigned to the CIA followed by a few years with the FBI just sits there with a blank look on his face and says 'F--- 'em if they can't take a joke and a little fooling around ...' PAT] ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: Calling Cards Based on Phone Number Date: 6 Jun 1993 19:10:04 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA In article Ole J. Jacobsen writes: > So, now all of a sudden, there are several valid combinations of a > four digit PIN that will work with your phone number to generate a > valid card number. In other words, guessing a valid card number is > becoming easier and easier as more carriers jump on this ridiculous > bandwagon. > [Moderator's Note: The thing is, all those different pins do not work > on the same switch; thus a phreak would have the extra job of checking > to see which pin worked where. The local telco's pin and AT&T's pin > might both work on 1+ dialing, but the last I heard, Sprint's ... This changed a year or so ago. Now, if you 0+ a call over Sprint, the calling card prompt will accept either a Sprint-issued card, or any card that's in "the database" that's common amongst the LECs and IXCs (mostly those cards issued by any LEC). Presumably, the Sprint switch will first check its own database, and if it does not find a match, query the shared database. So, between the valid PINs in Sprint's database and the ones issued by the LEC, there may indeed be several valid PINs for a given number, and accessible from the same switch. Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Calling Cards Based on Phone Number Organization: I.E.C.C. Date: 6 Jun 93 15:12:02 EDT (Sun) From: johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) > the last I heard, Sprint's pins would only work when dialing via > 800-877-8000. Right or wrong? Well, they now (finally) also work on 0-number from a presubscribed phone or 10333-0-number from any normal phone. Barring some major recent developments, all IXCs accept local telco cards, local telcos accept AT&T cards, and all other IXC cards work only through the IXC that issued it. I have for several years had calling cards from the local telco, MCI, and Sprint all using my home phone and different PINs. It's only mildly annoying. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us, {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl ------------------------------ From: king@rtsg.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist) Subject: Re: Stocks via Internet Reply-To: king@rtsg.mot.com Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 19:08:03 GMT gilligan@ecst.csuchico.edu (Tuka {KD6CUC}) publicly declared: > My cousin has a mac sitting there hooked up to a receiving modem ... > it is connected to the television cable and receives the current > stocks constantly! Check it out! > [Moderator's Note: Please do get more information on this and pass it > along to the group. This sounds like an interesting project one might > build. PAT] Hmmm ... I think I posted on this or something similar to it a couple years ago. My memory is getting spotty, but let's see what I can dredge up. Basically, it's a one-way feed. The service company blasts data across one of the cable channels. There's a box that fits between the cable and your computer to convert this to standard RS-232. The service provider also has proprietary software for several home computer platforms. There's a list in the brochure of what features are supported by which platforms. I was surprised to find that the Amiga software supported every feature, but all other platforms (including IBM-PC and Mac) were missing at least a couple. In addition to stocks, I believe there's also some sort of newsfeed (probably AP or UPI articles) and a few other features. I never ended up taking advantage of the service. I didn't like the fact that it was one-way only, or the fact that they require proprietary software in order to use it. Steven King, Motorola Cellular (king@rtsg.mot.com) ------------------------------ From: meg_arnold@qm.sri.com (Meg Arnold) Subject: Re: Unitel Offers Canada's Version of Friends and Family Date: 6 Jun 1993 20:36:25 GMT Organization: SRI International In article , David Leibold wrote: > Canadian carrier Unitel recently announced its Close Connections > program which offers additional discount to calls placed to other > Unitel customer numbers. This is similar to MCI's Friends and Family > offer. This is interesting given that AT&T owns 20% of Unitel, whereas MCI is partnered with Stentor, the group of former monopoly telcos in Canada. Guess that someone at AT&T has been impressed by Friends and Family -- at least enough not to squash this Unitel offering. Meg Arnold, Business Intelligence Center, SRI International. 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025. phone: (415) 859-3764 internet: meg_arnold@qm.sri.com ------------------------------ From: duggan@cc.gatech.edu (Rick Duggan) Subject: Re: New Rockwell V.32bis Chip Set Reply-To: duggan@cc.gatech.edu (Rick Duggan) Organization: College of Computing Date: Sun, 6 Jun 1993 20:37:20 GMT In article todd@friend.kastle.com writes: > moswald@cwis.unomaha.edu (Mike Oswald) writes: >> Where would I need to make changes in Windows if I have 9600 v.32/v.42 >> external modem and I was wondering about how to help my COMM programs >> performance? > In all seriousness, though, insure that you have a 16550 UART on > board. Most UARTs these days are socketted, so you can pull the old > (16450 or 8250) and pop in a 16550. Also available are improved COM > drivers for Windows its self, such as TurboComm. These are all > commercial apps, though. Well, they're not all commercial. I've just started using a shareware comm driver replacement for Windows called chcomb. It's available on Compuserve; the registration fee is $10 or a really tacky postcard. It's very simple to install. Drop in the 16550, then replace a single line in your system.ini file (device=*combuff becomes device=chcomb.386). If you also set COM1Buffer=10000 and COM1FIFO=1, you should get very good performance. Before installing chcomb, I could not download and do anything else at the same time. Now, downloads go fine in the background (at 1600 cps on .zip files) and other windows are usable. rick ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #379 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa12068; 7 Jun 93 23:52 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA22382 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 7 Jun 1993 20:57:58 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA21367 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 7 Jun 1993 20:57:18 -0500 Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1993 20:57:18 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306080157.AA21367@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #380 TELECOM Digest Mon, 7 Jun 93 20:57:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 380 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Welcome to the Constituent Electronic Mail System (Mark Boolootian) Spectrum Radio Press Release (Les Reeves) Using hermes.merit.edu to Reach Compuserve via Internet (Tom Gillman) Re: Compuserve White Pages (Jack Decker) Prodigy < > Internet (jdelancy@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil) How to Access 800 Numbers When 1+ Restricted (Curtis Bohl) Help Needed With Kermit (Seth B. Rothenberg) Guide to Cellular Phones Wanted (J. Eric Townsend) CDMA Information Wanted (William D. Bauserman) Telesleaze Goes International? (Tom Gillman) Switch to Sprint and Get Free Game (Laurence Chiu) Interactive Voice Response System Needed (Nadeem Haider) Looking For Dialups From Soviet Republics to USA (Neil Lehrer) Cordless Phone With Answering Machine Wanted (Chris Sattler) Temporary Phone Service Needed: Which Way is Best? (Bill Peter) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: booloo@framsparc.ocf.llnl.gov (Mark Boolootian) Subject: Welcome to the Constituent Electronic Mail System Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1993 08:01:08 -0700 (PDT) Date: 05 Jun 1993 14:48:14 EST From: CONGRESS@HR.HOUSE.GOV To: sackman@plains.NoDak.edu Subject: Welcome to the Constituent Electronic Mail System UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONSTITUENT ELECTRONIC MAIL SYSTEM We welcome your inquiry to the House of Representatives Constituent Electronic Mail System. Currently, seven Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have been assigned public electronic mailboxes that may be accessed by their constituents. This effort represents a pilot program that will be used to assess the impact of electronic mail on Congressional offices and their mission of serving the residents of a Congressional District. This initial project will be expanded to other Members of Congress, as technical, budgetary and staffing constraints allow. Please review the list of participating Representatives below, and if the Congressional District in which you reside is listed, follow the instructions below to begin communicating by electronic mail with your Representative. If your Representative is not yet on-line, please be patient. U.S. REPRESENTATIVES PARTICIPATING IN THE CONSTITUENT ELECTRONIC MAIL SYSTEM. Hon. Jay Dickey 4th Congressional District, Arkansas Rm. 1338 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Hon. Sam Gejdenson 2nd Congressional District, Connecticut Rm. 2416 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Hon. Newton Gingrich 6th Congressional District, Georgia Rm. 2428 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Hon. George Miller 7th Congressional District, California Rm. 2205 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Hon. Charlie Rose 7th Congressional District, North Carolina Rm. 2230 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Hon. 'Pete' Stark 13th Congressional District, California Rm. 239 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Hon. Mel Watt 12th Congressional District, North Carolina Rm. 1232 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 INSTRUCTIONS FOR CONSTITUENTS If your Representative is taking part in the pilot project, we encourage you to send a letter or postcard by U.S.Mail to that Representative at the address listed above requesting electronic mail access. In your correspondence, please print your name and INTERNET ADDRESS, followed by your postal (geographical) address. When your Representative receives the letter or postcard, you will receive a reply by electronic mail that will include the Representative's Internet address. After you receive this initial message, you will be able to write your Member of Congress at any time, provided you follow certain guidelines that will be included in that initial message. We are aware that it is an inconvenience for electronic mail users to be required to send a post card in order to begin communicating with their Representative. However, the primary goal of this pilot program is to allow Members to better serve their CONSTITUENTS, and this initial postal request is the only sure method currently available of verifying that a user is a resident of a particular congressional district. In addition, constituents who communicate with their Representative by electronic mail should be aware that Members will respond to their messages in the same manner that they respond to most communications from constituents. That is, Members will generally respond to messages by way of the U.S. Postal Service. This method of reply will help to ensure confidentiality, a concern that is of utmost importance to the House of Representatives. COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS Please feel free to send electronic mail comments about our new service to the Congressional Comment Desk, at COMMENTS@HR.HOUSE.GOV We will make every effort to integrate suggestions into forthcoming updates of our system. Thank you again for contacting the House of Representatives' Constituent Electronic Mail System. We are excited about the possibilities that e-mail has to offer, and will be working hard to bring more Members on-line and to expand our services. We feel that this pilot program is an important first step, and we urge your cooperation and continued interest to make the program a success. This message will be updated as necessary. Honorable Charlie Rose (D-NC) Chairman Committee on House Administration ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 07 Jun 1993 21:49:59 -0400 (EDT) From: LESREEVES@delphi.com Subject: Spectrum Radio Press Release Announcing the creation of Spectrum, a new international communications and technology radio program. Spectrum will air Sundays Beginning June 13 at 0335 UTC via WWCR Nashville, Tn USA (7435 Khz) and the Let's Talk Radio Network (Spacenet3 Transponder 21, 5.8 Mhz Sub carrier Wide Band Audio). The program will feature produced segments on all aspects of communications from DC. through Light! In addition, there will be a live phone in segment with guests from the communications scene. The program will be hosted by Dave Marthouse, a long time radio enthusiast and professional broadcaster and Mark Emanuele, a professional communications consultant. Spectrum will be underwritten by Holmdel, NJ based Overleaf International, a data processing and telecommunications consulting firm. Spectrum will originate from studios at Overleaf's Holmdel, NJ Corporate HQ. The first show on June 13 will feature a live call-in with most of the Spectrum feature producers. You will be able to take part via the phone and a special 800 number that will be announced during the program. Listeners will be able to talk with the guests in real-time. The 800 number will be usable throughout North America. Listeners in other parts of the world will be able to call in via standard IDDD. Calls from outside North America will be paid for by the calling party. At this time we can't support international 800 calls. In addition if you are on the GEnie on-line service you will be able to send your questions etc. to the show in real-time while it is on the air. More info will follow as broadcast time draws near. The Spectrum e-mail addresses are as follows: Internet: askspectrum@attmail.com GEnie: Spectrum Notice: You may also address your comments about Spectrum to the producers in care of me. Please use R/O mail, if possable. All comments received by the Thursday prior to any broadcast will be forwarded to the producers. Program Hosts/Producers, Dave Marthouse, N2AAM and Mark Emanuale, N2CBO will host the weekly live call in. Segment producers include: *Gary Bourgois, KB8EOH; Birdwatcher, (LTRN) - Satellites *John Brewer; Publisher of 7415 Newsletter - Pirates and Clandestines Steve Coletti; Crossband program, (LTRN) - News & Special Features *Scott Frybush; WBZ/Boston - Broadcasting Gene Hughes; Editor of Police Call directories - Scanners *Larry Ledlow, NA5E; Genie Radio RTC SYSOP - Amateur Radio Larry Van Horn; Monitoring Times columnist - SW UTE stations *-Previously with the now defunct SIGNALS program. Gary will again be assisted by Dean Spratt for KU-Band information. John previously did the propagaion report on SIGNALS. Larry Van Horn's participation will be delayed due to other committments. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Jun 93 11:05:07 -0400 From: syshtg@gsusgi2.gsu.edu (Tom Gillman) Subject: Using hermes.merit.edu to Reach Compuserve via Internet (HARRY@ISI.EDU writes:) [ stuff deleted to save space ] > I'm trying to find a guy I KNOW gets email through Compuserve. I > If I can't ftp or telnet directly, can I telnet to a dialout [Internet > dial outs -- now there's a topic I'd like to see discussed!] and dial > to a Compuserve number? Or????? > Suggestions? Methods? Madness? [PAT writes... > and take affirmative steps to create a listing. CIS cannot be reached > by telnet. You *can* say 'telnet compuserve.com'; all that happens is > you wind up somewhere in Ohio on a site where compuserve is aliased > for getting mail, etc. It is like 'telnet mcimail.com', where you wind > up in Reston, VA on the gateway machine, not MCI Mail itself. FYI, PAT, and anybody else who is interested. You *CAN* get to Compuserve through the Internet, although it is somewhat unorthodox and more than a little bit expensive. Telnet to hermes.merit.edu (35.1.48.172) and enter "CIS" at the "WHICH HOST" prompt. This uses the SprintNet service to connect you to Compuserve. Keep in mind, that access charges will apply, and peak/off-peak times will be based on EST/EDT (Michigan) time. I don't remember right offhand what the access charges for SprintNet are, somewhere around $3 or $4 per hour for off-peak times, and $11 or $12 per hour for peak times. Note: These access charges are in addition to the normal Compuserve access charges. Tom Gillman, Systems Programmer Wells Computer Center-Ga. State Univ. (404) 651-4503 syshtg@gsusgi2.gsu.edu GSU doesn't care what I say on the Internet, why should you? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 07 Jun 93 11:11:43 EDT From: ac388@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu (Jack Decker) Subject: Re: Compuserve White Pages In message , Harry@ISI.EDU wrote: > If I can't ftp or telnet directly, can I telnet to a dialout [Internet > dial outs -- now there's a topic I'd like to see discussed!] and dial > to a Compuserve number? Or????? .. and Pat replies: > CIS cannot be reached by telnet. You *can* say 'telnet > compuserve.com'; all that happens is you wind up somewhere in Ohio on > a site where compuserve is aliased for getting mail, etc. It is like > 'telnet mcimail.com', where you wind up in Reston, VA on the gateway > machine, not MCI Mail itself. But, if you already have a Compuserve account, there IS a way to get to Compuserve via Telnet, albeit not in an exactly straightforward manner. First, you telnet to 35.1.48.150, which gets you to Merit's "Which Host?" prompt (normally used for Merit/Michnet's interactive dialups). Then you enter "Compuserve" (without the quotes) and you are connect to Compuserve as if you had come in over a public data network (such as Sprintnet). I believe you are charged the $2.00/hour surcharge, too. At that point you enter your ID and password. You can also connect to many other commercial data services from the Merit "Which Host?" prompt. Typing "help" will bring up a menu that (if you make the right selections) will allow you to identify which services are available. I make no guarantees about how well this will work from any particular place, of course. Jack Decker | Internet: ac388@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu Fidonet: 1:154/8 or jack.decker@f8.n154.z1.fidonet.org Note: Mail to the Fidonet address has been known to bounce. :-( [Moderator's Note: It might be wise to confirm the rates with Merit and/ or CIS during the daytime. You say $2 per hour, but our other writer today thinks it is more during the daytime. I think most CIS members would simply dial via one of the CIS nodes whenever possible. Obviously, you have to have a CIS membership and the party you are seeking still has to be listed in the member directory. The thing I would like to point out about Merit which is rather interesting to me is that it can be accessed through any local Telenet/Sprintnet dialup, such as for example, the number you would use locally in your community for PC Pursuit. If you cannot 'telnet hermes.merit.edu' (because you are UUCP or whatever) you can still call your local public network dialup and at the '@' prompt do 'C 31362' or 'C 313202'. That will likewise take you to Merit's "What Host?" prompt. Of necessity, this is a collect call, and other than the help files (of which there are plenty!) everything else requires a password. But you can get an account from Merit for $35 per month I think, and that allows you to call from your local dialup and then telnet out from Merit! Viola, $35 per month plus the cost of your local dialup access (it *may* be charged off via your PC Pursuit account, I am not certain, ask PCP/Sprintnet to find out) gets you Internet access to thousands and millions of Internet sites provided you have accounts with them or wish to use public access features on them, etc. The possibilities are endless here. Begin by pulling all the help files from either 'telnet hermes.merit.edu' or connecting through your local public Sprintnet dialup to 'C 31362'. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Jun 93 16:41:53 EDT From: jdelancy@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil Subject: Prodigy < > Internet Whatever became of the Prodigy interface to Internet? Did it get activated or lost in the relay chatter of the North Electric All-Relay switch ... [Moderator's Note: I think Prodigy is still planning a gateway, but it is not finished yet. I think Prodigy feels that people should find their service sufficiently interesting and worthwhile that they will take out a subscription there and not need all this other internet stuff. Probably the subscribers on Prodigy are so interesting to chat with there is no real need there for internet mail/news, etc. None of the commercial providers (CIS, GEnie, etc) are particularly enamored of the Internet and the stuff you get for *free* here (well, there are taxpayers involved, and Moderators who prostitute themselves, etc, but let's not cloud the issue) that they charge their users big $$ for. TFor example, the users of CIS' CB Simulator interactive chat program should be very thankful to Internet's *free* IRC (Internet Relay Chat) feature for causing the Lords at CIS to cut prices for them via the 'CB Club'. But the commercial guys -- despite their ambivilence toward Internet know they *must* have an email gateway to us ... their users would revolt were it to be discontinued. Prodigy is probably still trying to sort it all out. :) PAT] ------------------------------ From: EXTMO4H@mizzou1.missouri.edu (Missouri 4-H Youth Development Programs) Subject: How to Access 800 Numbers When 1+ Restricted Organization: University of Missouri Date: Mon, 07 Jun 93 10:42:01 CDT In August I essentially move my office to the state fairgrounds for two weeks. The fair has a PBX system that blocks outside calls starting with 1 (to prevent LD calls). However, I need to call modems on 1-800 numbers; I have tried using 0-800 to get out, but no luck. The only way I have had luck is to explain to an outside operator (9+0) to dial the call manually. Any suggestions on how to have a modem dial an 800 number in this situation? Curtis Bohl Computer Programmer/Analyst extmo4h@mizzou1.missouri.edu 4-H Youth Development Alternate: bohlc@ext.missouri.edu Programs (314) 882-2034 University of Missouri-Columbia [Moderator's Note: That is amazing! They block 1+, yet allow 0+, where just as much mischief can be done if desired when talking to the oper- ator (i.e. 'my phone is not working right, dial the call for me but go ahead and charge it to this number ... thanks, operator'). You might ask the phone company to install a single line to your fairgrounds office which is not on the PBX for the two weeks you are there, or you might ask the proprietor of the PBX if there is any by-pass code which can be dialed to get around the restriction. PAT] ------------------------------ From: rothen+@pitt.edu (Seth B Rothenberg) Subject: Help Needed With Kermit Date: 7 Jun 93 17:58:31 GMT Organization: University of Pittsburgh Does anyone out there use Kermit on a unix system? I am having trouble getting the scripting to work, and it is a hassle to move batch data to a PC for uploading. Thanks, Seth ------------------------------ From: jet@nas.nasa.gov (J. Eric Townsend) Subject: Guide to Cellular Phones Wanted Organization: NAS/NASA-Ames Research Center Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1993 21:37:57 GMT Recently I posted asking about used phones. Most of the useful replies were of the nature 'call company X', they carry used phones. What I've discovered, tho, is that there are many phones that are the 'same', even tho they come from different vendors. In particular, it seems that many of the AT&T phones are made by Oki. Is there a guide/chart/reference for which phones are made by whom? If I wanted to know this sort of information about computers, I could go find Today at Fry's, and check out the various pages upon pages of adds, columns, and product reviews. Is there a similar publication for cell phones? Or perhaps some bored individual has done a market survey and is giving it out for free? J. Eric Townsend jet@nas.nasa.gov 415.604.4311 CM-5 Administrator, Parallel Systems Support | personal email goes to: NASA Ames Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation | jet@well.sf.ca.us PGP2.1 public key available upon request or finger jet@simeon.nas.nasa.gov ------------------------------ Date: 7 Jun 93 16:55:54-0400 From: WILLIAM.D.BAUSERMAN@gte.sprint.com Subject: CDMA Information Wanted Does anyone know a good source for info on CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). I would prefer something technical, but at this point I settle for anything. Thanks, Bill william.d.bauserman@gte.sprint.com Speaking only for me; can't you tell? ------------------------------ From: syshtg@gsusgi2.gsu.edu (Tom Gillman) Subject: Telesleaze Goes International? Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1993 10:37:38 -0500 (EDT) I was up late the other evening working on a project, and I had the noise box going in the background, when I noticed an interesting commercial. It was one of those "call us for hot sex" lines, but the number was not a normal number, it was 011-569-7395, or something like that. I always thought that (011) indicated a direct country dial. Is this some strange way for the telesleaze to get more profits? Can someone explain? Thanks, Tom Gillman, Systems Programmer Wells Computer Center-Ga. State Univ. (404) 651-4503 syshtg@gsusgi2.gsu.edu GSU doesn't care what I say on the Internet, why should you? [Moderator's Note: We touch on this from time to time here. 011 *is* the international access code from the USA. I do not know of any 569 code, but 599 is the Netherland Antilles and there is a phone sex operator down there running a conference bridge and voicemail aimed at gay guys in the USA. There is a similar service using the 592 Guyana code. All you pay to use it is telco's charge for an international call to N.A. (or Guyana) which is considerably less than what a 900 call would be per minute 'under the circumstances' (ha ha). So how does this dude feed his three year old, make his car payments and pay his phone bills? Simple: Mother gives him a piece of the action on the international traffic from the States to the N.A. (Guyana) which is ample plenty. He does the advertising, gets the libidos all stirred up here night after night on the television, and gets the guys on the phone. Mother takes care of the rest, routing all those calls into his 386 where the callers entertain each other. Since Mother also runs the collection office and pays her own bills promptly, the dude has none of the vagueries of 900 and will they or won't they pay, etc. Mother also has the same kind of deal going with a guy out of Reno; calls are forced over 10288 to get on his machine. People in other countries get to join the fun: people in Spain can call a New Jersey-USA 201 number to speak with astrologers and/or practioners of Tarot. Mother supervises that also. I'll bet you didn't know your Mother was a sex-IP, did you? :) Mike Royko once commented that a sure sign our civilization has gone to hell is the fact that the word 'mother' can now have an obscene connotation, as in the exp- ression, 'your mother ...', or as the little kids in my neighborhood would say it, 'yoe mama!', and I doubt they are referring to any long distance carriers. :) To answer your question, ask your Mother (Company) how it is done! :) PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: Switch to Sprint and Get Free Game From: uttsbbs!laurence.chiu@PacBell.COM (Laurence Chiu) Date: 7 Jun 93 10:41:00 GMT Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591 Reply-To: uttsbbs!laurence.chiu@PacBell.COM (Laurence Chiu) Just received the latest issue of InterAction (Sierra Online's own magazine). There is an offer in there if one switches to Sprint for ones's US LD service, they will give you one of the Sierra games for the PC (Kings Quest 6, Space Quest 5, Aces of the Pacific are some of the choices). If you stay six months you get another game or $25 off your LD bill. They pay for the switching and if you don't like it, they will switch you back for free. So what is there to stop me from switching over and getting my game and in a month, switching back? I wouldn't mind a copy of Space Quest 5! Laurence Chiu lchiu@holonet.net <==== preferred e-mail address The Transfer Station BBS (510) 837-4610 & 837-5591 (V.32bis both lines) Danville, California, USA. 400+ MB Files & FREE public Internet Access [Moderator's Note: The only reason this won't happen is because they know and I know that you are not a chiseler or deadbeat. PAT] ------------------------------ From: nh@beach.cis.ufl.edu (Nadeem Haider) Subject: Interactive Voice Response System Needed Date: 7 Jun 1993 17:25:47 GMT Organization: Univ. of Florida CIS Dept. I need to use an "Interactive Voice Response" system (IVR) which can *somehow* tie into a database of some sort and permit 'canned' queries through a telephone. Is there such a thing out there? If so, where could I get a list of vendors? Thanks, -nadeem ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 7 Jun 93 16:21:09 EST From: "Lehrer, Neil" Subject: Looking For Dialups From Soviet Republics to USA We are looking for dialup phone service providers from the new Soviet Republics to the US. Do you have any ideas? Thanks a lot, neil lehrer us information agency 202 619-0903 ------------------------------ From: sattler@rtsg.mot.com (Chris Sattler) Subject: Cordless Phone With Answering Machine Wanted Organization: Motorola, Radio Telephone Systems Group Date: Mon, 7 Jun 1993 21:10:46 GMT I'm looking to get a cordless phone with a built in answering machine. I need it to be wall-mountable. Does anyone know of anything like this? Any recommendations? Chris Sattler Motorola Inc uunet!motcid!sattlerc (708) 632-3615 All opinions expressed are my own, not those of my employer. ------------------------------ From: peter@langmuir.Berkeley.EDU (Bill Peter) Subject: Temporary Phone Service Needed: Which Way is Best? Date: 7 Jun 1993 17:36:19 GMT Organization: University of California, Berkeley My wife and two kids will be staying in a summer retreat for three weeks during the summer, close to a pay phone, but with a possibility of getting regular phone service in their cabin (if we pay for it). So my question is: If I am in Berkeley during weekdays and wish to call the L.A. area during this time, would it be better to get regular phone service for them (a hassle especially since they hardly will be staying in their room) or subscribe to a cellular service (I noticed Alamo Rent A Car was going to rent me a cellular telephone free of charge). Anyway, I don't mind spending $50-$75 a month if it keeps me in contact with them. Suggestions? Bill Peter / Physics Dept., Ben-Gurion University, Beersheva, Israel / Summer Address: Electronic Research Laboratory University of California, Berkeley ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #380 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa20279; 9 Jun 93 19:22 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA30887 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Wed, 9 Jun 1993 17:00:04 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA30703 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Wed, 9 Jun 1993 16:59:31 -0500 Date: Wed, 9 Jun 1993 16:59:31 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306092159.AA30703@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #381 TELECOM Digest Wed, 9 Jun 93 16:59:30 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 381 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson SurFax, Security Encryption System For Facsimile (Jean-Bernard Condat) Changes at U S West (Nigel Allen) Need Info on Failed BT Bid to Buy Portion of EDS (sameer@atlastele.com) Usenet News via Satellite (Norman Gillaspie) 800 Number Telnet Access (Paul Hess) Cordless Phone With Answer (Laurence Chiu) DTMF Driven Answering Machines (Paul Harrington) Digital Crossbar Switch Chip (Jim Tompkins) ASPECT/CustomView Users (John Osmon) Wanted: Source for Telephonics Info (andy@oinker.njit.edu) Country Codes (All Sorts) in Former Soviet Republics (David Leibold) Re: Small (East-)German Town Gets Telephone (Marko Ruokonen) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: jbcondat@attmail.com Date: 08 Jun 93 23:59:59 GMT Subject: SurFax, Security Encryption System For Facsimile SURFAX High Security Encryption System for Facsimile Communication * Connected between any GIII facsimile equipment and the telephone line; * Use a high performance crypto algorithm (2'(59) = 10'(18) possible cipher keys); * Designed for finance, commercial and industrial operations; * very easy and friendly handling. SurFax, used on both side of the PSTN with group 3 fax, provides security for all the transmitted documents. Installation +------------ +-----+ +--------+ +--------1 +--------+ +-----+ | Fax |====| Surfax |=====> | PSTN | <=====| Surfax |====| Fax | +-----+ +--------+ +--------+ +--------+ +-----+ Simply plugin and add-on No modification required to the fax equipment Operation +--------- 10-key keyboard 16 digits LCD display Secret key handling with keyboard Plain mode / encryption mode selectable with keyboard and hardkey Dimensions: 16 x 20 x 12 cm Weight: approx. 1.3 kg Power: 110/200 VAC, 50/60 Hz Facsimile Technical Specifications +---------------------------------- Two facsimile modems Transmission speed: 9600/7200/4800/2400 bit/s (CCITT V29, V27ter, V21) Designed to work with Group III facsimile equipments Fully compatible for transmission to non-crypto fax equipment (T30 protocol) Security Features +----------------- SurFax is a secret key system type. (1) KEY MANAGEMENT The system has an integrated key management. The user has to enter his 8 figures secret key on keyboard. A physical key allows the user to let Surfax in the chosen mode (plain or cipher). Otherwise, secret key can be erased at any time at the touch of a button, and is automatically erased after each communication. A 32-bit session key is generated by a "built-in" random number generator. Both secret and session keys are combined into a cypher key (2'(59) possible values) on each terminal. Both secret and session keys are never transferred in clear between the two terminals. A new cypher key is created for each transmitted page. Closed user groups can be created by request to the manufacturer (by setting a customer specific parameter). (2) CIPHER TECHNOLOGY The K.E.A. (KTT Encryption Algorithm) is KTT proprietary. It is a realtime data ciphering process and is used to encrypt only the facsimile data. It is based on a random generator, which initial state relies on a cipher key, issued from a secret key and a session key (2'(59)). More informations +----------------- Mr David COHEN SKTT Henry Kam Technologies & Telecommunations 2d rue de l'Epine Prolongee 93541 Bagnolet Cedex Phone: +33 1 42 87 54 00 Fax: +33 1 42 87 23 91 Jean-Bernard Condat General Secretary Chaos Computer Club France, B.P. 155, 93404 St-Ouen Cedex, France Private Address: P.O. 8005, 69351 Lyon Cedex 08, France Phone: +33 1 40101764, Fax: +33 1 47877070 InterNet: jbcondat@attmail.com or cccf@altern.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 9 Jun 1993 00:23:10 -0400 From: Nigel.Allen@f438.n250.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Nigel Allen) Subject: Changes at U S West U S West has been running the following advertisement in {Communications Week}: Customer Premises Equipment Manufacturers and Enhanced Services Providers... For information on planned changes to U S West's basic network interfaces, please call 1-800-544-7126. [Note from NDA: The number doesn't work from Toronto. If you call, tell them that you got the number through TELECOM Digest.] Nigel Allen - via FidoNet node 1:250/98 INTERNET: Nigel.Allen@f438.n250.z1.FIDONET.ORG ------------------------------ From: sameer@atlastele.com Subject: Need Info on Failed BT Bid to Buy Portion of EDS Organization: Atlas Telecom Inc. Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1993 21:33:42 GMT I need information on the failed offer from British Telecom to acquire a portion of EDS. From what I hear GM board rejected the offer. I want to know the size of the bid and the share of EDS BT wanted to buy. Your help is appreicated. Thanks, Sameer ------------------------------ From: norman@pagesat.com (Norman Gillaspie) Subject: Usenet News via Satellite Organization: Pagesat Inc. Date: Wed, 9 Jun 1993 08:20:46 GMT This is an update for those interested in satellite communications and data broadcast of computer information and PageSat Inc.'s satellite delivered Usenet newsfeed. Pagesat is providing a complete usenet news feed via satellite and delivering over over 80Mg a day during high traffic periods. The service is delivered over the K2 ku band satellite that provides continental US (conus), southern Canada, and northern Mexico coverage. A fairly complete description of the system is featured as a cover story in the curent issue of {Boardwatch} magazine. The service is currently being received by over 100 customers. These customers include private individuals, newsgathering agencies (newspapers), BBS's, and computer/communications systems providers. The baud rate is 9600 Bps async thru a RS-232 interface to your computer from the VSAT earth station. The file format delivered is in approximately 100K byte uncompressed batches that are written to your hard drive via PageSat's ingest software. Software is availabe to place the batches on a unix hard disk computer and in form suitable for Cnews and Bnews. In DOS, software is provided that ingests and places the batches in sequentially written files. These files are written in a user defined directory and numbers with a *.bag (for mailbag) file extension. For example, 0001.bag, 0002.bag, 0003.bad, etc. Third party software is available that allows these file conventions to be easily interfaced to various BBS systems. This software has been certified for use with the PageSat system. In Windows(tm) a program is available that runs in the background and filters the newsgroups realtime. In this way only the groups you wish to receive are stored on your hard drive. A simple reader is also provided. A small 18" is provided along with the LNB, PCSAT 300(tm) Satellite Receiver, UDI200 Modem and software. Other size dishes are avialble for marginal weather areas. If your phone lines are becoming to expensive, don't have a good connection, or are receiving censored news, this may be the answer for you. The system has been in continuous operation for a year with an exceptional service record. It is delivered ready to run and is fully waranteed for one year from date of purchase. The best news is that a complete system is as low as $1800.00 complete. The satellite feed is FREE for TWO YEARS. After the initial two year period there is a nominal service charge of $30.00 per month. For more information email pagesat@pagesat.com or djd@pagesat.com. PageSat Inc. - "Bringing Satellite Data Down to Earth" Duane J. Dubay National Sales Manager PageSat Inc. 992 San Antonio Palo Alto , Ca 94303 415-424-0384 415-424-0405 fax [Moderator's Note: One customer of this service I am familiar with here in Chicago is Randy Suess, system administrator of Chinet, one of our local public access unix sites. He seems satisfied with it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hess@access.digex.net (Paul Hess) Subject: 800 Number Telnet Access Date: 8 Jun 1993 14:39:18 -0400 Organization: Hess Consulting (AI) - 800-323-8790 Why doesn't this service exist? I think there would be excellent demand from internet users who travel often and need to log onto their account. It could also be used by those who have no local internet to subscribe to a non-local service provider. It would definitely beat trying to get my modem to dial those calling card numbers - it usually doesn't work and when it does it's still very expensive. Would the cost to provide this service be higher than it seems? Or has nobody thought of it yet? Paul Hess | Analysis, Planning and Development Hess Consulting | AI, Neural Nets, and Optimization Algorithms P.O. Box 2905 | Phone: 800-323-8790, FAX: 703-754-2630 Manassas, VA 22110 | E-Mail: hess@digex.net, Fido: Paul Hess@1:109/120 ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Cordless Phone With Answering Machine From: uttsbbs!laurence.chiu@PacBell.COM (Laurence Chiu) Date: 8 Jun 93 19:41:00 GMT Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591 Reply-To: uttsbbs!laurence.chiu@PacBell.COM (Laurence Chiu) In a article, Chris Sattler had the following to say: > I'm looking to get a cordless phone with a built in answering machine. > I need it to be wall-mountable. Does anyone know of anything like > this? Any recommendations? Panasonic make a range of these type of phones. I looked into them once but didn't buy because I wanted a speaker phone in the base station which they did not have. But they seemed fairly reasonably priced ($150?). Check your local consumer electronics supermarket. Laurence Chiu lchiu@holonet.net The Transfer Station BBS (510) 837-4610 & 837-5591 (V.32bis both lines) Danville, California, USA. 1.5 GIG Files & FREE public Internet Access ------------------------------ From: phrrngtn@dsg.cs.tcd.ie (Paul Harrington (Reptile)) Subject: DTMF Driven Answering Machines Date: 9 Jun 1993 09:59:58 -0500 Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway We have three Nec P3 cellular phones. We can't always hear them because of traffic noise, rowdy beer drinkers, rock music etc. We would like to enable divert-on-no-reply to a answering machine. When we look at our phone display, and find that we have missed a call, then we can ring up the answering machine and get the message. We have a Panasonic KX-T1450 answering machine that was bought in the USA that claims to have tone remote control. We do not know if there was a tone generator with the machine or whether the code was keyed in from a DTMF capable pad. Questions: Does anyone know how to determine the code for the KX-T1450? There is a switch on the side labeled 'REMOTE CODE' which has two positions, '2' and '8'. Is it determinable from the serial number? How many digits are there in the code? 2 or 8 seems like rather a large jump. Is it possible to connect up a modem directly to the machine and get it to chirp all possible combinations at it until the correct one is found? Does the answering machine need to see a ring pulse before it will pick up? Are ring pulse generators easy to build/assemble? Would I be a lot better off spending a few pounds on a new machine with documentation? Probably, but where would be the fun with that? :-) BTW, I have contacted Panasonic in this country (Ireland) and they were unable to help. Please, Auntie Usenet, please. Paul Harrington, phrrngtn@dsg.cs.tcd.ie, phrrngtn@gallimaufry.ie +353 88 599673 Dept. Computer Sci., Trinity College, University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland. ------------------------------ From: jtompkin@fox.nstn.ns.ca (Jim Tompkins) Subject: Digital Crossbar Switch Chip Organization: NSTN Network Operations Centre, Nova Scotia, Canada Date: Wed, 9 Jun 1993 11:41:02 GMT Does anyone on the net know of a chip which implements a digital crossbar switch? TI used to have a 16x16 switch (SN74ACT8841) but that part is now obsolete, and has not been replaced. Any comments or suggestions will be appreciated. Jim Tompkins Internet : tompkins@appliedmicro.ns.ca Applied Microelectronics Institute Voice : (902) 421-1250 1046 Barrington Street Fax : (902) 429-9983 Halifax, NS CANADA B3H 2R1 ------------------------------ From: josmon@raid.dell.com (John Osmon) Subject: ASPECT/CustomView Users Organization: Dell Computer Co Date: Wed, 9 Jun 1993 18:43:56 GMT I'm a programmer in the Telcom Department of Dell. We are currently using an ASPECT ACD with the Custom View-Wingz Package. I am interested in finding other users of ASPECT systems to start a "support"/discussion group. The product manager for ASPECT has said this could be a good idea and I'm willing to find the resources to support it, if I can find enough people. Please respond here, or email me at: josmon@manufing.dell.com Thanks. ------------------------------ From: andy@oinker.njit.edu (andy) Subject: Wanted: Source for Telephonics Info Organization: NJIT - EIES2 Project Date: Wed, 9 Jun 1993 20:09:59 GMT I am looking for a book or other sources of information on Telephonics. I am a new administrator of a AT&T G3R switch and would like to learn more about telephony is general, such as what goes on between my switch and the central office and other related information. If anyone could supply me with a source for books or information on this subject, it would be appreciated. Please reply to: andy@oinker.njit.edu Thanks, ------------------------------ Subject: Country Codes (All Sorts) in Former Soviet Republics From: woody Date: Wed, 9 Jun 1993 01:04:34 -0400 According to the ITU Telecommunications Journal (Dec 92, April 93), the following codes have been set up for countries formerly in the Soviet Union. CCITT (now ITU-TSS) is responsible for assigning the codes and must deal with the breakup of various nations (eg. did anyone notice that Ethiopia split to form Eritrea on the north?). Standard telephone service country codes: 370 Lithuania, active 15 February 1993 371 Latvia, active 1 February 1993 372 Estonia, active 1 March 1993 373 Moldova, active 15 January 1993 994 Azerbaijan, announced but not yet determined to be active What's happening with the other 99x codes wasn't listed, but the 994 assignment suggests other World Zone 9 assignments will be (or have been) given to other ex-Soviet republics. 7 remains for other former Soviet republics or CIS nations: Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirghizistan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine For Telex country codes: USSR used to have 64; this is now for Russia 684 Armenia 784 Azerbaijan 687 Belarus 537 Estonia 683 Georgia 785 Kazakhstan 798 Kirghizistan 538 Latvia 539 Lithuania 682 Moldova 64 Russia 786 Uzbekistan 787 Tadjikistan 789 Turkmenistan 680 Ukraine telex national identifier codes: AI Azerbaijan GI Georgia KH Kirghizistan RU Russia SU formerly Soviet Union; may remain in use in other republics UV Ukraine Data Network Country Codes USSR had 250; this is now for Russia 283 Armenia 400 Azerbaijan 257 Belarus 248 Estonia 282 Georgia 401 Kazakhstan 437 Kirghizistan 247 Latvia 246 Lithuania 259 Moldova 250 Russia 434 Uzbekistan 436 Tadjikistan 438 Turkmenistan 255 Ukraine David Leibold djcl@zooid.guild.org dleibold1@attmail.com dleibold@vm1.yorku.ca ------------------------------ Date: 08 Jun 93 05:50:36 EDT From: Marko Ruokonen <100031.31@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Re: Small (East-)German Town Gets Telephone In TELECOM Digest Volume 13, Issue 375, koos@kzdoos.hacktic.nl (Koos van den Hout) writes: > I had a visitor from a small town in East Germany over this weekend. > He is from Ortrand, which is near Dresden. > ... and he told me they got telephone service last January. My area code listing (1992) shows an area code of 035755 for Ortrand valid from June 1st, 1992. Seems to me that the area codes were there long before the phones that use them ;-) I wonder what would have happened if I dialed the 035755 just after June, 1st. Perhaps an announcement line: "Keine Verbindung unter dieser Vorwahl" (No connection with this area code)?? > [Moderator's Note: How, in general, are efforts coming to bring the > (former) East German telephone network up to the standards of the > west? First of all, the so-called standard of the west is still pulse dialing and the standard of the east is going to be the best equipment of the republic, since all new equipment is "of course" digital. I guess the time is near when the west needs an upgrade to the then superior standard of the east, believe it or not. Two short stories to underline my point: 1. If I (living in Cologne, certainly in the west) try to reach my local packet-switched network node (for CompuServe use), I have to use the area code of Cologne just because the connection via the local switch is so poor I do not get a connection at 2400 bd. Now this may be an exception, but I have to live with it, since TELEKOM (our all so beloved phone service provider) told me just to try with the area code since that would give me a "different" line and charges are the same. 2. From Cologne (area code 0221) I may reach the suburb of Cologne-Porz by either dialing area code 02203+number or a "shortcut" of 820+number (both are local calls). Fact is: Almost 75% of the calls do not get through when I dial without pauses in a hurry via 820. As a coincidence, I met someone last weekend who works at a new digital switch (not for my exchange :-( ). He told me some nice "facts": The 820 equipment is checked *every 2 weeks* because it is so vulnerable (read as: old and unreliable). Moreover, he admitted that nearly all new equipment is going "to the east" to get their phone system up and running. Do I sound angry? Oh no, not me. It's just that .... > I recall that when 'the wall came down', and the transisition from > two governments to one was underway, trying to get calls in or out > of the east side was difficult. I recall that just after the wall came down and the east of Germany had to get more lines to and from the west, it was like hell trying to get through to (then) West-Berlin (area code 030). Very often, lines busied out just after dialing 030. From what I heared, since West-Berlin had a radio-link to West-Germany (and was in the middle of what was East-Germany) lines were also used to get calls to all of East-Germany. > There was *much* upgrading and expansion of circuits to be done, > etc. Is that still in progress or finally finished? Upgrading is still underway ... The EC just decided to wait with phone service competition plans until 1998; one reason is to allow TELEKOM to get along with the billion $ upgrading of the phone system in the east. There are lines in the ground that are over 60 years old. > Have the dialing codes finally been standardized? PAT] Sure. In addition to the +49 international dialing code now serving all of Germany, all area codes in former East-Germany look like 03x (beginning June 1st, 1992). The area codes are 4 digits 03xx for large cities such as Rostock (0381) or up to 6(!) digits such as 035755 for Ortrand. Re-unified Berlin is now served by the area code 030, which formelrly served only West-Berlin. Some phone numbers had to be re-assigned before that (as far as I know, in East-Berlin only). Marko Ruokonen Compuserve: 100031,31 Internet : 100031.31@compuserve.com Disclaimer: I do not work for TELEKOM. Facts as I heard them, opinions are my own. Just curious. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #381 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa15419; 10 Jun 93 19:42 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA13184 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Thu, 10 Jun 1993 16:55:42 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA11120 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Thu, 10 Jun 1993 16:55:09 -0500 Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1993 16:55:09 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306102155.AA11120@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #382 TELECOM Digest Thu, 10 Jun 93 16:55:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 382 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: DTMF Driven Answering Machines (Steven King) Re: DTMF Driven Answering Machines (John Slater) Re: DTMF Driven Answering Machines (Dave Ptasnik) Re: Avoiding Calls From Long-Distance Phone Companies (Brendan B. Boerner) Modem Compatible Digital AirPhone (Almost) (Donald Craig) Re: Telesleaze Goes International? (Steven King) Experiences With Wiring Admin/EIA606 (Jeff Hakner) Acatel AVP5000 Voice Messaging System (Chandra Liem) PageSat and Usenet Volume (John Pettitt) Yet Another Operator Scam? (Hon Wah Chin) Cellular Phone Regulations (John D. Gretzinger) ---------------------- TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively -- to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800 service. In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for the file 'products'. The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail- ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu. Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom. Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there, where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not require the use of our products and services. The two are separate. All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi- zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein. Send tithes and love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :) Phone: 312-465-2700. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: king@rtsg.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist) Subject: Re: DTMF Driven Answering Machines Reply-To: king@rtsg.mot.com Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1993 18:23:07 GMT phrrngtn@dsg.cs.tcd.ie (Paul Harrington (Reptile)) publicly declared: >We have a Panasonic KX-T1450 answering machine that was bought in the >USA that claims to have tone remote control. We do not know if there >was a tone generator with the machine or whether the code was keyed >in from a DTMF capable pad. >Questions: > Does anyone know how to >determine the code for the KX-T1450? There is a switch on the side >labeled 'REMOTE CODE' which has two positions, '2' and '8'. Is it >determinable from the serial number? >How many digits are there in the code? 2 or 8 seems like rather a >large jump. >Is it possible >to connect up a modem directly to the machine and get it to chirp all >possible combinations at it until the correct one is found? Does >the answering machine need to see a ring pulse before it will pick >up? Are ring pulse generators easy to build/assemble? I have a Panasonic answering machine. I don't know the model number offhand, but it sounds similar to the one you describe. The remote is DTMF, not some external beeper. The remote code is hopelessly insecure. It's only two digits, one of which is hardcoded (you can't change it) and the other is switch selectable between [2] and [8]. I don't recall which digit is first and which is last. My hardcoded digit is [8], and since I really don't have anything that needs security on my machine I set the switch to [8] as well. When you dial in you're allowed the entire length of the outgoing message in which to enter your code. You can easily hack your machine by setting the switch and entering all 20 unique combinations. If your OGM is long enough you can find it in a single call. It does need a ring pulse to pick up, but I have no idea why you'd need to fake this. What is your cellphone's "divert-on-no-reply" feature? I assume it's a feature of the operating company, where they'll no-answer-transfer the call to a number of your choosing. It's not actually a feature of the phone itself, is it? (If so, please let me know how it works!) I'm quite pleased with my Panasonic, even though it is an older model. I do wish it had the time/date stamp feature, though. I like it because it uses a standard audio cassette for the OGM, making it really easy to record cute sound bites. My current OGM is part of the intro to The Prisoner TV series. "We want... Information." :-) Here's the information from my pocket Quick Reference Card: 1) Dial the phone 1a) Push [*] to skip the OGM and leave a message 2) Enter your security code. The machine has an arcane series of beeps to let you know how many messages you have waiting. It beeps, then plays the messages. During playback, o Press [1] for backspace o Press [2] to skip forward o Press [3] to delete all incoming messages (rewinds tape) Defaults to preserving messages if you just hang up o Speak after 2 beeps to record marker message After playback you have the following options: o Press [4] for Memory Playback (?) o Press [5] to put the machine into spy mode and monitor the room o Press [7] to change the OGM. Say new OGM after the long beep, end with [9] Hope this helps you! Steven King, Motorola Cellular (king@rtsg.mot.com) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Jun 93 14:10:01 BST From: John.Slater@UK.Sun.COM (John Slater - Sun UK - City of London SE) Subject: Re: DTMF Driven Answering Machines In article 7@eecs.nwu.edu, phrrngtn@dsg.cs.tcd.ie (Paul Harrington (Reptile)) writes: >We have a Panasonic KX-T1450 answering machine that was bought in the >USA that claims to have tone remote control. We do not know if there >was a tone generator with the machine or whether the code was keyed in >from a DTMF capable pad. I have a KX-T1460, which I believe is similar to yours but with voice time and day stamp after each message. I too bought it in the USA. Everything that follows assumes yours is like mine. The remote is DTMF rather than a dedicated tone pad. >Does anyone know how to determine the code for the KX-T1450? There is >a switch on the side labeled 'REMOTE CODE' which has two positions, >'2' and '8'. Is it determinable from the serial number? There should be a sticker near the switch giving you the first digit of the code, which is fixed. The switch allows you to set the second digit of the 2-digit code to either 2 or 8, in your case. So even if you can't determine the first digit, you can set the second digit to whichever you prefer and you've only got 10 2-digit codes to try out. >How many digits are there in the code? 2 or 8 seems like rather a >large jump. >Is it possible to connect up a modem directly to the machine and get it >to chirp all possible combinations at it until the correct one is found? Dial in from your P3 and use its DTMF capability to crack it. Or I guess you could use a modem, but why make your life more difficult? You can try multiple combinations in one call. It's very easy. I did it to a friend's machine once and changed his OGM. >Does the answering machine need to see a ring pulse before it will >pick up? Are ring pulse generators easy to build/assemble? The easiest way to mess around with it is to connect it to a phone line and dial in from your modile. Even if it takes a few calls your phone bill will be much smaller than the cost and hassle of building test equipment. >Would I be a lot better off spending a few pounds on a new machine >with documentation? Probably, but where would be the fun with that? >BTW, I have contacted Panasonic in this country (Ireland) and they >were unable to help. Doesn't surprise me. HTH John Slater, Sun UK ------------------------------ From: davep@carson.u.washington.edu (Dave Ptasnik) Subject: Re: DTMF Driven Answering Machines Date: 10 Jun 1993 16:03:55 GMT Organization: University of Washington phrrngtn@dsg.cs.tcd.ie (Paul Harrington (Reptile)) writes: >We have a Panasonic KX-T1450 answering machine that was bought in the >USA that claims to have tone remote control. We do not know if there >was a tone generator with the machine or whether the code was keyed in >from a DTMF capable pad. >Does anyone know how to determine the code for the KX-T1450? There is >a switch on the side labeled 'REMOTE CODE' which has two positions, >'2' and '8'. Is it determinable from the serial number? The 2 and 8 are the second digit of a two digit code (ohhhhh, how hi tech!!) I believe that the first digit is 6 or 4 in any case, no more than ten calls to the machine will provide you with the answer. Happy hunting. All of the above is nothing more than the personal opinion of - Dave Ptasnik davep@u.washington.edu ------------------------------ From: BBOERNER@Novell.COM (Brendan B. Boerner) Subject: Re: Avoiding Calls From Long-Distance Phone Companies Organization: Novell, Inc. Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1993 21:39:33 GMT In article stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) writes: >Most of the newer ones also have answering machine detection as a >feature. This is why there is often a delay between when you say >"Hello" and when an agent responds, even if there is an agent free at >the time. The dialer has to hear you say "Hello" and then hear a >certain amount of silence before it connects the call. It assumes >that if the call is answered, and the voice on the other end talks for >more than a couple of seconds, that it is an answering machine playing >its outgoing greeting, and can therefore abandon the call. The amount Hmmm, maybe I'll re-record my "Hello" greeting and see what happens ... (My "hello" greeting was simply "hello" as if I answered the phone followed by about 3-4 seconds of pause and then the beep. Slightly amusing to listen to folks call me up, get my answering machine and think it was a real person. I took it off after my friends (those I had left :-)) got used to it and then would wait to respond to my "hello" when I _really_ did pick up the phone.) Brendan B. Boerner Phone: 512/346-8380 MHS: bboerner@novell Internet: bboerner@novell.com \ Please use either if replying or Brendan_Boerner@novell.com / by mail exterior to Novell. Disclaimer: My views are my own, not Novell's. They pay me to write code, not speak for them. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1993 13:52:28 -0700 From: dmc@tv.tv.tek.com (Donald Craig) Subject: Modem Compatible Digital AirPhone (almost) This message composed on, but alas not sent from, Alaska Flight 537, high over sunny southern Oregon... When I boarded Alaska Airlines after climbing up the ladder at Burbank International Airport, my heart leapt into my mouth. There, on the seatback in front of me, was an AirOne digital phone, with the legends: This Telephone Modem Compatible and AT&T Long Distance Service. As a dutiful user of an electronic device potentially hazardous to the safe and comfortable operation of the MD-80, I waited until the Fasten Seat Belt sign extinguished, then pulled my trusty PowerBook Duo from its satchel. There was a six pin modular connector in the base of the handset, and I connected up. Alas, neither my PowerBook nor my Radio Scrap Polarity Detector could detect any trace of a telephone connection across the middle pair of connector springs. I could hear Dial Tone in the handset once I pushed the On softkey, and if more handsets were in use than channels were available, it would tell me my place in the queue, but blind tone dialing went into the surrounding ether, and not into the phone. The phone would accept 0+ dialing as well as AT&T, VISA, M/C, American Express, Discover, Carte Blanche, and Diner's Club. $2 drop, $2 per minute, plus any land line charges. AirOne Communications Network 700 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2100 Seattle, Washington 98104 1-800-AirOne-6 (c) Claircom Communications "...all digital, state-of-the-art system that will deliver reliable, static-free calls far above the quality of current air-to-ground service." I called 1# to enquire (for free) as to the status of the modem connector. The helpful but impotent gentleman at the other end of the fairly noisy connection told me that modem service was not yet available, and he didn't know when it might be available. The audio connection seemed very half duplex. I told him I would have used the phone if it did have data, thanked him, and hung up. Sigh. Don Craig On Final for PDX... ------------------------------ From: king@rtsg.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist) Subject: Re: Telesleaze Goes International? Reply-To: king@rtsg.mot.com Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1993 16:05:56 GMT Our Esteemed Moderator writes: >Mother also has the same kind of deal going with >a guy out of Reno; calls are forced over 10288 to get on his machine. >People in other countries get to join the fun: people in Spain can >call a New Jersey-USA 201 number to speak with astrologers and/or >practioners of Tarot. Mother supervises that also. There's a UUCP (and maybe SLIP or PPP to boot) service that works this same way. Some guys in the northwest (Oregon or Washington state) have a standard dial-in mail and news service. The catch is, you've got to go through AT&T. You pay nothing more than AT&T's normal long distance charge, including discounts for Reach Out America or any other fancy dialing plan. AT&T slips the service provider a cut of the profits. When they first advertised (in a few of the regional newsgroups, I read it in chi.general) they made a pretty big stink. Lots of people accused them of being slimeballs. I don't really think they are. You know up front what you'll be charged. Nothing's hidden, no charges to you beyond your *normal* long distance charge. If AT&T wants to give the service provider a cut, who am I to complain? The cost of a long distance call isn't exhorbitant for this type of service, either. I know of several commerical services (we won't name names) which charge FAR more for similar "product". I'd be tempted to use the service myself if I didn't have a less-expensive local source. Looks like there's the reverse of the traditional scam going on. The traditional scam looks clean on the surface, but underneath it's slime. This type of "Mother gives them a cut" service initially looks slimy, but underneath you really can't find anything wrong with it. Sorry I don't have any more information about the actual UUCP service. I first read the ads about a month or two ago, which is well beyond the expiration period on either of the systems I use. Steven King, Motorola Cellular (king@rtsg.mot.com) ------------------------------ From: hak@alf.cooper.edu (Jeff Hakner) Subject: Experiences With Wiring Admin/EIA606 Organization: The Cooper Union ( NY, NY ) Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1993 03:30:02 GMT I'd like to hear other telecom administrators' experiences with administering a telecom infrastructure database. I have used my own make-shift system for several years here with success, although there are some aspects which need improving. After reading EIA606, I am left with an empty feeling. It was my hope that the document would prove a comprehensive and insightful guide to administering my infrastructure. Rather, it was vague, incomplete and, in some places, seemed poorly thought-out. I'd be particularly interested in hearing about experiences with "canned" admin software. Does the software out there today claim to "comply" with EIA-606? If so, how is the standard interpreted? I think I have a pretty solid system, but I don't want to take my telecom infrastructure in a direction which will be at odds with the rest of the industry. Jeff Hakner Dir. Telecom. Cooper Union, NYC ------------------------------ From: nsrccl@nuscc.nus.sg (Chandra Liem) Subject: Acatel AVP5000 Voice Messaging System Date: 10 Jun 1993 04:00:29 GMT Organization: National University of Singapore We are thinking of installing the Acatel AVP5000 voice messaging system (PC based) for our office. We would appreciate if anyone can comment on the reliability of the voice mail system. Thanks in advance. Chandra Liem, National Supercomputing Research Centre, Tel: (65) 772-2527 Bitnet: nsrccl@nusvm, Internet: nsrccl@nuscc.nus.sg, Fax: (65) 778-0198 ------------------------------ From: John Pettitt Subject: PageSat & Usenet Volume Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1993 11:06:04 -0700 Pagesat had better think about compressing those batches soon: 9600 = ~1K a second = 60K / min = 3600K/hr = 84000K / day If they are already seeing 40Mb a day and 80Mb a day peak (as the post indicated) then thay are close to saturation. Plot the growth of USENET over the last two years and project and no way will 80Mb a day handle a full broadcast feed in two years time. Even assuming 50% compression they may be in trouble by the time your two "free" years expire. "When I was a lad you could get all of USENET in an hour at 1200 uncompressed ... " :-) John Pettitt jpettitt@well.sf.ca.us, jpp@starconn.com, jpp123@aol.com, @compuserve.com, starnet!jpp, jpp@dolmus.win.net ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Jun 93 04:26:32 PDT From: hwc@kalpana.com (Hon Wah Chin) Subject: Yet Another Operator Scam? Reply-To: hwc@kalpana.com I saw a billboard in San Jose, CA advertising in large print 1-800-COLLECT as a lower cost way of calling collect. In tiny print it said that it was pending state regulatory approval. Has this been seen elsewhere, or is this billboard left over from some abandoned campaign? [Moderator's Note: This is not 'another operator scam' ... this is a collect call service operated by MCI. It appears to be as good as AT&T's operator service. PAT] ------------------------------ From: JOHN.D.GRETZINGER@sprint.sprint.com Date: 10 Jun 93 13:29:58-0400 Subject: Cellular Phone Regulations I have followed the messages related to use of ground based cell phones from aircraft in flight, but am missing one important piece of information. Is there a regulation (FCC I presume) that prohibits the use of ground based equipment from an aircraft while in flight? If there is, what is the specific regulation? I have received several requests for this information, but have not been able to find it using my resources. Please send replies either here, or to my alternate address(s) given below. As always, thanks. John D. Gretzinger Internet: jgretzinger@alamitos-emh1.army.mil CompuServe: 73020.267@compuserve.com Opinions are facutual ... Facts are suspect Standard disclaimers apply ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #382 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa04881; 11 Jun 93 6:01 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA07575 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Fri, 11 Jun 1993 03:36:05 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA18199 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Fri, 11 Jun 1993 03:35:20 -0500 Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1993 03:35:20 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306110835.AA18199@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #383 TELECOM Digest Fri, 11 Jun 93 03:35:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 383 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Lightning Strikes Evanston CO! All Service Knocked Out! (TELECOM Moderator) Re: Sprint Stupidity (Ken Levitt) Re: Avoiding Calls From Long-Distance Phone Companies (Tom Ace) Re: Help Needed With Telephone Support System Using LAN (Charles R. Martin) Re: Advantages of Pre-pay Phone Cards (Minh Lang) Re: Temporary Phone Service Needed: Which Way is Best? (Steve Forrette) Re: Temporary Phone Service Needed: Which Way is Best? (Bob Frankston) Re: Telesleaze Goes International? (David J. Leibold) Re: Telesleaze Goes International? (Paul Hardwick) Re: Using hermes.merit.edu to Reach Compuserve via Internet (Josh Backon) Re: North Carolina Telephone Outage? (Ben Harrell) Re: Prodigy < > Internet (Bob Hofkin) Re: Prodigy < > Internet (Dale Farmer) Re: DMS Switch Extended Local Calling? (Mike King) Re: CLID Information Over LD Lines Carrier-Specific? (Mike King) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: TELECOM Moderator Subject: Lightning Strikes Evanston CO! All Service Knocked Out Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1993 02:00:00 CST We had a really doozy here Tuesday. A very severe rain storm brought much lightning to the area, and one such bolt of lightning made a direct strike at the Illinois Bell central office for Evanston, IL about 7:30 PM. The whole office was knocked off line for over two hours, leaving 50,000 telephones in Evanston, IL out of service for the duration. Basically, that was the whole town, including Northwestern University. I got knocked off the line and was unable to reconnect until after 10 PM. Unlike Hinsdale, this time IBT gurus were on location in about thirty minutes; they came running from all over the Chicago area as soon as the word went out that 'Evanston is gone.' The best grounding protection in the world won't help at all when all that raw current lands right on your roof, which is what happened. This was not transient energy from lightening even a few yards or even a few feet away. This time mother nature saw a couple of nice antennas up there along with a few other thick as your wrist cables, etc and went right after them. They were *damn* lucky it didn't start a fire, IMHO. Sure there was plenty of grounding, all in accordance with specifications, but pop-pop-pop-pop-pop: it shattered more than a couple fuses and protectors on its trip back to the earth. I am about a mile from that CO, and I heard the 'crack' when it hit and the very loud bang less than a second later. Odd reaction from the central office: connections which were up at the time got a fierce amount of line noise when the lightning hit; but otherwise stayed up if they were in the Evanston CO. People who hung up went back off hook five or ten minutes later to find themselves still connected with whoever they had been talking to. If the call was to/from another CO (like me, I am down in Chicago-Rogers Park, the next CO to the south), then those calls were dropped when the bolt of lightning hit -- a loud noise in your ear (in my case expressed as some god-awful line noise to the modem) and you were gone. Poof! I guess other CO's could supervise and decide the call was 'finished' but Evanston CO just sat there there in a daze; all of its brains and innards pretty well scrambled -- reminiscent of the old 'electroshock therapy' treatment the mental hospitals used fifty years ago. :) For the duration, Evanston telephones which went off hook got battery (I tested the Bell payphones just across Howard Street from me, on the Evanston/708 side of the street) and their touchtones worked, plus you got the usual sidetone. But no dialtone, no connections, and if you kept the off hook long enough (30-45 seconds) you would hear a strange sort of 'whoosh' sound which lasted a few seconds. For the first half hour or so, dialing into Evanston CO from other places produced dead silence; that is you dial, a second or so later when the connection made it to Evanston it died, dropping off into nothing. Once Bell people got started on restoration, the drop off to silence was replaced (on calls from other CO's) by a recording stating 'all circuits are busy now, please try your call again later.' Within about 30 minutes, the place was swarming with people busy replacing fuses, diodes, other stuff, etc. They shut the switch down, did their work, actually were ready to go back on line by about 9:00 PM only to have so many people in town off-hook patiently waiting for dialtone (the decieving part was, you see, battery was present earlier much of the time and many folks assumed it was just 'slow dial') that when they did put the switch back online, it sat there scanning and scoping things out, saw so many people out there trying to seize that it must have thought 'to hell with all that' and went down again! The Evanston city authorities put an emergency plan into effect within minutes of the outage starting: police and fire vehicles roamed the streets slowly with their lights flashing; police officers and other city employees not on duty were asked to go out and 'work the streets' so that citizens could be served in emergencies. From the CO, Bell employees were in radio contact with police/fire dispatchers and the vehicles, and when it became obvious they were never going to get the CO back on line until they could get people to hang up their phones, the police began driving around the streets announcing this fact on the loudspeaker of the car: 'Please hang up your phones so that Bell can finish its work'. The local Evanston radio station also covered the outage for its duration and made this request, as did the Chicago stations. By 9:30 PM the CO was back on line but the congestion was terrible; most calls from outside the CO would not complete on the first attempt until about an hour later. Quite the opposite of how Hinsdale was handled! Congratulations to the IBT people there who moved quickly this time! Patrick Townson ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jun 93 00:23:37 GMT From: levitt@zorro9.fidonet.org (Ken Levitt) Subject: Re: Sprint Stupidity KL> Now the stupid part. Today Sprint rejected the order from Hogan for KL> my number because they already had an 800 number that was routed to my KL> telephone. There is no logical technical reason that two different KL> 800 numbers can't end up at the same phone number. JM> While there may not be a "technical" reason to prevent this, I'd JM> suggest that you consider using a different phone number for the JM> second 800 number. None available. JM> You could do this with the "distinctive ringing, aka Ident-a-call" JM> feature, so that you'd know which of the two 800 numbers was being JM> dialled. I would like to use this feature, but New England Telephone does not offer this service in my location. M> [Moderator's Note: I'm *glad* Sprint has stupid people working for M> them; it means that much more business for me! I talked to Sprint about this. It appears that the "stupidity" is not in the marketing department, but in the programming department. Their billing program keys on the destination number rather than the account number to decide how to process the billing. Their customer rep supervisor told me that this is a problem inside of Sprint when a customer wants two Sprint numbers using different calling plans, both ending up at the same destination number. They just can't do it! Ken Levitt - On FidoNet gateway node 1:16/390 UUCP: zorro9!levitt INTERNET: levitt@zorro9.fidonet.org or levitt%zorro9.uucp@talcott.harvard.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Jun 93 10:34:14 PDT From: awry!tom@hercules.aptix.com (Tom Ace) Subject: Re: Avoiding Calls From Long-Distance Phone Companies stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) writes (about predictive dialers): > Note that I'm not condoning their use, and personally dislike them as > much as our Moderator. PAT has his faults, but he's not as loathsome as a predictive dialer. ;-) Tom Ace tom@aptix.com [Predictive Moderator's Standard Output: Thank you for the kindness extended to me. Unfortunatly, my landlord at the Metro Office Building is more loathsome than such a device, and the rent has come due again. Friends of TD (or 'Pat Townson groupies' as I heard someone say the othe day; I thought it was quite clever) are asked once again to send tithes and love offerings, or buy Talk Tickets, etc. PAT] ------------------------------ From: martinc@cs.unc.edu (Charles R. Martin) Subject: Re: Help Needed With Telephone Support System Using LAN Date: 10 Jun 93 15:45:16 Organization: UNC Department of Computer Science I'm rapidly getting educated on telephony (although I'd still like a book recommendation or two) and have in particular learned that in this post I've asked a somewhat wrong question. Where I said: In article martinc@cs.unc.edu (Charles R. Martin) writes: - use caller ID to determine the caller phone number; I should have been asking for ANI (ANNI?) instead: the data-path information rather than the FSK caller ID on the voice path. The majority of the business we're talking about would be long-distance rather than local ... (and thanks to all the companies who have responded already.) Charles R. Martin/(Charlie)/martinc@cs.unc.edu/Dept. of Computer Science/CB #3175 UNC-CH/Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3175/3611 University Dr #13M/Durham, NC 27707/(919) 419 1754/Imagine that you could dare to be more than you are./ ------------------------------ From: Minh Lang Subject: Re: Advantages of Pre-pay Phone Cards Date: 11 Jun 1993 00:07:04 GMT Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory In article Henry E. Schaffer, hes@ncsu.edu writes: > On a trip to Japan I bought one of their phone cards and was very > pleased with the freedom from the hassle of carrying many coins, and > the cost savings in practice. Since I was a traveler I made a number > of long distance phone calls from pay phones which take either coins > or cards. However they don't make change for coins - e.g. if you put > in two 100 yen coins and the call charge amounts to 110 yen it keeps > both coins. The card only costs you the 110 yen amount. Public phones that accept phone card are extremely popular in Belgium back in 1984 (I don't know when they were installed, but I was there 1984-85 and it was extremely hard to find a phone that takes coins if you are out of phone card at late night on the street and couldn't find an open store to purchase some :-) ). Almost all phones there accept ONLY phone card, which are sold in newstands, coffee shops, supermarkets etc ... Minh [Moderator's Note: Your message illustrates why a decision was made on the prepaid calling cards here in the USA to have all the intelligence in the network, with account identification done by pressing buttons rather than swiping the card. This lets anyone use the card anywhere with ease. PAT] ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: Temporary Phone Service Needed: Which Way is Best? Date: 11 Jun 1993 02:38:03 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA In article peter@langmuir.Berkeley.EDU (Bill Peter) writes: > So my question is: If I am in Berkeley during weekdays and wish to > call the L.A. area during this time, would it be better to get regular > phone service for them (a hassle especially since they hardly will be > staying in their room) or subscribe to a cellular service (I noticed > Alamo Rent A Car was going to rent me a cellular telephone free of > charge). Anyway, I don't mind spending $50-$75 a month if it keeps me > in contact with them. Getting your own cellular service will definately be cheaper than using one of the "free" phone rentals from the car rental companies. The "free" phones cost in the range of $1.50-$2.50 per minute to use. There is often a minimum of three minutes of billable time per "free" day. Perhaps the worst part is that the billing is usually done by inspection of the airtime meter in the cellphone itself, which means you end up paying for any uncompleted outgoing calls (but since you will be using service in the LA area, you will have to pay half the going airtime rate for uncompleted calls anyway). If you already have a cellphone, the best bet would be to let it roam into LA. A really inexpensive option would be a pager. You can probably get one in LA for under $20 per month, including service and equipment rental. You could then page them when you want to talk, and they could call you back on the payphone. Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ From: Bob_Frankston@frankston.com Subject: Re: Temporary Phone Service Needed: Which Way is Best? Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1993 10:42 -0400 My general suggestion is that if you're willing to rent a cellular, you should buy a handheld or a bag phone (the latter often being free by guaranteeing six months of service) (not related to the Scottish instrument (or is it)). Rented phones often charge rates like a $1/breathing minute (as opposed to airtime for completed calls) and can be quite expensive. With your own services you have more flexibility and something useful in the future. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Telesleaze Goes International? From: woody Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1993 00:14:02 -0400 Regarding the overseas numbers used to reach date/chat/porn lines, that +569... number might actually be a Chile (+56) number, with area code 9 which is normally used for cellular/mobile phones. Thus, if the +569 ... is correct, then some special space might be used in Chile for such lines, plus the international traffic payments that get sent to Chile. Meanwhile, there are a few +1 809 numbers in the Dominican Republic which are advertised in Canada as chat lines. A similar deal likely applies here. Watch out if ITU-TSS ever assigns a country code like 900 for worldwide premium services ... David Leibold djcl@zooid.guild.org dleibold1@attmail.com dleibold@vm1.yorku.ca ------------------------------ From: hardwick@Panix.Com (Paul Hardwick) Subject: Re: Telesleaze Goes International? Date: 10 Jun 1993 15:02:51 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC Actually this is a fall back to how it was first done. long before 900 numbers and there were no special toll calls on the (976,540,550,etc) that same numbering system was used to route calls to the Party Line services. I also saw an ad recently in a local NYC paper where the same international deal was claimed. When I checked out the country code with MCI(the carrier) and ATT (just curious) I was told that it did not exist and that it must be some special internal routing for special billing. The code fell in a gap after South America and before the next group. Paul Hardwick | Technical Consulting | InterNet: hardwick@panix.com P.O. Box 1482 | for MVS (SP/XA/ESA) | Voice: (212) 535-0998 NY, NY 10274 | and 3rd party addons | Fax: (212) Pending ------------------------------ From: backon@vms.huji.ac.il Subject: Re: Using hermes.merit.edu to Reach Compuserve via Internet Date: 10 Jun 93 14:49:24 GMT Organization: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem In article , syshtg@gsusgi2.gsu.edu (Tom Gillman) writes: > You *CAN* get to Compuserve through the Internet, although it is > somewhat unorthodox and more than a little bit expensive. > Telnet to hermes.merit.edu (35.1.48.172) and enter "CIS" at the "WHICH > HOST" prompt. This uses the SprintNet service to connect you to > Compuserve. > Keep in mind, that access charges will apply, and peak/off-peak times > will be based on EST/EDT (Michigan) time. I don't remember right > offhand what the access charges for SprintNet are, somewhere around $3 > or $4 per hour for off-peak times, and $11 or $12 per hour for peak > times. > Note: These access charges are in addition to the normal Compuserve access > charges. The simplest way is to obtain a paid ($50 one-time fee) DIALOUT-AA account on MERIT and then login to the local Ann Arbor CompuServe dialin number. For info on DIALOUT-AA, at the WHICH HOST prompt type ? and then check the menu system. This way, you're billed the usual $0.30/hour. Josh backon@VMS.HUJI.AC.IL ------------------------------ From: bharrell@nyx.cs.du.edu (Ben Harrell) Subject: Re: North Carolina Telephone Outage? Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci. Date: Thu, 10 Jun 93 12:36:39 GMT tad@ssc.com (Tad Cook) writes: > I saw something on Fidonet today indicating that around the first of > June there was a major telephone outage in the northeast part of > Chapel Hill, North Carolina. > Any TELECOM Digest readers familiar with this? > Anyone know of any effect on the 9-1-1 system? The problem was a gas line contractor who cut a approx. 4500 pair main feeder cable serving the northeast sector of the Chapel Hill exchange. All lines served by this feeder were cut dead. It took 3 days to restore all lines to service. Southern Bell set up phone banks in several shopping centers in the area to provide some relief. Funny part is that I heard the contractor called SB about the conduit the cable was in, and was told it was old and not in use. So they but a backhoe through it and ... gotcha! Ben Harrell cmebh01@nt.com ------------------------------ From: Bob Hofkin Subject: Re: Prodigy < > Internet Reply-To: hofkin@software.org Organization: Software Productivity Consortium Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1993 14:25:27 GMT > None of the commercial providers (CIS, GEnie, etc) are particularly > enamored of the Internet and the stuff you get for *free* here As a moderator for BIX, I am amazed at how rapidly it is installing Internet services, now that General Videotex is in charge. The long-awaited email went into production a few months ago. Telnet, outbound FTP, whois, and finger are in beta test but available to all subscribers. Netnews and inbound FTP are coming. Archie, gopher, WAIS, and even IRC seem to be in the pipeline. GVC owns DELPHI, so the Internet services may already be available there. Bob Hofkin ------------------------------ From: dale@access.digex.net (Dale Farmer) Subject: Re: Prodigy < > Internet Date: 10 Jun 1993 16:13:30 GMT Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA jdelancy@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil wrote: > Whatever became of the Prodigy interface to Internet? Did it get > activated or lost in the relay chatter of the North Electric All-Relay > switch ... > [Moderator's Note: I think Prodigy is still planning a gateway, but it < snip> My understanding is that Prodigy will no longer be allowed to read and censor their clients E-mail if they ever connect their system to any outside system. I may be wrong but I believe this stems from a lawsuit brought against them for censoring their equivilent of newgroups and E-mail of comments critical of any sears or IBM affiliated company or service. I got all that through the rumor mill but it does fall right in with both companies "I know what good for you" attitude. Dale Farmer ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Jun 93 12:33:04 EDT From: mking@fsd.com (Mike King) Subject: Re: DMS Switch Extended Local Calling? In TELECOM Digest, V13, #I376, jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu (James R. Saker Jr.) asks if the DMS100 can apply extended calling services to a subset of subscriber lines. Yes, the DMS100 *can* offer extended services to a portion of subscriber lines. However, I would guess the reason United is balking on the issue is not due to technical considerations, but instead because of exchange boundaries. In my experience while living in Ohio, the same local calling areas have always been applied to all prefixes within an EXCHANGE, regardless of the location and configuration of the serving switch(es). Also note that prefix boundaries do not necessarily match exchange boundaries. Your relatives should be able to obtain a map of exchange boundaries in Ohio from United, and can then determine exactly what area is considered to be in her serving exchange. Sometimes a LEC will offer an extended calling area for additional charges, such as $2.50 a month plus 25 cents a call. These plans usually are not advertised. Lately, the PUCO decisions I've seen tend to require the LEC to offer a reduced toll rate between the exchanges in question. Disclaimer: I used to live in Ohio, but I don't represent United Telephone of Ohio. Cheers, Mike King | +1 301-428-5384 | I don't speak for my Software Sourcerer | mking@fsd.com or | employer. My employer Fairchild Space | 73710.1430@compuserve.com | doesn't speak for me. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 10 Jun 93 12:48:40 EDT From: mking@fsd.com (Mike King) Subject: Re: CLID Information Over LD Lines Carrier-Specific? In TELECOM Digest, V13, #376, Justin Fidler asks: > The other day I was wondering if CLID info is passed over LD lines to > the destination (e.g., if I make a long-distance call from Washington, > DC to Los Angeles, and both originator and receiver have CLID equipment). [Stuff about calls to AT&T, et. al. deleted] The CLID information CAN be passed if there are SS7 links along the entire path of the call; i.e., C&P in DC passes the information to the carrier, the carrier passes the information along the entire route, and the carrier passes the information to Pac*Tel/GTE in LA. Note your example is a poor one, as Pac*Tel has chosen not to offer Caller*Id to Californians. However, if you chose another example, such as DC to Chicago, then the information could be delivered at the receiving end. Since the caller has no control over how the call is routed within the carrier's network, it's possible for the information to be passed on one call, and not be passed on the next. Regards, Mike King | +1 301-428-5384 | I don't speak for my Software Sourcerer | mking@fsd.com or | employer. My employer Fairchild Space | 73710.1430@compuserve.com | doesn't speak for me. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #383 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa12804; 11 Jun 93 22:28 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA21314 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Fri, 11 Jun 1993 19:59:11 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA26012 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Fri, 11 Jun 1993 19:58:31 -0500 Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1993 19:58:31 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306120058.AA26012@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #384 TELECOM Digest Fri, 11 Jun 93 19:58:30 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 384 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Extending a Phone Tax to Online Services in Mass. (Adam Gaffin) Names Added To Caller ID (William Pfeiffer) Hong Kong Telecom Query (John Hoag) Voice to Email - Does Service Exist? (Thomas A. Newman) How to Wire Five-Pair Cable to 44A Block? (Jack Decker) Help! Looking for SpeechSoft Voice Mail (TJR122@psuvm.psu.edu) Future City Wants Information on International IT Services (T. Worthington) Cellular Phone Monitoring/Data Channel Decode (u1066579@csdvax.csd.unsw) Advice on Buying Fax-Back Machine (Katarina Wong O'Gara) Cellular Phone Regulations (John D. Gretzinger) T1 CSU/DSU Evaluation (Steve Corbato) Gemini Caller Report (Cont Tim Hogard) Cordless Phone as a Permanent Extension (Mark Anacker) FAX Machines For Home Use (Robert M. Hamer) Terminating Access (was Re: Telesleaze Goes International) (David Lewis) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: adamg@world.std.com (Adam M Gaffin) Subject: Extending a Phone Tax to Online Services in Mass. Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1993 13:52:33 GMT The section of the state law is 830 CMR 64H.1.6 should anybody care to look it up. Adam Middlesex News, Framingham, Mass., 6/5/93, page 1 By Adam Gaffin NEWS STAFF WRITER The state Department of Revenue may be attempting to apply an obscure section of the state tax code to bulletin-board systems and other providers of computer information services. If successful, the effort to force such services to collect sales tax on fees charged to users for their modem time could reap significant new revenues for the state as the online information field expands. But Brian Miller says it could wipe out his business and put a damper on one of the state's few growth industries. Miller is co-owner of Channel 1, a Cambridge-based bulletin-board system that charges users for access to online conferences, databases and collections of computer programs. It is unrelated to the satellite school television service of the same name. Recently, auditors from the revenue department spent two weeks going over Channel 1's books, under a section of the state tax code related to the provision of telecommunications services. Companies that provide telecommunications services are supposed to collect a five percent tax from "retail" users, such as individuals. Until the Channel 1 audit, officials at computer information providers in Massachusetts thought the law applied only to telephone companies or facilities such as hotels that provide phone service to customers. Miller points to one section of the state tax code that says telephone access to computer databases is "generally not taxable" and to another section that states that "information" is not taxable. A spokeswoman for the Department of Revenue declined comment, saying privacy concerns mean the department cannot talk about either individual actions or enforcement of laws against specific industries. The tax was passed in 1990 as part of an overall effort to tax services in the state. Legislators quickly repealed taxes on professionals such as lawyers and accountants, but kept the telecommunications levy. The telecommunications tax law states that the cost of "information" is exempt only if providers give users bills that explicitly show the cost of information and the cost of its "transmission," which is taxable. Like other online services, Channel 1 does not break down its bills this way. But Miller said he does not actually provide telecommun- ications services, anyway. All of his users communicate with the system by dialing up its number through their existing phone service. The company now has 185 incoming phone lines to handle the 3,000 modem calls that come in every day from around the country. Miller says that, according to his accountant, the audit could mean a tax bill and penalties of $100,000 dating back to 1990 -- enough to destroy "seven years of blood, sweat and tears" by himself and his wife, Tess Heder. They built the system up from one phone line connected to a personal computer. Channel 1 is one of the country's largest bulletin-board systems. But it is dwarfed by such companies as Prodigy and CompuServe. "It's a real boost to small business in Massachusetts," Miller said sarcastically. The law specifically exempts broadcasters and cable-television companies. However, in coming years, experts foresee a growing industry supplying "information" such as movies on demand through computer and telephone networks. AT&T, for example, recently announced plans for a movies-on-demand service. Meanwhile, IBM and MCI have formed a joint venture to develop a developing computer networks that could provide similar services. Yet at the same time, cable companies are beginning to move into fields once the domain of telephone companies and computer networks. Jerrold/General Instrument, which makes cable TV "converter" boxes, is now marketing a unit that will let viewers connect to computer services such as Prodigy. The Channel 1 action worries Barry Shein, president of Software Tool and Die of Brookline, which provides access for a fee to the Internet network. "C an we retroactively bill customers for the last three years' service?" Shein, who's already met with his accountant on the issue, asked. "Will the DOR be willing to do that?" Adam Gaffin Middlesex News, Framingham, Mass. adamg@world.std.com Voice: (508) 626-3968. Fred the Middlesex News Computer: (508) 872-8461. ------------------------------ From: net@gagme.chi.il.us Subject: Names Added To Caller ID Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1993 12:48:43 -0500 (CDT) When Caller ID (or Calling Line ID to be more accurate) hit the public, ther was a great outcry that our private numbers (even if we paid a ransom for non-published service) were being transmitted to the called party for a small fee. Many people were outraged and this digest was full of such articles. Then came those (our Moderator included) who told us that we were being too paranoid and that CLID amounted to little because all they had was a number, which couldn't yield much, especially if it WAS non-published. In addition we were told that the called party had a *right* to know what number was calling them ... etc etc. Well, now (as these things tend to go in steps) Illinios Bell is going to be offering "enhanced caller ID" which will display not only the number of the calling party, but the *name* under which the calling number is listed (or not listed, as the case might be). So now, that *innocent* feature (CLID) that we have all begun to accept in our stride, has become an even larger invasion of our illusory privacy. Now, whether or not my line is non-published, it will be displayed for anyone who I call, be it a business or individual, who is willing to plunk down *under $10* s month and, perhaps, $50 - $75 for a terminal. Oh, yes, we can still dial the extra #67 before *every* call we make if we desire some semblance of privacy, but once again, we are being asked to swollow yet another chip off the block of personal privacy via the telephone. I know there will be voices which will admonish folks like me as being 'paranoid' or standing in the way of progress. Yet others will echo the old saw of "If you have nothing to hide, why are you opposed to someone knowing (yet more) personal info about you?" Well I suppose, then, that every person who pays a ransom to the phone companies for the privilege of non-pub service is up to something no-good. Besides, I know of at least ONE fellow who subscribes to caller ID and has on his line, a device that automatically dials *67 as soon as the hook is lifted! So now, ladies, if you misdial a number, and you happen to reach a pervert, he has your number AND name. If you call a business to get info on their latest sale, or even a closing time, they could have a name AND number to give to their telemarketing boiler-room geeks. If your small child makes a random call, or misdials, the person on the other end would have the family name and number, and the child could be called back by an unsavory character who is asking for the parent by name, to which the child may say "(s)He's not here now"! How long will it be before the address, zipcode and (who knows) picture will be available to anyone you call on the phone? A whole lot more creepy, IMHO, than the (by comparison) lame calling- line-ID. William Pfeiffer Moderator: rec.radio.broadcasting - Internet Radio Journal -=*=-To subscribe, send email to: journal@airwaves.chi.il.us -=*=- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jun 93 12:00:45 EDT From: johhoa@johhoa.rnd.symix.com (John Hoag) Subject: Hong Kong Telecom Query I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has established a dedicated link between Hong Kong and mainland China. Our customer maintains offices in HK, but the plant, of course, is 30 miles away. The desired service would be DDS, 56 Kb, to connect LAN's. We could set up a Unix host and mux a few telnet sessions over, though. So, how sophisticated can we get, and who provides the service? Thanks, John C. Hoag jch+@osu.edu johhoa@symix.com KG8BQ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1993 12:23:19 -0700 (PDT) From: Thomas A. Newman Subject: Voice to Email - Service Exist? Does anyone offer this service: Someone calls you when you're connected via dialup to an Internet host or commercial info service. Somewhere a computer: - answers the phone - says: "Please enter your phone number by pressing the phone's keys" - says: "Thank you" - hangs up - sends an email message to your Internet mailbox or mailbox on a commercial information service. Why not just use Caller ID? - because the caller might want you to call a number that is different from the number s/he is calling from. Please respond via email to me directly, not to this list or newsgroup. Thanks, Tom Newman Internet: newmant@atlantis.csos.orst.edu Compuserve: 73057,475 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jun 93 11:44:08 EDT From: ac388@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu (Jack Decker) Subject: How to Wire Five-Pair Cable to 44A Block? I have a five-pair cable and want to use a 44A connector block to terminate it at one end (mostly because I happen to have one lying around!). The 44A block has terminals numbered 1-10, while the cable has pairs with the standard color codes (blue/blue and white, orange/ orange and white, etc.). I assume there's some standard stating which wire goes to which terminal; anyone know what it is? Thanks in advance, Jack Decker | Internet: ac388@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu Fidonet: 1:154/8 or jack.decker@f8.n154.z1.fidonet.org Note: Mail to the Fidonet address has been known to bounce. :-( ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1993 01:46:04 -0400 (EDT) From: TJR122@psuvm.psu.edu Subject: Help! Looking for SpeechSoft Voice Mail Organization: Penn State University I'm desperately seeking a phone number, city, even a state ... ANYTHING on a company called SpeechSoft, makers of SpeechMaster, a telephone-answering call-processing board for PCs. PLEASE let me know if you've ever heard of them. Thanks, Tom R. tjr122@psuvm.psu.edu [Moderator's Note: Speech Soft - 32 Manners Road - Ringoes, NJ 08551 Phone 609-466-1100. My contact there is Brenda L. LaFevre. They make lots of stuff to work with Dialogic boards. PAT] ------------------------------ From: tomw@ccadfa.cc.adfa.oz.au (Tom Worthington) Subject: Future City Wants Information on International IT Services Organization: Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, Australia Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1993 07:16:23 GMT MFP Australia International software services company. MFP Australia is an international project with a core site in Adelaide, South Australia. The project is a model for new industries, environmental management, and urban lifestyles for the 21st century. MFP will create business investment and employment in the growth industries of the future - environmental management, education, and information technology and telecommunications. MFP Australia is supported by the Federal and South Australian governments. The MFP Development Corporation is seeking expressions of interest for a pre-feasibility and market study in relation to the development of an International Software Services Company. It is anticipated that the Company will be a joint enterprise using the latest software development tools and technologies to develop and distribute software products and services into the international market, including software conversion/adaptation. A brief is available for prospective registrants from Mr Kym Teh on (08)3032100, fax: (08)3032120, International fax: +61 8 3032120. The brief should be used to prepare expressions of interest. Registrations of interest with full documentation must be received by the close of business on 16 June, 1993 by the Acting Executive General Manager Business Development, MFP Australia, Level 12, 178 North Terrace, Adelaide Australia. ---------- Posted as a community service by Tom Worthington, Director of the Community Affairs Board, Australian Computer Society Inc. Internet: tomw@adfa.oz.au ABOUT THE ACS: The Australian Computer Society is the professional association in Australia for those in the computing and information technology fields. Established in 1966, the ACS has over 14,000 members and on a per capita basis is one of the largest computer societies in the world. ACS activities are announced in the Usenet News group "aus.acs", available on the Internet. ------------------------------ From: u1066579@csdvax.csd.unsw.edu.au Subject: Cellular Phone Monitoring/Data Channel Decode Date: 11 Jun 93 14:32:07 +1000 Organization: University of New South Wales Hi All, I am looking for information on how to monitor the cellular phone data channels. Has anyone any practical experience with doing this? I would like to be able to decode the MIN (phone number) and the channel allocation information so that I can tell what frequency a particular phone is using. If you can help please E-mail to u1066579@csdvax.csd.unsw.edu.au Best wishes, Henry, University of NSW Australia. PS: I believe the Australian phone system is identical to that used in the USA. AMPS with 832 channels etc. [Moderator's Note: Respondents will please write direct to Henry. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1993 19:39:25 -0400 From: Katarina Wong O'Gara Subject: Advice on Buying Fax-Back Machine Has anyone had any experience with fax-back machines, those useful gizmos that answer your phone call with a voice mail menu of options, ask for your fax number and then send you the dog grooming instructions you requested, or whatever. I am interested in getting one of these and would appreciate feedback on advantages of particular models or even whether it makes more sense to contract the service out to a third party (I tend to think not since what I am planning will be low-budget, phoene bills aside.) Thanks for any and all help ... James F.X. O'Gara kkw@wam.umd.edu ------------------------------ From: JOHN.D.GRETZINGER@sprint.sprint.com Date: 11 Jun 93 13:43:55-0400 Subject: Cellular Phone Regulations I have followed the messages related to use of ground based cell phones from aircraft in flight, but am missing one important piece of information. Is there a regulation (FCC I presume) that prohibits the use of ground based equipment from an aircraft while in flight? If there is, what is the specific regulation? I have received several requests for this information, but have not been able to find it using my resources. Please send replies either here, or to my alternate address(s) given below. As always, thanks. John D. Gretzinger Internet: jgretzinger@alamitos-emh1.army.mil CompuServe: 73020.267@compuserve.com Standard disclaimers apply ------------------------------ From: corbato@cosmic.physics.utah.edu (Steve Corbato) Subject: T1 CSU/DSU Evaluation Organization: Cosmic Ray Physics Group, University of Utah Date: Fri, 11 Jun 93 04:27:04 GMT Hello- We're new to T1 here and are looking for a T1 CSU/DSU for both ends of line between our campus and a remote experimental site about 80 miles away in phone space (all but five miles will be fiber; the last five will be run on metal with Wescom line repeaters). The internet to which we belong has historically used Dowty products -- in this case, the T1 ESF CSU/DSU (DCP3552). However, due to significant cost considerations, we are evaluating both the Astrocom NX1 and the Black Box MT100A. If anyone out there has had positive or negative experience with these products and would relate these (in particular, any comparisons of the three), I'd really appreciate it ... Thanks, Steve Corbato corbato@cosmic.physics.utah.edu (Internet) Cosmic Ray Physics Group utahco::corbato, 47623::corbato (HEPnet, NSI) Physics Dept., Univ. of Utah corbato@utahcca (BITnet) Salt Lake City UT 84112 USA (801) 581-5053 (office), -4801 (Fax) ------------------------------ From: thogard@wrdis01.robins.af.mil (Cont Tim Hogard) Subject: Gemini Caller Report Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1993 11:26:52 -0400 (EDT) I recently aquired an called ID box made by Gemini. This has a current price of about $35. It will store 10 nubers and the time that the call rang. I runs off of a 9V battery and is in a small case. When the phone rings, the display will show the number and then go blank after about 20 seconds. If you press the Review button you can see your previous calls sorted last call first. You can press the Time button to get the data and time of the call. You can clear the memory by pressing both buttons. If you get more than 10 calls, the oldest call will be replaced. The instructions claim that unknown digits will display as '?' so that if your called id unit receives garbled data the number will show up as "679-55?-334?" If all the digits are unknown it will display "Error" This is what you get when you pick up the phone too soon. Error are not stored in the memory. Most calls will show up as "--- --- ---- Out of area" and I have had one that said "private" The device also will let you know when the battery is low. The ringer equivalence is .1 which seems high to me but I guess you wouldn't want to hook up 50 of these either. The local caller ID service is $6 and that works in town and some close areas. They did not give me any info on how to do called ID block. -thogard@wrdis01.robins.af.mil Warner Robins GA 31088-6184 ------------------------------ From: marka%dsinet@dsinet.dgtl.com (Mark Anacker) Subject: Cordless Phone as a Permanent Extension Date: 12 Jun 93 16:45:30 GMT Organization: Digital Systems Intl., Inc. A friend of mine has a problem that I hope the Telecom readers can help us solve. He has a phone in one location -- and he needs it extended to another about 100 meters away. Hardwire is out of the question, and there is a concrete building between the two locations. We are considering a 900Mhz cordless phone for this application. What I am wondering is: 1) Will a unit such as the Tropez penetrate the concrete with sufficient range? An external antenna is a possibility -- this is outside the U.S. so the FCC rules don't mean much :-) 2) How exactly is the security code between the base and the handset triggered? Since this will be a more-or-less permanent extension, he can't be constantly recharging the handset on the base. If the handset goes into the "select a random security code" mode simply by hooking the handset to a separate recharger, we're in trouble. Anybody got any ideas? Model numbers of higher-powered phones that would work in this situation? Anything? Thanks. Mark Anacker marka@dsinet.dgtl.com Digital Systems International, Inc. Redmond, WA USA (206) 869-3725 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1993 10:35 EDT From: "Robert M. Hamer 908-932-2696" Subject: FAX Machine For Home Use I am interested in getting a FAX machine for my home. It would get used _very_ little; it would be simply for convenience. A FAX board is not desired at the moment because I want to be able to send stuff that doesn't originate on my PC occasionally. Is there an aftermarket for FAX machines? What do you folks who have a FAX machine and get a new one do with the old ones? ------------------------------ From: deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (david.g.lewis) Subject: Terminating Access (was Re: Telesleaze Goes International?) Organization: AT&T Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1993 13:27:03 GMT In article king@rtsg.mot.com writes: >There's a UUCP (and maybe SLIP or PPP to boot) service that works >this same way. Some guys in the northwest (Oregon or Washington state) >have a standard dial-in mail and news service. The catch is, you've >got to go through AT&T. You pay nothing more than AT&T's normal long >distance charge, including discounts for Reach Out America or any >other fancy dialing plan. AT&T slips the service provider a cut of >the profits. Another way to look at it is that for calls terminated through a LEC, an IXC has to pay the LEC a terminating switched access charge, on the order of three to four cents a minute. If the called party is directly connected to the IXC, that access charge no longer has to be paid. If the IXC instead pays the customer two cents a minute, that can be viewed as the equivalent of the "access charge" for the customer to support the direct connection. The IXC is happy because their costs decrease one to two cents a minute; the customer is happy because they're getting paid for accepting calls; the callers are obligated to use a given IXC, which may be an inconvenience, but in exchange appear to be receiving a valued service at a reasonable cost; in fact, the only loser appears to be the terminating LEC ... David G Lewis AT&T Bell Laboratories david.g.lewis@att.com or !att!goofy!deej Switching & ISDN Implementation ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #384 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa25226; 14 Jun 93 3:00 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA16472 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 00:49:55 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA16886 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 00:49:19 -0500 Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 00:49:19 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306140549.AA16886@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #385 TELECOM Digest Mon, 14 Jun 93 00:49:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 385 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Brastislava Phones (George Frajkor) NorthwesTel Applies to Provide Cable in Canada's North (David Leibold) Nationwide CD-ROM Telco Lists Question (Daniel Burstein) Sky-Page and Cellular Integration (Jody Kravitz) April 16th, 1995: UK Phone Code Change (Jean-Bernard Condat) Desireable Answering Machine Feature? (J. Philip Miller) Cordless Headset That Works With ISOETEC "EZ" Phones? (Helen C. O'Boyle) NEC Dterm Telephone Unit Needed (Maurice De Vidts) Need CAPI Specifications (Chris Ho) Wrist Watch Pager (Rich Greenberg) Consumer Research on Video Technology (Monica Mcguire) Olde Touch-Tome Key Pad (Bill Scheding) Help - Need Pinouts For Analog vs. Digital Phones (RJ-11) (Shawn Thompson) Request Info on Telecom Power Switch (David Fiedler) Beeper Providers -- Which Have Best Coverage? (John L. Shelton) Interactive Voice Response System Needed (Rick Dennis) ---------------------- TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively -- to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800 service. In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for the file 'products'. The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail- ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu. Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom. Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there, where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not require the use of our products and services. The two are separate. All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi- zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein. Send tithes and love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :) Phone: 312-465-2700. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 13 Jun 1993 00:17:01 GMT Reply-To: Discussion of Eastern Europe Telecommunications From: George Frajkor Subject: Brastislava Phones [This originally appeared in the EUEARN-L list for European Telecommunications] SVATO SCHUTZNER writes: > In an effort to contribute: I visited Bratislava, the paradise of my > young years, recently. Feel the new country could score a giant > public relations coup fast if Bratislava powers-that-be should take > care that working public phones would be available in at least several > spots. As it is (as it was in mid-May, I mean) there seems (seemed) > to be one phone working on coins for ten or so requiring cards. Fine. > But while the post offices were displaying signs notifuing the public > that the price of the cards had just gone up, they DID NOT HAVE those > cards at any price. It was possible to call England or the U.S. from > the central telephone office but not a number within Bratislava. > Svato Schutzner Internet: schutzne@mail.loc.gov In my frequently-expressed opinion, the state of the telephone systems in Eastern Europe generally and Slovakia in particular is the biggest single cause of economic retardation, and I am not even sure that the government recognizes that. Nothing is more frustrating to a businessman or a tourist than trying to call someone and finding out (a) the fones don't work (b) the information office works 0900-1700 and you can't even find a fone number after hours (c) you have to deal with a hotel operator who says she will call you back in your hotel room once she makes a connection, and five hours later she has not called back etc., etc. Even from over here, I find it aggravating. I recently spent three days trying to get a fax through to the right number, and three more days trying to find out another number that had been changed. Am I right in thinking that these government have been so used to the elitist/dirigist approach (we need a fone -- the people do not) that they are incapable of changing? It is not just a matter of money. I have seen lots of money being put into the restoration of old buildings (which is a nice idea in itself) when putting the same money into public telephones and better lines would have paid for itself in a few months. In fairness to Slovakia, I understand they ARE putting in a new digital switching system this month as well as their own international exchange, which may in theory get us past the recorded voice in Prague telling you for days that the "international exchange Prague is in that direction engaged". In theory. If you can invest in a T-72 tank factory, why NOT in a telephone system? There has to be more than ignorance and greed here. Jan George Frajkor School of Journalism, Carleton Univ. 1125 Colonel By Drive Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1S 5B6 gfrajkor@ccs.carleton.ca aa003@freenet.carleton.ca o: 613 788-7404 fax: 613 788-6690 h: 613 563-4534 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Jun 93 19:59:22 EDT From: David Leibold Subject: NorthwesTel Applies to Provide Cable in Canada's North A Canadian Press report, as shown in {The Toronto Star} today, mentions a CRTC application by NorthwesTel to take over Yellowknife NWT's cable company (Mackenzie Media). The intention is to integrate the NorthwesTel with video services so that other communities in NorthwesTel's service area (Yukon, Northwest Territories) are provided with cable television service. NorthwesTel denies that the purchase of Mackenzie Media is connected with a recent application to increase phone rates. As for the north's high cable rates, these are not expected to go down despite the integration of phone and cable services that can be accomplished. This application should go before the CRTC this summer, with a decision expected in early 1994. dleibold1@attmail.com dleibold@vm1.yorku.ca Fidonet: 1:250/730 ------------------------------ From: dannyb@Panix.Com (Daniel Burstein) Subject: Nationwide CD-ROM Telco Lists Question Date: 13 Jun 1993 22:39:54 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC Well, I'm finally about to bite the bullet and get a cd-rom for my system, and one of the first purchases I have in mind is a national phone directory. I know there are various offerings out there, so I'd like some feedback as to any experinces. Price is a -big- concern, and I'll cheerfull settle for last year's version if it saves money. Things I'm looking for: complete (more or less) listings for residential and business, ability to look up by name OR phone number, etc. Thanks, dannyb@panix.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Jun 93 09:40:17 PDT From: kravitz@foxtail.com (Jody Kravitz) Subject: Sky-Page and Cellular Integration I am trying to find a simpler way for my clients to get hold of me. I have been a SKY-TEL customer for several years, but many of my clients do not know (or remember) how to use the SKY-PAGE system. My answering machine's outgoing message invites users to leave me a message and then to also leave me a message on the SKY-PAGE system so I will be paged. My outgoing message includes my SKY-PAGE PIN, but most users have to call at least twice to get it written down. Some don't comprehend what to do once they do get it written down. I have recently signed up for cellular service. For cost-control purposes, I don't want to answer incoming cellular calls. I signed up for the cellular company's voice-mail service. There is an "immediate transfer to voice-mail" option. The voice-mail system has an "out-dial" option for calling a paging service when a message is left. I'd like to have it set of my SKY-TEL pager. I've not been able to find out (yet) if the celluar company's voice-mail system can out-dial a number, wait for a prompt, and then dial the PIN number of the pager. I'd like to know if anyone could lend some advice on this problem. If its not possible to get the cellular company's voice-mail to do it, I do have access to a used WATSON system. Thanks, Jody (kravitz@foxtail.com) ------------------------------ From: jbcondat@attmail.com Date: 13 Jun 93 23:59:59 GMT Subject: April 16th, 1995: UK Phone Code Change National Code Change--Health Warning Area Codes Starting '0' Will Start '01' BT's cheklist on the National Code Change states "you will need to think about reprogramming ... Call Barring and Routing equipment (must be implemented by Easter 1994". In oredr to facilitate the implementation of customer equipment changes -- particularly to Autodialing alarms but also to many other systems, BT has guaranteed parallel running (ie both old and new codes available at the same time) for National network Dialing (NND) and International Direct Dialling (IDD) calls from 1 August 1994. To achieve this BT intends to open up new codes for testing and engineering reasons from the end of March 1994. BT is therefore informing its customers and the customers maintainers that, by Easter 1994, they must ensure that installations are protected against unauthorised use of the new codes. It's not BT's intention that new codes should be dialling by customers during the period up to 1 August 1994 but BT is aware that are always those who may exploit the situation. BT's advice to their customers is as follows: I D D +----- Where '010' calls are barred then '00' should also be barred. (Barring by use of BT Network Services will automatically take the new code into account). BT is looking at the possibility of blocking calls to '00' until 1 August 1994 but this has still to be confirmed. N N D +----- If selected NND codes are barred then the equivalent new codes '01xxx need to be barred. (An expedient would be to bar all 01 codes until the formal conversion is completed). Call Routing +------------ Data should be checked to ensure that the appropriate routing is used if new codes are dialed -- or ensure that users continue to use the old codes at this stage. Call Logging +------------ If the new codes are likely to be dialed, then loggers should be set to handle them. (An expedient would be to bar the new codes during this initial phase as above). Payphones +--------- These should be set to charge at the appropriate rate for new IDD and NND codes, or else bar them. +----- [Reprint from: "OFTEL news", issue no. 23, May 93, page 4] -----+ Jean-Bernard Condat General Secretary Chaos Computer Club France, B.P. 155, 93404 St-Ouen Cedex, France Private Address: P.O. 8005, 69351 Lyon Cedex 08, France Phone: +33 1 40101764, Fax: +33 1 47877070 InterNet: jbcondat@attmail.com or cccf@altern.com ------------------------------ From: phil@wubios.wustl.edu (J. Philip Miller) Subject: Desireable Answering Machine Feature? Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1993 16:27:10 -0500 (CDT) A standup comic last night suggested that one of his peeves are the people who call you, but refuse to leave a message on your answering machine. He suggested that he would love to purchase an answering machine that would call the caller back and say "I said, PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE." With the return call CLASS feature or Caller ID it would certainly be possible to implement such a feature. How many would like to actually have it? Would it run afoul of the recent laws against telemarketers that say a machine cannot make a call by itself? I have not seen any answering machines which are Caller ID smart, i.e. recording the caller's number along with the message. Sure seems it would be useful. Are there any? Something interesting to think about! J. Philip Miller, Professor, Division of Biostatistics, Box 8067 Washington University Medical School, St. Louis MO 63110 phil@wubios.WUstl.edu - (314) 362-3617 [362-2693(FAX)] ------------------------------ From: helen@nomad.urich.edu (Helen C. O'Boyle) Subject: Cordless Headset That Works With ISOETEC "EZ" Key System Phones? Organization: University of Richmond Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1993 23:54:33 GMT Does anyone know where I might get one? Failing this, does anyone know how I might hook up my trusty Plantronics Liteset to the usual key-phone jack (everyone has the same kind of jack, "by policy"; I'm stuck with the line the way it is configured) used for that ISOETEC phone system? Ideally, given the corporate climate, this must be done without opening the jack, taking apart the line cord, opening the phone itself, etc. ;-) If it's just a matter of building a small circuit that does the job, I wouldn't be above it (could probably hide it well enough under the top of my desk ... ;-). I *almost* *think* I vaguely recall a previous employer, who had another system made by this vendor, putting some little gagdet between the jack and the usual ISOETEC phone which let a normal single-line answering machine hook into the system ... but alas, that place went under and I don't even know how to go about finding the people who might have had something to do with the phone system there. I would have RTFM'd, but alas, TFM's belong to Corporate MIS and I'm in R&D, so I don't have access to them. Any help/pointers you could provide would be appreciated. Thank you. * Helen * ------------------------------ From: ceham@wam.umd.edu Subject: NEC Dterm Telephone Unit Needed (or Info!) Date: 13 Jun 1993 17:58:15 GMT Organization: University of Maryland, College Park I am looking for a NEC telephone unit. It is a "Dterm Series II". Does anyone know of a good source of refurbished /excess distributor that might have these? They don't seem that new, and perhaps there is a cheap source. I only need a few. Thanks! Is there something I can use instead? Maurice De Vidts ceham@eng.umd.edu NE3S ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Jun 93 14:34:40 SST From: chrisho@iti.gov.sg Subject: Need CAPI Specifications Hi: I am looking for the CAPI spec (Common Application Programming Interface). I believe it is used commmonly in Germany for their ISDN application interface. Can someone advice me where I might get it? Thanks! Chris Ho Internet: chrisho@iti.gov.sg Fax: (65)-779-5966 Phone: (65)-772-0410 (O) ------------------------------ From: richgr@netcom.com (Rich Greenberg) Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1993 12:34:52 PDT Reply-To: richgr@netcom.com Subject: Wrist Watch Pager Sighted There has been some previous discussion on pagers that were contained in watches. I can now supply a bit more detail: An insert into the June 13 Sunday paper from L.A. Tronics (discount home electronics and appliances chain) shows one. From the picture, it looks more or less like a (somewhat pregnant) normal digital watch. The brand name is AEGIS. The screen is shown split horizontally with the time display on the top 1/3 and the Motorola Bravo(tm) style pager display on the lower 2/3. The ad describes it as "... encased with a fully featured Motrorola pager with ..." And the specs are similar to the older Bravo Plus I used to have, rather than the newer one I have now. Six memories, date/time stamp (date? My new Bravo+ only time stamps, and the picture shows only time on the face). Price is $199.97 and a note adds: "Service provided by (pager co), airtime package as low as $9.97 per month. See store for details". Rich Greenberg Work: ETi Solutions, Oceanside CA 619-631-5280 N6LRT TinselTown, USA Play: richgr@netcom.com 310-649-0238 I speak for myself only. ------------------------------ From: mmcguir@andy.bgsu.edu (monica mcguire) Subject: Consumer Research on Video Technology Organization: Bowling Green State University B.G., Oh. Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1993 18:42:33 GMT Is there any information available about consumer research applications for videoconferencing technology or interactively responding to questionnaires? I have found a lot of general information, but nothing that specifically discusses consumer research applications. Please send any info to: mmcguir@andy.bgsu.edu Thanks. ------------------------------ From: wls@nereid.usc.edu (Bill Scheding) Subject: Olde Touch-Tome Key Pad Date: 13 Jun 1993 17:30:01 -0700 Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA I have an old touch-tone phone that has a speaker phone that I would like to keep going. The problem is that the touch-tone key pad has a broken mechanical part and the 1 and 4 buttons don't work. This has broken before and I was able to steal a pot metal actuator from another key pad. Well, it broke a third time. I'm outta spare parts! Does anyone have an old key pad they might be willing to part with? Description: grey buttons (most old units have white buttons) on the inside: one transistor and two 1" torrodial transformers markings: on printed circuit board: WA-1200-A-ISS(ue) 6 on plastic front of key pad: HD-840120-A It's circa 1975. It was four diodes, it is not sensitive to the phone line polarity. I have plenty of neat old phone/macintosh/car/?? stuff lying around. I some one can locate a replacement part please call/mail me to arrange a trade or purchase. I'm mainly interested in the mechanical parts as the electronics are OK. If you can suggest a better group to post this to, please let me know or please pass this e-mail along. Thanks in advance, Bill Scheding, USC 213-740-8815 wls@calvin.usc.edu ------------------------------ From: v087mxgb@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Shawn E. Thompson (SUNY@Buffalo)) Subject: Help: Need Pinouts For Analog vs. Digital Phones Please (RJ-11) Organization: University at Buffalo Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1993 05:37:00 GMT Hi ... I need to find out the pinouts for analog and digital phone connections please. For example; on an anlog phone, some RJ-11 connections are two conductor, what voltage/current/frequency goes through which pin, is the other pin just ground, why do some use four conductors and on digital phones, what is voltage/current/etc. Ideally I am looking for a *measurable* difference in line voltage, such as ooohhh ... let's say, maybe "on an analog phone, conductor one is ground and conductor two is freq data riding a four volt carrier which usually sees around 10 mA, while a digital phone always carries +3.6 volts on pin one and pin four is ground.) Something of that nature ... Thanks for any and all help! Shawn E. Thompson v087mxgb@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu | Senior Engineer & Project Manager set@autarch.acsu.buffalo.edu | Development Engineering SUNY @ Buffalo | Optical Products Division Grad School of Mechanical Engineering | Leica, Incorporated ------------------------------ Subject: Request Info on Telecom Power Switch Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1993 21:05:56 -0700 (PDT) From: David Fiedler Organization: "InfoPro Systems: Writers, Consultants, and Dragons" Reply-To: david@infopro.com I was hoping someone here could help me. I'm looking for a power switch that I can control via DTMF tones, that would turn power off or on remotely, but only after a "secret" code has been punched in. It's to control a computer, but I'm not looking for something that will turn the computer on only when a modem call has been received, rather something that will let me power cycle it remotely to recover from crashes. Black Box used to have this in their catalog, but it's been discontinued (it was also > $500, seems a bit overpriced). Any leads or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. David Fiedler UUCP:infopro!david Internet: david@infopro.com or david@utoday.com USMail:InfoPro Systems, PO Box 220 Rescue CA 95672 Phone: 916/677-5870 FAX:-5873 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Jun 93 17:40:02 -0700 From: jshelton@ads.com (John L. Shelton) Subject: Beeper Providers: Which Have Best Coverage? Any published reports on beeper coverage area out there? I've apparantly missed several calls recently, in mid-town Manhattan. I use SKY PAGE service, but am thinking of changing. I don't want to get something worse. John ------------------------------ From: rad@eusdatl.attmail.com Date: 13 Jun 93 07:35:04 GMT Subject: Interactive Voice Response System Needed Hey, Sorry to post an article on this, but there was no e-mail address in the original post by Nadeem Haidir(sp?). AT&T produces the Conversant line of products. It can access various databases via async(TCP/IP, etc) and sync(3270, etc). It also has an on-board ORACLE database. I program the Conversants, so if you need more detail, feel free to contact me directly. Good luck, Rick Dennis AT&T Information Management Services Systems Development Organization-Conversant Systems Suite 600 email: attmail!rickdennis 5555 Oakbrook Parkway Phone: (404) 242-1552 Norcross, GA 30093 ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #385 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa28316; 14 Jun 93 5:14 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA28465 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 02:35:33 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA27997 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 02:34:59 -0500 Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 02:34:59 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306140734.AA27997@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #386 TELECOM Digest Mon, 14 Jun 93 02:35:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 386 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: Lightning Strikes Evanston CO! All Service Knocked Out (Joel B Levin) Re: Lightning Strikes Evanston CO! All Service Knocked Out (H Kippenhan Jr) Re: Lightning Strikes Evanston CO! All Service Knocked Out (Michael Graven) Re: Lightning Strikes Evanston CO! All Service Knocked Out (Rich Greenberg) Re: Lightning Strikes Evanston CO! All Service Knocked Out (Dan Burstein) Re: Disaster Recovery (Terry Cooper) Re: Help! Looking for SpeechSoft Voice Mail (John R. Levine) Re: 800 Number Telnet Access (Darren Alex Griffiths) Re: 800 Number Telnet Access (gilligan@ecst.csuchico.edu) Re: 800 Number Telnet Access (John Kennedy) Re: 800 Number Telnet Access (Klaus Dimmler) Re: Interactive Voice Response System Needed (Al Varney) Re: Interactive Voice Response System Needed (Chris Ambler) Re: Interactive Voice Response System Needed (John D. Gretzinger) Re: Interactive Voice Response System Needed (Barron Hulver) Re: Temporary Phone Service Needed: Which Way is Best? (Brian T. Vita) Re: Temporary Phone Service Needed: Which Way is Best? (Jim Rees) Re: Temporary Phone Service Needed: Which Way is Best? (Lynne Gregg) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: levin@bbn.com (Joel B Levin) Subject: Re: Lightning Strikes Evanston CO! All Service Knocked Out Date: 13 Jun 1993 13:41:55 GMT TELECOM Moderator writes: > I am about a mile from that CO, and I heard the 'crack' when it hit > and the very loud bang less than a second later. This is not too likely. Sound takes about five seconds to travel a mile through air. Either your subjective impression is incorrect, or the stroke actually landed somewhere between you and the CO (did they find evidence that the lightning actually hit the building?). But even so, a near miss by lightning can be very damaging, because it can still induce large currents in wires and components nearby. JBL Nets: levin@bbn.com pots: (617) 873-3463 KD1ON (@KB4N.NH.USA) [Moderator's Note: IBT's announcement was, very simply, 'the Evanston office was put off line as a result of a lightning strike ...'. The loud 'boom' of thunder which always accompanies lightning was four or five seconds after I saw the flash, but it seems to me with the lightning itself, there was a hissing kind of sound, or loud 'click'. Maybe I was imagining it. I know the thunder a few seconds later was the *loudest* I have ever heard. So it was close! An IBT person on the radio said it messed up the Ameritech Mobile (cellular) stuff on their roof, but yet if it came in physical contact with the building itself, I cannot imagine the damage was not worse with equipment melted; a fire started, etc. Probably it came pretty close. Once about ten years ago, lightning struck the antenna of WLS, 890-AM. It knocked them off the air for about four hours that night. When they came back on the air, that's all they talked about for the rest of the night. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1993 10:14:17 -0500 (CDT) From: H.A. Kippenhan Jr. Subject: Re: Lightning Strikes Evanston CO! All Service Knocked Out Patrick Townson (in Message-ID:) writes: > The local Evanston radio station also covered the outage for its > duration and made this request, as did the Chicago stations. By 9:30 > PM the CO was back on line but the congestion was terrible; most calls > from outside the CO would not complete on the first attempt until > about an hour later. Quite the opposite of how Hinsdale was handled! > Congratulations to the IBT people there who moved quickly this time! As one who is always quick to assess blame when IBT does things poorly, I want to take the opportunity to compliment them on the way they handled this switch outage. A job very well done! H.A. Kippenhan Jr. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Jun 93 10:42:59 CDT Subject: Re: Lightning Strikes Evanston CO! All Service Knocked Out From: mjg@nwu.edu (Michael J Graven) Reply-To: mjg@nwu.edu (Michael J Graven) Thanks for the informative piece about the Evanston CO trouble. Curiously, my connection to Northwestern stayed relatively stable -- although it did retrain down to 12 kb/s for a while -- until 8:30 pm, almost an hour after my voice line stopped providing dialtone. So I guess the 1A's clocks were still going on the trunk to Northwestern Technologies Group. The coding was going well, so a one-hour catnap seemed to be in order. But at 9:30, when an incoming voice call woke me up, I still didn't have dialtone on the data line. When I finished my conversation, I rang my data line -- which succeeded -- and then miraculously had dialtone again. All in all, a curious evening. And quite spectacular. Michael mjg@nwu.edu [Moderator's Note: My connection to the Northwestern terminal servers was dumped; but then I am out of a different office. I wound up making a long distance call to the dialups at berkeley.edu where I have an account then using rlogin back to eecs just to scope out the scene. Was that you I pulled into 'talk' to ask what was up? All the locals -- the campus LAN connections, etc were up; but fingering the dialups (bell, deforest, elvex, morse, etc) found no one around. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Jun 93 09:56:57 -0700 From: richgr@netcom.com (Rich Greenberg) Subject: Re: Lightning Strikes Evanston CO! All Service Knocked Out Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) In article TELECOM Moderator wrote: > We had a real doozy here Tuesday. A very severe rain storm brought WOW!!!! Rich Greenberg Work: ETi Solutions, Oceanside CA 619-631-5280 N6LRT Play: richgr@netcom.com 310-649-0238 I speak for myself only. [Moderator's Note: How much rain was there? Three inches in one hour on Monday ... we barely got that cleaned up out of the basements, etc when Tuesday brought another one. By curious coincidence, during the Tuesday evening downpour (another inch of rain in about 30 minutes) our local classical music station played (as had been scheduled for the time) the short piece 'As Torrents in Summer', one of the choruses in the opera 'King Olaf' by Sir Edward Elgar. :) I loved it! PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1993 11:06:10 -0400 From: Daniel Burstein Subject: Re: Lightning Strikes Evanston CO! All Service Knocked Out Now, if it had been an EMP from a nuclear explosion ...? dannyb@panix.com [Moderator's Note: Well, don't think that hasn't been considered, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission advised the Chicago City Council that it would not be worth the cost of the nuclear energy required to blow Chicago off the map and give the cockroaches a chance to start over and build the city from scratch. I think it is a great solution myself, but in these belt-tightening times, we cannot squander our money on such extravaganzas. Oh well, maybe someday Edison will have an accident up at the Zion power plant. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Terry (T.A.) Cooper Subject: Re: Disaster Recovery Date: Sun, 13 Jun 93 09:31 EDT Organization: Northern Telecom > Pat Turner writes: > BellSouth has a DMS on wheels (several semi trailers actually). When > not in use for training or disaster recovery, it is parked outside an > Atlanta CO where it is in use. I don't know how (or if) the traffic > is shared between the stationary CO and the portable one. An article > in {Telephony} said the CO could be on the road in something like an > hour. > Does anyone know what is done to restore the database of the old > switch? Sure you can splice in at the cable entrance facility, but > how do you convert cable pairs to the CO's translations? Can ESS tape > backups be converted to DMS format? I don't know about converting an ESS tape to DMS, but if the site has a DMS dump tape it may only require that they reload it on the portable. This assumes that the portable is the same type of processor with the same type of networks. The comissioning info may have to be changed to reflect a different config, but most of the datafill will be there. I believe that NT also has a disaster recovery plan/team and equipment in place to deal with the distruction of all or part of a CO. I am not sure of the details of this for the US except that it would be located in Raleigh or Creedmore. Terry Cooper Northern Telecom Ottawa, Ontario Opinions expressed are personal and are not those of Northern Telecom. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Jun 93 17:31 EDT From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: Help! Looking for SpeechSoft Voice Mail Organization: I.E.C.C. > [Moderator's Note: Speech Soft - 32 Manners Road - Ringoes, NJ 08551 > Phone 609-466-1100. Are you sure about the phone number? 609-466 is the PBX at the AT&T (ex WECo) research center in Hopewell. Ringoes is in 908. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl [Moderator's Note: The literature I have says 609, but maybe it is old. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Darren Alex Griffiths Date: Sun, 13 Jun 93 15:32:17 PDT Subject: Re: 800 Number Telnet Access In comp.dcom.telecom Paul Hess (hess@access.digex.net) writes: > Why doesn't this service exist? I think there would be excellent > demand from internet users who travel often and need to log onto their > account. It could also be used by those who have no local internet to > subscribe to a non-local service provider. It would definitely beat > trying to get my modem to dial those calling card numbers - it usually > doesn't work and when it does it's still very expensive. > Would the cost to provide this service be higher than it seems? Or > has nobody thought of it yet? Considering the number of Internet users the cost would be tremendous. Everyone who goes to a conference or tries to visit their Mum would want to use the service. This would mean very high phone bills, plus the cost of hundreds of modems and a big terminal server to support them. I would expect a large number of people would use the service at all hours of the day and night. In addition the security problems are huge; anonymous access to the Internet would allow idiots to keep trying to access hundreds of hosts at no cost to themselves. One thing people forget is that someone pays for every piece of the Internet, and these days most of that cost is commercial companies, not necessarily the taxpayer. A quick traceroute shows that the company the original poster works for is connected to the net via Advanced Networks & Services Inc. His company is probably paying thousands of dollars a year for this service. The addition of 800 access would drive this up this cost and someone has to pay for it. Digest readers have already heard about one service, Speedway, that will allow Internet access fairly easily, but it requires long distance charges, and you must dial via an AT&T so they can get their kick backs. The number is 10288-1-503-2222, and since it costs money it is unlikely your average Internet fool would use it for hacking. Darren Alex Griffiths | dag@nasty.ossi.com Senior Software Engineer | (510) 652-6200 x139 Fujitsu Open Systems Solutions Inc. | Fax: (510) 652-5532 6121 Hollis Street Emeryville, CA 94608-2092 [Moderator's Note: Are we missing part of the number there, Darren? I think you owe us another three digits somewhere. PAT] ------------------------------ From: gilligan@ecst.csuchico.edu (Tuka) Subject: Re: 800 Number Telnet Access Date: 13 Jun 1993 05:28:27 GMT Organization: California State University, Chico In article hess@access.digex.net (Paul Hess) writes: > Why doesn't this service exist? I think there would be excellent > demand from internet users who travel often and need to log onto their > account. It could also be used by those who have no local internet to > subscribe to a non-local service provider. It would definitely beat > trying to get my modem to dial those calling card numbers - it usually > doesn't work and when it does it's still very expensive. Actually, there is a company call Delphi and they have an address of @delphi.com. I got a card asking if I wanted access to the Internet for a fee per month (I forgot the fee). The number to dial up to was an 800 number. I actually was talking to someone and there is a branch office in San Jose which I am looking for more info. When I get more info, I'll post it. Currently I have an account at Chico State (N. Cal), but telnet through San Jose State University to access my account ... and it's a local call for me :) Tuka ------------------------------ From: warlock@ecst.csuchico.edu (John Kennedy) Subject: Re: 800 Number Telnet Access Date: 13 Jun 1993 15:39:20 -0700 Organization: California State University, Chico In article Paul Hess writes: > Why doesn't this service [800 Number Telnet Access] exist? ... > Would the cost to provide this service be higher than it seems? > Or has nobody thought of it yet? Sprint offered this along with their SprintLink (commercial Internet access) package. They were going to buill us ~$11/hr for a user to have this ability, so it's not particularly cheap. We figured it would cost us ~$5K/month for a half-T1 commercial connection. Once you have that, phones are cheap but that's a nasty amount of overhead that you have to come up with somewhere that will probably get added on to the cost/hour at some point. I don't think this service is well advertised yet, but you might be able to set something up with Sprint as an individual. ------------------------------ From: klaus@cscns.com (Klaus Dimmler) Subject: Re: 800 Number Telnet Access Organization: Community_News_Service Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1993 14:40:58 GMT Paul Hess (hess@access.digex.net) wrote: > Why doesn't this service exist? This service DOES exist! CNS offers 800 service for $8 per hour, anytime of day or night. Call 800-748-1200 to signup or for more information. (Note: this customer service number is a voice number.) Klaus Dimmler klaus@cscns.com CNS, Inc 1155 Kelly Johnson Blvd, Suite 400 Colorado Springs, CO 80920 719-592-1240 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Jun 93 22:50:22 CDT From: varney@ihlpl.att.com Subject: Re: Interactive Voice Response System Needed Organization: AT&T Network Systems, Lisle, IL In article nh@beach.cis.ufl.edu (Nadeem Haider) writes: > I need to use an "Interactive Voice Response" system (IVR) which can > *somehow* tie into a database of some sort and permit 'canned' queries > through a telephone. > Is there such a thing out there? If so, where could I get a list of > vendors? (PAT, sorry for the "ad".) A LIST of vendors??? Gee, I don't think I can do that ... You didn't indicate how you wanted the service to operate, whether live operators were needed, and whether you wanted to OWN the hardware or just RENT the service. So I give you a choice: AT&T Conversant(rg) Voice Information Systems can handle just about any size operation you can possibly fund. They sell/support interactive voice response systems, period. While they prefer you go through one of our Regional Sales centers (if you have an Account Exec.), you should be able to get some info. by calling 1-614-860-5950. AT&T InfoWorx(rg) Interactive Voice Services provides custom inter- active voice services. They own/operate the hardware (Conversant(rg), of course) and will work with you on the software. No on-premises floor space needed, etc. I don't have an official contact number. Try Ron DeBlock, 1-908-805-2248 (not sure if mentioning my name will be a plus ...) Al Varney - just my opinion ------------------------------ From: cambler@cymbal.calpoly.edu (Chris Ambler -- Phish) Subject: Re: Interactive Voice Response System Needed Organization: The Phishtank Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 07:24:02 GMT nh@beach.cis.ufl.edu (Nadeem Haider) says: > I need to use an "Interactive Voice Response" system (IVR) which can > *somehow* tie into a database of some sort and permit 'canned' queries > through a telephone. > Is there such a thing out there? If so, where could I get a list of > vendors? Can you be a bit more specific? I'm developing a product that MAY do what you want, but your requirement was a bit vague. cambler@zeus.calpoly.edu | Christopher J. Ambler chris@toys.fubarsys.com | Author, FSUUCP 1.32 ------------------------------ From: JOHN.D.GRETZINGER@sprint.sprint.com Date: 13 Jun 93 13:07:30-0400 Subject: Re: Interactive Voice Response System Needed Nadeem (nh@beach.cis.ufl.edu) asks for information about an IVR that can access a database - The investigations I did for a former organization concluded the systems from Centigram, Octel, and VMX (among others) did this quite well. From a programming standpoint, I preferred the VMX, with Centigram coming in a very close second. I would stay as far away as I could from the Digital Sound systems. They required programming in C *only*. No development tools were available. I know they were supposed to have a graphics developer tool set in the works, but even as their largest single customer, we could never get a look at what was going on even when they promised us Alpha and Beta access to the system. I would call the local VMX and Centigram folks and get more specific with them. John D. Gretzinger Standard Disclaimers apply. ------------------------------ From: hulver@merlion.INS.CWRU.Edu (Barron Hulver) Subject: Re: Interactive Voice Response System Needed Date: 13 Jun 1993 14:06:06 GMT Organization: Information Network Services, Case Western Reserve Reply-To: hulver@po.CWRU.Edu In article , nh@beach.cis.ufl.edu (Nadeem Haider) writes: > I need to use an "Interactive Voice Response" system (IVR) which can > *somehow* tie into a database of some sort and permit 'canned' queries > through a telephone. I went to the Voice '93 show in San Diego this year. I saw two products that (to me) looked very good in comparison to the many, many products that were exhibited. One product is made by DEC and runs on VMS. You use DECwindows to design your program (very much like flowcharting). You then "compile" the program and it runs using the DEC hardware sound boards. The GUI looked excellent. The other product is like the DEC product, but runs on Unix. The company is Voicetek Corp., 19 Alpha Road, Chelmsford, MA, 01824-4175. Phone: 508-250-9393. I believe it had flat-file lookups. It could also issue SQL queries over a TCP/IP network. My impression is that this company was really advanced in terms of networking and GUI. Also, their method minimized the amount of proprietary hardware that is needed for an IVR application. Just my thoughts. Barron Hulver 368-2982 CWRU Network Engineer Information Network Services Case Western Reserve University ------------------------------ Date: 13 Jun 93 23:38:08 EDT From: Brian T. Vita <70702.2233@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Re: Temporary Phone Service Needed: Which Way is Best? > My wife and two kids will be staying in a summer retreat for three > weeks during the summer, close to a pay phone I'd suggest one of two options: 1. Get your wife a beeper (approx $15-20/month). It will travel with her and is a more likely way of reaching her than a fixed phone. 2. Buy a cheap transportable cell phone with multiple NAM capability. Register it with your local cell provider to get a better price on the phone. Find out who the local cell provider in the retreat area is and set them up on one of the secondary NAM addresses. Keep the service for a month or two then cancel. This is a lot cheaper than Roaming. DO NOT be tempted to use the "free rental" that Alamo is tempting you with. Their rates are up in the $1 - $2/minute ranges and add up very quickly. During a recent trip to Florida I hit $200 in charges in one week! That's 400% higher than my usual average. Kind of explains why they are willing to "rent" to phone to you for free! Brian Vita CSS, Inc. CI$70702,2233 ------------------------------ From: Jim.Rees@umich.edu Subject: Re: Temporary Phone Service Needed: Which Way is Best? Date: 13 Jun 1993 15:33:31 GMT Organization: University of Michigan CITI In article , stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) writes: > If you already have a cellphone, the best bet would be to let it > roam into LA. The problem is that it's nearly impossible to roam in LA. LA Cellular won't even let you call their roamer coordinator (*711?) from your cellphone. The other carrier (PacTel?) is a little more lenient but it's still not easy. ------------------------------ From: Lynne Gregg Subject: Re: Temporary Phone Service Needed: Which Way is Best? Date: Fri, 11 Jun 93 14:20:00 PDT Steve Forrette suggested (in reply to Bill Peter) that cellular would be a good option for bouncing between LA and Berkeley. I second that suggestion. Just wanted to point out that LA Cellular's rate plans were recently modified (reduced). Also, Cellular One in Northern California recently began a rental program. For details, call either LA Cell or C1 in Sacramento. Regards, Lynne ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #386 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa01298; 14 Jun 93 7:27 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA04976 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 03:34:49 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA17466 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 03:34:02 -0500 Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 03:34:02 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306140834.AA17466@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #387 TELECOM Digest Mon, 14 Jun 93 03:34:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 387 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: How to Access 800 Numbers When 1+ Restricted (Brian T. Vita) Re: How to Access 800 Numbers When 1+ Restricted (J. Robert Burgoyne) Re: Prodigy < > Internet (Brett Frankenberger) Re: Prodigy < > Internet (Arthur L. Shapiro) Re: Prodigy < > Internet (Brad Hicks) Re: Prodigy < > Internet (harry@isi.edu) Re: Cordless Phone With Answering Machine Wanted (Julia Young) Re: Cordless Phone With Answering Machine Wanted (John Gilbert) Re: Cordless Phone With Answering Machine Wanted (Monty Solomon) Re: Cordless Phone With Answering Machine Wanted (news@cbnewsc.att.com) Re: Cordless Phone as a Permanent Extension (Dale Farmer) Re: Advantages of Pre-pay Phone Cards (Jim Rees) Re: Advantages of Pre-pay Phone Cards (Steven King) Re: Advantages of Pre-pay Phone Cards (Vacation Account) Re: Cellular Pubs (Lynne Gregg) Re: Usenet News via Satellite (J. Robert Burgoyne) Re: Usenet News via Satellite (Harold Hallikainen) Re: Usenet News via Satellite (Jan Ceuleers) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 13 Jun 93 23:38:03 EDT From: Brian T. Vita <70702.2233@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Re: How to Access 800 Numbers When 1+ Restricted > [Moderator's Note: That is amazing! They block 1+, yet allow 0+ ... > you might ask the proprietor of the PBX if there is any by-pass code > which can be dialed to get around the restriction. PAT] Better yet, ask the proprietor of the PBX to correct the oversight in the PBX's programming that doesn't allow 1 + 800 to pass. All of the systems that I've worked with either allow 1 + 800 as a default exception when programming in a 1+ block or allow you to to program an exception table to allow certain NPA's to pass. Some networks, notably AT&T's Interspan, allow accessing their nodes through a 950-xxx number. Perhaps that will work. Brian Vita CSS, Inc. CI$70702,2233 ------------------------------ From: burgoyne@access.digex.net (J. Robert Burgoyne) Subject: Re: How to Access 800 Numbers When 1+ Restricted Date: 13 Jun 1993 22:15:59 GMT Organization: Maryland FYI Publishing, Laurel, MD USA (301)-317-0726 I had a similar thing happen recently in New York City in a hotel. I use Sprint's FONE card, where you dial 1-800-877-8000 and then the number and your code to complete a call. For the first time in the 8+ years I've had the card, the call was blocked from being accessed from the pay phone I was using. I examined the pay phone for an explanation; the only suitable message was "dial 1-800+ the number to make toll free 1-800 calls. The call later worked from a different location. J. Robert Burgoyne Maryland FYI Laurel, Maryland 301-317-0726 24 Hours burgoyne@access.digex.net 301-317-0587 FAX ------------------------------ From: brettf@netcom.com (Brett Frankenberger) Subject: Re: Prodigy < > Internet Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1993 13:05:55 GMT dale@access.digex.net (Dale Farmer) writes: > My understanding is that Prodigy will no longer be allowed to > read and censor their clients E-mail if they ever connect their system > to any outside system. I may be wrong but I believe this stems from a > lawsuit brought against them for censoring their equivilent of > newgroups and E-mail of comments critical of any sears or IBM > affiliated company or service. > I got all that through the rumor mill but it does fall right > in with both companies "I know what good for you" attitude. Prodigy does NOT read and/or censor E-Mail. It does read and censor all posts public bulletin boards before allowing them to be displayed, but private E-Mail is ONLY read in the case of harassing/obscene E-Mail, and only with the permission of the person receiving the E-Mail. Brett Frankenberger brettf@netcom.com ------------------------------ From: ARTHUR%MPA15C@MPA15AB.mv-oc.Unisys.COM Date: 13 JUN 93 09:13 Subject: Re: Prodigy <> Internet In 13/383, Dale Farmer repeats allegations of Prodigy censorship of private E-mail and of public newsgroups, especially regarding material critical of IBM or Sears. Once again, I hate to sound like a Prodigy apologist, but it just isn't so. I've been assured by the appropriate folks at Prodigy that there is simply no provision built into the Prodigy software for private E-mail to be read or monitored by Prodigy employees, even upon the request of a Prodigy customer (say, in handling harrassing E-mail). My own experiences suggest that this is accurate. And the great majority of censorship of the public forums is seemingly mechanical; certain naughty words are detected and the message is returned to the sender. You might be amused that one of the no-no words is "suck", which unfortunately is a realistic verb to use when, for example, discussing the power of vaccuum cleaners in response to a query about purchasing same. "Extract", however, gets through. When I pointed that out once, referring to the "s-word" in enough vaguery to get through but still be recognizable, it started a wonderful thread in which "extract" was used in place of "suck". My favorite: a discussion of the great jazz personality, Honeyextractal Rose. Incidentally, I have never heard of any censorship of postings critical of either IBM or Sears, both of which are regularly, and justifiably, flamed in appropriate newsgroups. In the woodworking forum, it is routinely stated that certain Sears power tools extract :-), and I'm quite fond of pointing out how the perpetual Prodigy deficit is due to their use of labor-intensive and resource-intensive IBM equipment, rather than, say, my own company's products. In general, Prodigy isn't as bad as the typical Internet user might intuitively believe; I personally enjoy the audiophile discussions which are every bit as good as those on the equivalent Internet group. Arthur L. Shapiro ARTHUR%MPA15C@MPA15AB.MV-OC.UNISYS.COM If you bounce: ARTHUR%MPA15c@TRENGA.TREDYDEV.UNISYS.COM Software Engineering *** The above is a new Internet address *** Unisys Corporation Speaking as a civilian, rather than for Mission Viejo, CA Unisys, unless this box is checked: [ ] ------------------------------ From: mc/G=Brad/S=Hicks/OU=0205925@mhs.attmail.com Date: 13 Jun 93 13:46:20 GMT Subject: Re: Prodigy < > Internet > As a moderator for BIX, I am amazed at how rapidly it is installing > Internet services, now that General Videotex is in charge. The > long-awaited email went into production a few months ago. Telnet, > outbound FTP, whois, and finger are in beta test but available to all > subscribers. Netnews and inbound FTP are coming. Archie, gopher, > WAIS, and even IRC seem to be in the pipeline. GVC owns DELPHI, so > the Internet services may already be available there. =Another= on-line service that I thought had folded its tent and gone home a =long= time ago! Is BIX still around? (I had thought that Delphi went under, but just heard a few months ago that it was still up.) These services must =never= advertise. Could somebody post the rates, subscriber info, and so forth for these hard-to-find services? BTW, I'd heard a rumer that Delphi offered "Internet services," but not =which= Internet services, so I assumed that it was just mail, like a lot of places. Was I wrong? J. Brad Hicks Internet: mc!Brad_Hicks@mhs.attmail.com X.400: c=US admd=ATTMail prmd=MasterCard sn=Hicks gn=Brad ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Jun 93 16:04:59 PDT From: Harry@ISI.EDU Reply-To: harry@ISI.edu Subject: Re: Prodigy < > Internet Can anyone expand on the Prodigy/Internet connection? Is it currently possible to email back and forth? Is postmaster@prodigy.com a valid address and will the person(s) at the other end be helpful or "compuservish"? I heard that there are DLs (aka mailing lists) within Prodigy. Do these work like mail list do on the internet? Can outsiders join a prodigy list? And lastly, is there such an animal as a Prodigy white pages? (Whether or not we outside of prodigy are given access) Thanks for your time and patience! Harry@isi.edu [Moderator's Note: I do not think email is accepted there from the net at this time; I do not think Prodigy users are allowed to write us at this time either. I don't know about the other stuff. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1993 17:27:38 -0500 From: juyoung@kiwi.ucs.indiana.edu Subject: Re: Cordless Phone With Answering Machine Wanted Organization: Indiana University Computer Science, Bloomington In article sattler@rtsg.mot.com (Chris Sattler) writes: > I'm looking to get a cordless phone with a built in answering machine. > I need it to be wall-mountable. Does anyone know of anything like > this? Any recommendations? Try reading {Consumers Reports} (Nov 91, I think). Though the info may be a bit outdated, it helps. Julia ------------------------------ From: John Gilbert Subject: Re: Cordless Phone With Answering Machine Wanted Organization: Motorola, Land Mobile Products Sector Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 02:36:55 GMT > I'm looking to get a cordless phone with a built in answering machine. > I need it to be wall-mountable. Does anyone know of anything like > this? Any recommendations? Look no further than your own employer. Motorola will soon be offering a digital answering machine with a built in 46/49 cordless phone. It was shown at last weeks Chicago Consumer Electronics Show. Some of the features are: ? 30 Minute digital voice storage ? Two selectable outgoing messages ? Message notification via pager ? Message forwarding to a second telephone number ? Inversion scrambling over the air ? Phone scans for a clear channel before a cordless call begins ? Both answering machine and phone powered by included nicad battery during AC power failure. ? Speakerphone operation at base ? Memory dialing ? Intercom ?Wall-mountable ? Operation of answering machine functions from base, cordless handset, or dial in phone Look for it where you currently find Motorola cordless phones (That's Sears around here). Motorola employees will probably have to wait until initial demand is met before it will be available from the employee sales program. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1993 22:02:11 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Re: Cordless Phone With Answering Machine Wanted > I'm looking to get a cordless phone with a built in answering machine. > I need it to be wall-mountable. Does anyone know of anything like > this? Any recommendations? Panasonic, AT&T, and Code-A-Phone make them. Monty Solomon / PO Box 2486 / Framingham, MA 01701-0405 monty%roscom@think.com ------------------------------ From: news@cbnewsc.att.com Date: Sun, 13 Jun 93 12:44:14 GMT Subject: Re: Cordless Phone With Answering Machine Organization: Institute / Special Committee AT&T makes a cordless phone / answering machine. The system can be operated from the handset -- you don't have to walk over to the base to retrieve the messages, you can push buttons on the handset instead. Call your local AT&T Phone Center Store (Sears might have it too). ------------------------------ From: dale@access.digex.net (Dale Farmer) Subject: Re: Cordless Phone as a Permanent Extension Date: 13 Jun 1993 17:20:04 GMT Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA Mark Anacker (marka%dsinet@dsinet.dgtl.com) wrote: > A friend of mine has a problem that I hope the Telecom readers can > help us solve. He has a phone in one location -- and he needs it > extended to another about 100 meters away. Hardwire is out of the > question, and there is a concrete building between the two locations. We have a similar situation at a site I work at. A national park with artists-in-residence. The park is also a historical landmark, so getting approval to do *anything* takes months to years, and mostly gets turned down. We have become adept at finding existing buried conduit and the like, but were unable to help this artist who wanted a phone. The cordless set and a duplicate base for a charger was the solution. The base sits in the basement (wedged up near the ceiling) of a concrete and brick building. The first floor is the public restrooms for the park. The phone had a security code set by a bunch of dip switches in the base and the handset, that had to be set alike. The automagically changing security code sets were not out then. So go look in garage sales and things to find one like that and you should not have much of a problem of security. As for the RF penetration, beats me, 900MHz is ... uummmmm ... somewhere under .5 meter wavelength, so it needs a RF transparant window that big to reach the handset. Or a RF reflective surface nearby to bounce it. Or a big hunk of steel to duct it. Or something. Stop performing science, perform engineering. Find somebody who is willing to lend you the phone for a day and try it out. Good luck. Dale Farmer ------------------------------ From: Jim.Rees@umich.edu Subject: Re: Advantages of Pre-pay Phone Cards Date: 13 Jun 1993 15:30:07 GMT Organization: University of Michigan CITI The next big advance would be to have a single pre-pay card that works in all countries. Whenever I go to Europe I seem to end up with a pocket full of cards, one for every country I've been to, each with some small amount of money left on it. ------------------------------ From: king@rtsg.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist) Subject: Re: Advantages of Pre-pay Phone Cards Reply-To: king@rtsg.mot.com Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1993 19:53:43 GMT hes@ncsu.edu (Henry E. Schaffer) publicly declared: > However the major reason why I would use pre-pay cards is the ability > to minimize risk. Of course, there's the downside of pre-pay cards and Talk Tickets. Instead of cash being accepted everywhere, I'll soon have a card for the phone, a card for the cafeteria at work (already here; the vending machines don't take cash anymore!), a card for the subway, a card for this, a card for that. There's only so much space in my wallet. It wouldn't be bad if every pre-pay system could somehow agree on a standard format and share financial information. I wouldn't mind if I only needed to carry one card, but a walletful of different cards is far from convenient. As an aside, the grocery store I shop now accepts credit cards and automatic teller cards. Double-plus convenient! (Please, no flames about the risks of keying in my PIN out in plain sight at the checkout counter ...) Steven King, Motorola Cellular (king@rtsg.mot.com) ------------------------------ From: vac10002@nusunix2.nus.sg (Vacation Account) Subject: Re: Advantages of Pre-pay Phone Cards Date: 13 Jun 1993 18:23:07 GMT Organization: National University of Singapore Minh Lang (minh@inst-sun1.Jpl.Nasa.Gov) wrote: > In article Henry E. Schaffer, > hes@ncsu.edu writes: >> On a trip to Japan I bought one of their phone cards and was very >> pleased with the freedom from the hassle of carrying many coins, and >> the cost savings in practice. Since I was a traveler I made a number > Public phones that accept phone card are extremely popular in Belgium > back in 1984 (I don't know when they were installed, but I was there > 1984-85 and it was extremely hard to find a phone that takes coins if > you are out of phone card at late night on the street and couldn't > find an open store to purchase some :-) ). Almost all phones there > accept ONLY phone card, which are sold in newstands, coffee shops, > supermarkets etc ... We have a similar system in Singapore. Phonecards must be used on most cardphones (public phones) and these have various denominations, $2/5/10/20/50. No verification of any sort is required to use the card. Just stick it into the public phone and value will be deducted off the card. All phone calls can be made including International Direct Dial. Rates are also competitive. > [Moderator's Note: Your message illustrates why a decision was made on > the prepaid calling cards here in the USA to have all the intelligence > in the network, with account identification done by pressing buttons > rather than swiping the card. This lets anyone use the card anywhere > with ease. PAT] If you throw out a/c identification, wouldn't that make a prepaid calling card much cheaper to maintain? If you lose the card, you only lose a fixed amount of money, much as if you'd lost a fixed amount of cash. Hence, it's different from the US style calling cards which allow credit to be chalked up; and therefore, there's really no need to do any a/c verification. The necessity of having an a/c for a prepaid calling card also seems to self-defeating. The whole idea is to make them easily available at the neighborhood convenience store over-the-counter. KenHwee Tan National University of Singapore Vac10002@nusunix.nus.sg [Moderator's Note: Maybe, if card reader phones were the standard here, you would be correct. But lacking many card reader phones, the intelligence has to be in the network, thus the need to enter a serial number from the card. You can't just let someone call in on the 800 number and dial away without some identity check. On the Talk Tickets, once the vaue is used up, the serial number is turned off. Regards convenience in purchase, I am pleased to announce buyers **no longer need to send me a check** -- I can now do automatic debit of the checking account of buyers. All I need is certain information from the buyer one time, and cards can be sent automatically when requested. Of course since all you do is punch in the serial number ** I can give you that data electronically also **. This means you can now buy Talk Tickets from your terminal, have your account charged and your serial number information in hand in a matter of minutes if desired. I am getting all the scripts for this finished up now, but will handle the electronic orders manually for a few days until I do. Details when all is in place. Tickets are still $2 each for four units of calling or $15 for batch of ten tickets. Write 'ptownson@eecs.nwu.edu'. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Lynne Gregg Subject: Re: Cellular Publications Date: Sun, 13 Jun 93 08:50:00 PDT Eric Townsend posted a query for publications that detail cellular phones. There are a number of pubs focused on cellular communications. MOBILE OFFICE is probably the best, though, for comparison shopping -- especially the portables. Regards, Lynne Gregg ------------------------------ From: burgoyne@access.digex.net (J. Robert Burgoyne) Subject: Re: Usenet News via Satellite Date: 13 Jun 1993 22:20:10 GMT Organization: Maryland FYI Publishing, Laurel, MD USA (301)-317-0726 Norman Gillaspie (norman@pagesat.com) wrote: > Pagesat is providing a complete usenet news feed via satellite and > delivering over over 80Mg a day during high traffic periods. > [Moderator's Note: One customer of this service I am familiar with > here in Chicago is Randy Suess, system administrator of Chinet, one of > our local public access unix sites. He seems satisfied with it. PAT] Isn't it a one way feed? i.e. you can't post articles or send email, or am I missing something? 'Cause if you're into one way feeds, you might as well read the newspaper and watch TV! J. Robert Burgoyne Maryland FYI Laurel, Maryland 301-317-0726 24 Hours burgoyne@access.digex.net 301-317-0587 FAX [Moderator's Note: If you as a UUCP site want a full newsfeed -- all groups, all messages -- you are looking at what? 80 megs a day of compressed data; hours and hours and hours on the phone at 9600 baud. Subscribers to this new service get a one way feed, this is true, but it goes on continually around the clock. Messages are continually being sorted into their areas. Users read news in the regular way and post news in the regular way; the outbound stuff still goes as usual over the phone; but the admin does not have to stay on the phone hours and hours just to move his own stuff out: it is taking all that in which is so cumbersome. His own stuff moves in a few minutes like always, and if he is feeding someone else, *they* get to do the multi-hour polling for the same full feed. The satelite feed cuts the admin's phone bill quite a bit since he is no longer on the phone for hours polling to get the stuff. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hhallika@tuba.calpoly.edu (Harold Hallikainen) Subject: Re: Usenet News via Satellite Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1993 20:05:14 GMT In article norman@pagesat.com (Norman Gillaspie) writes: > The baud rate is 9600 Bps async thru a RS-232 interface to your > computer from the VSAT earth station. Since VSAT is generally bidirectional, can you post to Usenet thru this system? Harold [Moderator's Note: See my reply above. It seems not to work this way. The stuff comes in to the dish, but the admins still move their stuff out to the net the usual way over the phone. At least I think they all do that. I don't think this new deal works both ways. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Jan.Ceuleers@k12.be (Jan Ceuleers) Date: Sun, 13 Jun 1993 17:28:42 +0200 Subject: Usenet News via Satellite Organization: K12 Belgium (S-Team) I quote Norman Gillaspie (norman@pagesat.com): > The service is delivered over the K2 ku band satellite that provides > continental US (conus), southern Canada, and northern Mexico coverage. Are there any plans to provide this service in other parts of the world, notably Europe? Thanks, Jan Ceuleers Origin: Experimenter Board, Antwerp, Belgium (2:292/857) ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #387 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa03446; 14 Jun 93 22:31 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA12827 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 19:27:50 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA04163 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 19:27:15 -0500 Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 19:27:15 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306150027.AA04163@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #388 TELECOM Digest Mon, 14 Jun 93 19:27:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 388 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson CompuServe Through Merit (was Re: Compuserve White Pages) (Carol Springs) Reach Compuserve via Internet (was: Using hermes...) (Joel Snyder) Re: Stocks via Internet (Brian Smithson) Internet Access via Delphi (Was Prodigy <> Internet) (Sander Rabinowitz) Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas (Jack Decker) Re: Blocking an Unlisted Number (David G. Lewis) Re: AT&T Any Hour Saver Promotion Snafu (John W. Temples) Re: How to Lock a Cellular on a Station? (Leonardo Lazarte) Re: CDMA Information Wanted (Ron Dippold) Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (David Cornutt) Re: Country Codes (All Sorts) in Former Soviet Republics (Paul Robinson) Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis (Greg Andrews) Re: 16550AFN Chip (Greg Andrews) Re: PageSat and Usenet Volume (Norman Gillaspie) Re: Modem Waiting for the BONG (Sven Damiano) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 12:28:42 -0400 From: carols@world.std.com (Carol Springs) Subject: CompuServe Through Merit (was Re: Compuserve White Pages) Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA From the May 15, 1993, version of "Internet Services Frequently Asked Questions & Answers (FAQ)," posted by Kevin Savetz (savetz@rahul.net) to alt.internet.services, alt.answers, and news.answers: COMPUSERVE: CompuServe is accessible from the Internet through the Merit system, but it is quite expensive. According to Lon Lowen, Jr. (lllowen@netcom.com): CompuServe does not know anything about Hermes (Merit, Inc.) because it is actually a SprintNet line that connects to CompuServe. CompuServe never actually sees a connection from Merit. Merit is a service local to Michigan residents so all connections will be Eastern Standard Time regardless of where in the world you access Merit from. Pricing for using Merit: From 7PM - 8AM EST: $1.70/hour. From 8AM - 7PM EST: $11.70/hour. These prices are in addition to your normal CompuServe prices. The billing is all be handled by CompuServe. For further info about this service, contact : CompuServe (1-800-848- 8199), SprintNet (1-800-877-5045), or Merit, Inc.: (1-313-764-9430). The above is a brief excerpt from a long, helpful document copyright 1993 by Kevin M. Savetz. The full Internet Services FAQ, version 0.5, is available in the above newsgroups and by anonymous ftp from rtfm.mit.edu as /pub/usenet/news.answers/internet-services/faq Carol Springs carols@world.std.com ------------------------------ From: jms@opus1.com (Joel M-for-Vnews Snyder) Subject: Reach Compuserve via Internet (was: Using hermes...) Date: 14 Jun 1993 14:27:25 GMT Organization: Opus One Reply-To: jms@Opus1.COM In article , syshtg@gsusgi2.gsu.edu (Tom Gillman) writes: (stuff about how to use hermes to get to CompuServe) There is another gateway as well. The University of Arizona has a CompuServe link (X.25) for a project, and that project doesn't use it very much. CompuServe does not charge the University for incoming X.25 traffic, so a few very nice folks there have volunteered to provide a gateway which lets you, effectively, "telnet to compuserve." Telnet to hopey.telcom.arizona.edu. Log into TO_CSERVE (no password) The next thing you'll see is "Host Name:" from CompuServe. The link between Arizona and CompuServe is a 9.6kbps one. Caveats: There are no guarantees of service, and complaining to anyone about any aspect of it is strictly forbidden. Other notes: it would be possible for someone with a similar link to provide the reverse service, i.e., call CompuServe, connect to this host, and then telnet into the net. The problem is that this kind of service costs money, and one would have to have a way of billing back the users of such a service. Joel M Snyder, 1103 East Spring Street, Tucson, AZ, 85719 +1 602 882 4094 (voice) 882 4095 (FAX) 882 4093 (data) jms@Opus1.COM Opus One ------------------------------ From: brian@StarConn.com (Brian Smithson) Subject: Re: Stocks via Internet Organization: Starnet-Public Access UNIX--Los Altos, CA 415-949-3133 Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 13:41:36 GMT king@rtsg.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist) writes: > gilligan@ecst.csuchico.edu (Tuka {KD6CUC}) publicly declared: >> My cousin has a mac sitting there hooked up to a receiving modem ... >> it is connected to the television cable and receives the current >> stocks constantly! Check it out! >> [Moderator's Note: Please do get more information on this and pass it >> along to the group. This sounds like an interesting project one might >> build. PAT] > [...] Basically, it's a one-way feed. The service company blasts data > across one of the cable channels. There's a box that fits between the > cable and your computer to convert this to standard RS-232. The > service provider also has proprietary software for several home > computer platforms. [...] The service company is X*Press Information Services Ltd. and the service is called X*Press X*Change. It's available on some cable systems in the US and Canada, and is available somewhere on a satellite channel as well. The modem costs about US$150, and there is no monthly fee for the service. The software isn't very impressive, but read on ... > In addition to stocks, I believe there's also some sort of newsfeed > (probably AP or UPI articles) and a few other features. [...] It has AP, {USA Today}, some other newswires (including international), financial news, business press releases, stocks, weather, and some other features. Now the good part: being generally unsatisfied with the software that X*Press provides, not to mention the fact that you have to leave your PC or Mac on all day to collect articles as they come down the wire, a mailing list was started on which people discuss using the X*Press datastream in other ways. One of the ways is, of course, to convert the articles to netnews format and pump them into a local newsgroup. Please note that because the news articles are copyrighted, you can't redistribute them beyond the location at which you get your cable feed (i.e. don't try to start a new ClariNet with this stuff). It is nice, however, to be able to read wire service articles alongside comp.dcom.telecom and to graph your favorite stocks using gnuplot :-). To subscribe to the mailing list, send mail to listserv@grot.starconn.com with the following commands in the body of the message: subscribe xpress-list firstname lastname quit (replace "firstname lastname" with your name, of course, and not with your e-mail address) Brian Smithson brian@grot.starconn.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jun 93 00:49 GMT From: Sander J. Rabinowitz <0003829147@mcimail.com> Subject: Internet Access via Delphi (Was Prodigy <> Internet) Bob Hofkin wrote in a Telecom article dated 10 June 1993: > As a moderator for BIX, I am amazed at how rapidly it is installing > Internet services, now that General Videotex is in charge. [...] > GVC owns DELPHI, so the Internet services may already be available > there. Confirmed. Someone logging onto Delphi would access Internet services (FTP, Telnet, Gophers, etc.) by joining the Internet Forum. This is $3/month above and beyond all other Delphi charges. Beyond that, connect time charges apply while these remote sessions are in progress. There is a stipulation that no more than 10 Meg of data can be transferred per month through a combination of methods (eMail, FTP, and so on). On the whole, the service appears reliable and quite economical relative to the other alternatives that I'm aware of. Sander J. Rabinowitz, sjr1@mcimail.com, Spring Hill, Tenn. 37174-1195. Alternate eMail: rabinowitz@delphi.com. AT&T LD: 0 700 SANDY 77. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jun 93 12:03:55 EDT From: ac388@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu (Jack Decker) Subject: Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas This is a bit late, but in a message a few days ago, Carl Moore talked about some geographic oddities and how they receive phone service (such as Carter Lake, Iowa). I know of a few more: 1) Lost Peninsula, Michigan ... was part of Ohio (it's adjacent to metropolitian Toledo) but was lost back to Michigan through some court decision. But it's physically connected to Ohio, not Michigan. Phone service is provided by GTE North (which serves the areas of Michigan across the river) but dial tone actually comes from an Ohio Bell switch in Toledo. I recall reading one time how this meant that Ohio Bell had to keep Michigan's rate tables in their computers. I think that GTE provides maintenence of the lines in that area, and there's a cross-connect box sitting right on the state line ... everything south of that is Ohio Bell's responsibility, everything north is GTE's. GTE also handled phone maintenence as well. This info was correct in 1975 (when I read about it); I have no idea if anything has changed since. 2) Point Roberts, Washington ... physically connected to Canada and not to the rest of Washington State (kids used to take a bus 40 miles through Canada to get to school in Blaine, Washington). Used to get phone service from BC Tel, and was a local call to the metro Vancouver area. Don't know what the status of any of this is today. 3) Angle Inlet, Minnesota ... physically connected to Saskatchewan, not the rest of Minnesota. Never knew much about what was there (a post office, at least) nor where their phone service came from. I'd be kind of interested to know how phone service is currently provided to these communities. By the way, Point Roberts is/was NOT the only example of cross-border local calling between the U.S. and Canada, though instances of such are relatively rare and usually confined to very small towns. Jack Decker | Internet: ac388@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu Fidonet: 1:154/8 or jack.decker@f8.n154.z1.fidonet.org Note: Mail to the Fidonet address has been known to bounce. :-( [Moderator's Note: Regards Point Roberts, you can't get there from here without going through Canada ... on a boat yes, but to stay on land you have to cross into Canada and back out again. PAT] ------------------------------ From: deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (david.g.lewis) Subject: Re: Blocking an Unlisted Number Organization: AT&T Date: Mon, 13 Jun 1993 10:59:31 GMT In article jeffj%jiji@uunet.UU.NET (Jeffrey Jonas) writes: > In reply to Mike Coyne (Volume 13, Issue 355, Message 4 of 18) >> There is, however, no compelling requirement for Caller-ID to deliver >> an actual dialable number. > I quite agree, and that's why some areas are now delivering the > caller's name (or whatever the phone listing is)... > I think the Digest has already discussed the issue of identifying the > caller vs identifying the line that originated the call. I'd like to > have my name delivered as the ID of my calls whether I'm at home, at a > payphone, or at a hotel. Note, though, that the Calling Name service doesn't do this -- it delivers the *listing* name, not the *calling* name. > I'd love to have the ability to send my own name when placing a call, > so phone lines that are shared can identify the caller. Of course, there are some downsides to this as well. What prevents me from entering a false name? For that matter, what prevents me from entering "F**K YOU JEFF", and preceding this with *67 so you don't know who called? You also get much deeper into the possibilities of using the network to pass information on failed, and therefore unbilled, call attempts. I call my wife and enter "HOME IN 15" as the "name", thereby passing to her the message that I'll be home in 15 minutes without her answering the call. (We just spent an hour or so discussing this at a T1S1 standards meeting, so it's fresh in my mind ...) > I suppose that PBXs using trunks can send some hint as to how to > identify the call, Actually, they can't, which is one problem with Caller ID. PBX trunks show up as either a main group number or "Out of Area", until you go to ISDN PRI. > but what of the POTS user like me? I'd like to have the name > show the family member placing the call, not just the name that > appears on the phone bill. Then you need something very different from the service which is being offered by the telcos -- it offers the listing name, and the listing name only. [Moderator's Note: I don't see how you could send a message of any sort and still use *67, If you block the ID, you would block anything that went with the ID including the 'name', or whatever you put there. It is either/or: you block it with *67 or you don't; if you don't then the caller gets the number as well as any name or phrases, etc. PAT] ------------------------------ From: tarpit!jwt!john@peora.sdc.ccur.com Subject: Re: AT&T Any Hour Saver Promotion Snafu Organization: Private system -- Orlando, FL Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 11:22:13 GMT In article Monty Solomon writes: > A couple of months ago we had a discussion here about AT&T's Any Hour > Saver promotion where they were going to reduce their rates for calls > that appear on the May 1993 bill. My understanding was that we were supposed to get either the reduced rates in May, *or* get a "free month" later this year, and AT&T would be deciding which subscribers would be getting which, based on some (unknown to me) criteria. I got the mailing indicating I would be getting the free month, and then a subsequent mailing asking whether I wanted to receive my "free month" as long distance certificates, or if I preferred to receive it as Air Miles. However, I just got my May bill, and I had the reduced rates. John W. Temples john@jwt.UUCP -or- john@jwt.oau.org ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Jun 93 12:51:58 EST From: llazarte@cnpq.br (Leonardo Lazarte) Subject: Re: How to Lock a Cellular on a Station? Thanks to all who replied to the above question. Below, a summary of what I found could be of interest to the list. I will reply privately to those which made other questions. Most people said the intelligence in choosing the strongest signal is in the system, rather than in the phone. Some suggested that there *might* be a way to program the phone. Many critizized the way the system was implemented, if some phones are supposed to be fixed, then the software should take care of locking them in a given antenna. Some said they will not expect a telco to do things the right way, while others said in fact (where?) fixed systems worked that way, by simply disabling "scanning receivers" (devices to determine relative signal strength). A promising approach was suggested by Steve King, who suggested that some models (Motorola was mentioned), could lock on a given channel (but will that mean locking on a given fixed station?). Some mentioned that there are several parameters which could be set in the system, to disallow being transfered (signal threshold, etc). But mentioning anything about "parameters" to people in the telco will be wothless (my remark). And then, of course, there is the unwanted "solution" of a (super) directional antenna :-( [There is a strong "wrong" antenna in the same direction, and I cannot switch because this one is said to be overcrowded.] Thanks to: =>nagle@netcom.com (John Nagle) =>froula@red.rtsg.mot.com (Don Froula) =>svec@sand.rtsg.mot.com (Larry Svec) (will reply by e-mail) =>johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) =>richgr@netcom.com (Rich Greenberg) =>Norman Gillaspie (will reply by e-mail) =>fischman@nynexst.com (Gary Fischman) =>king@marble.rtsg.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist) =>rvt@sbctri.sbc.com (Roger V. Thompson) Leonardo Lazarte - LLazarte@cnpq.br Dep. de Matematica - Univ. de Brasilia - Brazil ------------------------------ From: rdippold@qualcomm.com (Ron "Asbestos" Dippold) Subject: Re: CDMA Information Wanted Organization: Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 19:07:18 GMT WILLIAM.D.BAUSERMAN@gte.sprint.com writes: > Does anyone know a good source for info on CDMA (Code Division > Multiple Access). I would prefer something technical, but at this > point I settle for anything. To get the CAI (Common Air Interface) for CDMA as submitted to TR45.5 of the TIA, you can ftp to ftp.qualcomm.com and cd pub/cdma - everything is gzipped postscript format (the gzip package is in the directory if you don't have it). I'm not sure what the TIA has published for public consumption, if anything. ------------------------------ From: cornutt@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov (David Cornutt) Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? Organization: NASA/MSFC Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 17:28:36 GMT mattair@synercom.hounix.org (Charles Mattair) writes: > In article deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com > (david.g.lewis) writes: > Agreed, Texas permits IXC's to carry intraLATA traffic if dialed with > a PIC. However, it apparently does not mandate it. I've tried this experiment here (South Central Bell, North Alabama LATA). I've never seen them ignore a 10xxx. However, the specified carrier won't necessarily accept the call. AT&T, MCI, and Sprint all refuse the call, routing to various intercepts. But, the last time I tried it, about a year ago, Telecom*USA (10852) handled the call. I haven't tried it since they were bought out. I'll have to go dig up my old bills and see how it was billed, but I'm pretty sure it was billed as just plain old Telecom*USA (on a page by itself in the bill), and not as "agent" for S.C. Bell. Now I'm wondering... was this legal in Alabama? Was it a programming botch on Telecom*USA's part? Hmmm ... (Pat Turner, can you comment?) I'll go try it again, and see what the situation is now, and try some of the carriers that I didn't try the first time. David Cornutt, New Technology Inc., Huntsville, AL (205) 461-4517 (cornutt@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov; some insane route applies) "The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of my employer, not necessarily mine, and probably not necessary." ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 00:35:14 -0400 (EDT) From: Jurassic Park Control Center <0005066432@MCIMAIL.COM> Reply-To: Jurassic Park Control Center <0005066432@MCIMAIL.COM> Subject: Re: Country Codes (All Sorts) in Former Soviet Republics I'd like to thank David Leibold for posting the new information. I am currently doing an update to my Internet RFC 1394 which lists telephone, telex, Internet and country codes for everywhere I could find. If anyone has any changes to the telex or telephone lists, I'd like to know about it too. I'm specifically interested in multiple countries that share a single code, and how to distinguish them; for example, reports I have indicate the country of San Marino uses code 39549, e.g. through Italy, Andorra 33628 e.g. through France, Anigula in the British West Indies uses 1809497, Bermuda is 18092, etc. One point I'm unclear about; David mentions is that Russia allegedly has the new telex code of 64. The old code for the USSR was 871, and this seems odd as all of the telex codes outside Canada and Mexico are all three digits. Paul Robinson -- TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM ------------------------------ From: gerg@netcom.com (Greg Andrews) Subject: Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 00:29:40 GMT ARTHUR%MPA15C@MPA15AB.mv-oc.Unisys.COM writes: > In 13/364, our Esteemed Moderator writes: >> If they capture the calling number, they wait a few days and call back. >> If a computer answers, they proceed to format the hard drive, and leave >> a single line textfile message... > Pat, I work on "real" computers and am as baffled by PCs as the next > guy, BUT is this possible? How could an incoming data stream to an > user's fax application, say WinFaxPro, format the hard drive??? This > strikes me as poodle-in-the-microwave material. But it's entertaining. It can't, of course. Might as well say the fax transmission could also re-program the telco switches that pass the signals. Nope. A far more likely scenario would be what happened at an office where I worked a few years ago. Someone sent a ten page fax during the night to our fax machine. The pages fell off the counter, and the motion triggered the burglar alarm! Glad it wasn't me who sent the fax. My boss wasn't happy about receiving a call from the police at 3am ... Greg Andrews gerg@netcom.com ------------------------------ From: gerg@netcom.com (Greg Andrews) Subject: Re: 16550AFN Chip Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 00:34:52 GMT padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson writes: > Just as an aside, the first computer I really understood was a PDP-8 > and by 1980 had written a "terminal emulator" program for the VAX that > allowed file transfer (and could do binary file transfer using > something much like uuencode/decode, anyone remember "TekHex ?"). Boy, do I! Takes me back to my first tech job at a leetle teeny prom programmer manufacturer. TekHex was one of the data formats our programmer could read. Greg Andrews gerg@netcom.com ------------------------------ From: norman@NETSYS.COM (Norman Gillaspie) Subject: Re: PageSat and Usenet Volume Organization: Netsys Inc. Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 05:48:08 GMT jpettitt@well.sf.ca.us (John Pettitt) writes: > Pagesat had better think about compressing those batches soon: > 9600 = ~1K a second > = 60K / min > = 3600K / hr > = 84000K / day > If they are already seeing 40Mb a day and 80Mb a day peak (as the > postpcript indicated) then thay are close to saturation. Plot the > growth of USENET over the last two years and project and no way will > 80Mb a day handle a full broadcast feed in two years time. Even > assuming 50% compression they may be in trouble by the time your two > "free" years expire. > "When I was a lad you could get all of USENET in an hour at > 1200 uncompressed ... " :-) More bandwidth and faster modems are available when needed. The main thing is to do something to fill a need. We can improve add upon etc. However we need to gain experience. The peaks are towards the middle of the week and we haven't seen any tremendous increase in volume over the last year. For information regarding Pagesat's Satellite delivered usenet news mail info request to "pagesat@pagesat.com" or call: 415-424-0384 Delivering 45+ megabytes of Usenet news each day via satellite ------------------------------ From: echterna@Informatik.TU-Muenchen.DE (Sven Damiano) Subject: Re: Modem Waiting for the BONG Organization: Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Germany Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 14:16:32 +0200 Talking about the BONG, does anyone have the exact frequencies and durations of that tone? I guess it would be fun to play with that! :) Sven ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #388 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa04715; 14 Jun 93 22:54 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA15394 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 20:18:08 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA16570 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 20:17:34 -0500 Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 20:17:34 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306150117.AA16570@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #389 TELECOM Digest Mon, 14 Jun 93 20:17:30 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 389 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: Names Added To Caller ID (Brett Frankenberger) Re: Telecom Trip Report: Deaver, WY (Butch M. Anton) Re: Caller-ID and Call-Waiting (John Gilbert) Re: Experiences With Wiring Admin/EIA606 (Dale Farmer) Re: ASPECT/CustomView Users (Klaus Dimmler) Re: AT&T Getting Desperate? (Andy Sherman) Re: Cordless Phone as a Permanent Extension (Dale Farmer) Re: Cellular Phone Regulations (John Rice) Re: DTMF Driven Answering Machines (Brian T. Vita) Re: 1-800-COLLECT versus 10222-0 (John C. Fowler) Re: 1-800-COLLECT versus 10222-0 (Steve Kass) Re: 800 Number Telnet Access (Information Available) (Ravinder Bhumbla) Re: Advice on Buying Fax-Back Machine (Daniel Fandrich) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Jun 93 08:01:26 -0700 From: brettf@netcom.com (Brett Frankenberger) Subject: Re: Names Added To Caller ID In comp.dcom.telecom William Pfieffer wrote: > When Caller ID (or Calling Line ID to be more accurate) hit the > public, ther was a great outcry that our private numbers (even if we > paid a ransom for non-published service) were being transmitted to the > called party for a small fee. Many people were outraged and this > digest was full of such articles. > Then came those (our Moderator included) who told us that we were > being too paranoid and that CLID amounted to little because all they > had was a number, which couldn't yield much, especially if it WAS > non-published. In addition we were told that the called party had a > *right* to know what number was calling them ... etc etc. > Well, now (as these things tend to go in steps) Illinois Bell is going > to be offering "enhanced caller ID" which will display not only the > number of the calling party, but the *name* under which the calling > number is listed (or not listed, as the case might be). > So now, that *innocent* feature (CLID) that we have all begun to > accept in our stride, has become an even larger invasion of our > illusory privacy. Now, whether or not my line is non-published, it > will be displayed for anyone who I call, be it a business or > individual, who is willing to plunk down *under $10* s month and, > perhaps, $50 - $75 for a terminal. There is an easy way to prevent this. Don't call anyone. I am confused as to why people feel that have a right to call me anonymously. What good reason could you possibly have for making an anonymous call? Spare me the stories about abused wives calling from their shelters. If all their husband does is abuse them, why do they need to call him? There may be some need for anonynimity there, but they can dial *67. (Yes, its another thing to remember ... but you have to remember other stuff anyway ... like not to make any references to where you are etc.) > Oh, yes, we can still dial the extra #67 before *every* call we make Actually, *67. > if we desire some semblance of privacy, but once again, we are being > asked to swollow yet another chip off the block of personal privacy > via the telephone. I know there will be voices which will admonish > folks like me as being 'paranoid' or standing in the way of progress. I don't know that I would call it paranoia. I just don't see why you think it is OK for you to get my name and number and call me whenever you want without be being able to know your number. > Yet others will echo the old saw of "If you have nothing to hide, why > are you opposed to someone knowing (yet more) personal info about > you?" Well I suppose, then, that every person who pays a ransom to > the phone companies for the privilege of non-pub service is up to > something no-good. Besides, I know of at least ONE fellow who No. If I get a non-pub number, its because I don't want anyone who wants to to be able to get my number easily. If I call someone, I think they have the right to know my number. Just as if they walk up to my door, i have the right to know what they look like. > subscribes to caller ID and has on his line, a device that automatically > dials *67 as soon as the hook is lifted! You should immediately begin lobbying your public utilities commission, to get them to ban this horrendus service. And after that, I suggest you lobby the state legislature to ban peepholes on doors. After all, the original CNID gave away numbers. That was bad enough, but they they gave out names. Ok, at least people can't identify you on the street from that, because they won't know what you look like. But peepholes -- they tell a person EXACTLY WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE BEFORE THEY EVEN ANSWER THE DOOR. > So now, ladies, if you misdial a number, and you happen to reach a > pervert, he has your number AND name. If you call a business to get And ladies ... if you happen to accidentally walk up to the wrong house, and a pervert lives there, he will know what you look like (and if your car is parked out front, what kind of car you drive). Its another terrible invasion of privacy. > info on their latest sale, or even a closing time, they could have a > name AND number to give to their telemarketing boiler-room geeks. If So you can call them, but they can't call you? > your small child makes a random call, or misdials, the person on the > other end would have the family name and number, and the child could > be called back by an unsavory character who is asking for the parent > by name, to which the child may say "(s)He's not here now"! So CNID is harming our children. Good political argument -- little or no basis in fact, but definitely designed to create hysteria. Children should be taught to NEVER SAY "HE'S NOT HERE NOW". True, CNID/Name would make this possible, but I don't really need CNID/Name to do this. In fact, I don't see how CNID/Name changes anything. I don't think a child is more likely to say "(s)He's not here now" if the caller asks for mom/dad my name than if the caller simply says "is your mommy/daddy home now." And its probably not that hard to manipulate a small child (even one well trained to never say mom/dad isn't home) into giving out the family name. I'm not going to beat this one example to death, but suffice it to say that even if the child is perfectly trained to say "S/He can't come to the phone right now" (or whatever), its not to hard to trick the child into letting you know mom/dad aren't home. (Remember, the child's objective as he sees it is to not say "... is not here now" -- the child's objective is NOT to prevent the caller from determining that mom/dad isn't home -- and a small child would have trouble doing this anyway if he was competing against a much more sophisticated adult on the other end.) > How long will it be before the address, zipcode and (who knows) > picture will be available to anyone you call on the phone? Your zipcode is close to available now ... Most prefixes don't cover more than a few zipcodes. Just get the V&H tapes (or get the info from any of the many places that have them) and locate the correct zip code(s). > A whole lot more creepy, IMHO, than the (by comparison) lame calling- > line-ID. Just my opinion, of course ... no offense intended. Brett (brettf@netcom.com) (formerly rfranken@cs.umr.edu) ------------------------------ From: butch@nas.nasa.gov (Butch M. Anton) Subject: Re: Telecom Trip Report: Deaver, WY Organization: /u/wk/butch/.organization Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 20:27:02 GMT "lf" == Lou Fernandez writes: > The first surprise about the phone service is that they can make > intra-exchange calls by dialing only the last four digits of the > phone number. I think this capability is fairly rare now although > I know it used to be more common. Does anyone know of other U.S. > locations where this is still possible? Yepper. Cut Bank, MT (my home town) still has four digit dialing for intra-exchange calls. I believe that most towns in that area still do, as well. Rumor has it that we're getting an ESS of some form that will kill all that (but we get call waiting, oh boy :-) ). Butch Anton | butch@nas.nasa.gov NASA/Ames M/S 258-6 | DoD #0124 AMA#485814 Moffett Field, CA | 94035-1000 +1 415 604 3988 ------------------------------ From: John Gilbert Subject: Re: Caller-ID and Call-Waiting Organization: Motorola, Land Mobile Products Sector Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 02:02:50 GMT > [Moderator's Note: No, you won't get the Caller-ID *while you are on > the line talking*. I guess there is no reason telco could not > interuppt the connection ... but they don't ... This is on the way. Several of the BOC's were showing this at the Chicago SUPERCOMM exhibition. It works just as Pat describes it. The only problem is that you hear the data burst if you don't have a phone with a caller ID modem that can also mute the audio path. ------------------------------ From: dale@access.digex.net (Dale Farmer) Subject: Re: Experiences With Wiring Admin/EIA606 Date: 14 Jun 1993 16:56:37 GMT Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA Jeff Hakner (hak@alf.cooper.edu) wrote: > I'd like to hear other telecom administrators' experiences with > administering a telecom infrastructure database. I have used my own > make-shift system for several years here with success, although there > are some aspects which need improving. After reading EIA606, I am > left with an empty feeling. It was my hope that the document would > prove a comprehensive and insightful guide to administering my > infrastructure. Rather, it was vague, incomplete and, in some places, > seemed poorly thought-out. > I'd be particularly interested in hearing about experiences with > "canned" admin software. Does the software out there today claim to > "comply" with EIA-606? If so, how is the standard interpreted? > I think I have a pretty solid system, but I don't want to take my > telecom infrastructure in a direction which will be at odds with the > rest of the industry. I looked at a couple of those products, but was extremely turned off by the price (~20-50K) Unless you are administring a large campus, or many buildings with a high density of connections, I think you are better off just making up a quick database on whatever is convienent to you. All the ones I saw were aimed squarely at LECs and that size user. Of course if you have the money to burn, feel free. Dale Farmer ------------------------------ From: klaus@cscns.com (Klaus Dimmler) Subject: Re: ASPECT/CustomView Users Organization: Community_News_Service Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 14:46:31 GMT John Osmon (josmon@raid.dell.com) wrote: > I'm a programmer in the Telcom Department of Dell. We are currently > using an ASPECT ACD with the Custom View-Wingz Package. > I am interested in finding other users of ASPECT systems to start a > "support"/discussion group. We have purchased an ASPECT ACD for a call center application. The system should be installed and ready to go in August. I would be interested in participating in an ASPECT support group. Klaus Dimmler klaus@cscns.com CNS, Inc 1155 Kelly Johnson Blvd, Suite 400 Colorado Springs, CO 80920 719-592-1240 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jun 93 13:14:48 EDT Subject: Re: AT&T Getting Desperate? From: andys@internet.sbi.com (Andy Sherman) In article , co057@cleveland.Freenet. Edu (Steven H. Lichter) writes: > I was told [by MCI] that I could have my choice of $30 free domestic > LD or $100 (!!!) free international LD. Since my wife has a job in > Canada at the moment, you can guess which one I picked. On 31 May 93 13:10:45 GMT, rickie@trickie.ualberta.ca replied: > Let me guess, he picked the international LD offer? But, but I don't > think Canada is considered international, cause you don't dial the > international access code (01 or 011)? Being in the Zone 1 numbering plan is irrelevant. One a call is involved in clearance and settlements process that crosses international boundaries it becomes an international call. On my Reach Out America plan, calls to Canada are billed at the discount for international calls, *not* the $0.11 per minute night rate. Andy Sherman Salomon Inc - Unix Systems Support - Rutherford, NJ (201) 896-7018 - andys@sbi.com or asherman@sbi.com "These opinions are mine, all *MINE*. My employer can't have them." ------------------------------ From: dale@access.digex.net (Dale Farmer) Subject: Re: Cordless Phone as a Permanent Extension Date: 14 Jun 1993 17:20:04 GMT Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA Mark Anacker (marka%dsinet@dsinet.dgtl.com) wrote: > A friend of mine has a problem that I hope the Telecom readers can > help us solve. He has a phone in one location -- and he needs it > extended to another about 100 meters away. Hardwire is out of the > question, and there is a concrete building between the two locations. > We are considering a 900Mhz cordless phone for this application. What > I am wondering is: We have a similar situation at a site I work at. A national park with artists-in-residence. The park is also a historical landmark, so getting approval to do *anything* takes months to years, and mostly gets turned down. We have become adept at finding existing buried conduit and the like, but were unable to help this artist who wanted a phone. The cordless set and a duplicate base for a charger was the solution. The base sits in the basement (wedged up near the ceiling) of a concrete and brick building. The first floor is the public restrooms for the park. The phone had a security code set by a bunch of dip switches in the base and the handset, that had to be set alike. The automagically changing security code sets were not out then. So go look in garage sales and things to find one like that and you should not have much of a problem of security. As for the RF penetration, beats me, 900MHz is ...uummmmm... somewhere under .5 meter wavelength, so it needs a RF transparant window that big to reach the handset. Or a RF reflective surface nearby to bounce it. Or a big hunk of steel to duct it. Or something. Stop performing science, perform engineering. Find somebody who is willing to lend you the phone for a day and try it out. Good luck. Dale Farmer ------------------------------ From: rice@ttd.teradyne.com Subject: Re: Cellular Phone Regulations Organization: Teradyne Inc., Telecommunications Division Date: Mon, 14 Jun 93 22:01:10 GMT In article , JOHN.D.GRETZINGER@sprint. sprint.com writes: > I have followed the messages related to use of ground based cell > phones from aircraft in flight, but am missing one important piece of > information. Is there a regulation (FCC I presume) that prohibits the > use of ground based equipment from an aircraft while in flight? If > there is, what is the specific regulation? I have received several > requests for this information, but have not been able to find it using > my resources. This was posted previously on the net (but maybe not this newsgroup). -----------------[47 CFR 22.911 as of Feb. 10, 1993]---------------- Sec. 22.911 Permissible communications. (a) Mobile Stations in this service are authorized to communicate with and through base stations only. Such communications between base and mobile stations shall be upon frequencies which are paired in the manner set forth in Sec. 22.902. (1) Cellular telephones shall not be operated in airplanes, balloons or any other aircraft capable of airborne operation while airborne. Once the aircraft is airborne, all cellular telephones on board such vehicles must be turned off. The term airborne means the aircraft is not touching the ground. Cellular telephones may be installed in aircraft. A cellular telephone which is installed in an aircraft must contain a posted notice which reads: "The use of cellular telephones while this aircraft is airborne is prohibited by FCC rules, and the violation of this rule could result in suspension of service and/or a fine. The use of cellular telephones while this aircraft is on the ground is subject to FAA regulations." (2) [Reserved] (b) Base stations in this service are authorized to communicate with associated subscribers; base stations must also render service to properly licensed roamers. Service may be rendered to mobile stations on board vessels. (c) Auxiliary test stations in this service may operate on either base or mobile station frequencies for the purpose of determining the performance of base or mobile station equipment. (d) General communications are permitted on cellular frequencies. Dispatch communications are prohibited on cellular frequencies. [46 FR 27674, May 21, 1981, as amended at 53 FR 52175, Dec. 27, 1988; 55 FR 7900, Mar. 6, 1990; 55 FR 13883, Apr. 12, 1990; 57 FR 831, Jan. 9, 1992] ------------ John Rice __|__ K9IJ | My opinion only. rice@ttd.teradyne.com | Private Pilot : ASEL, AMEL, IA ------------------------------ Date: 14 Jun 93 13:37:59 EDT From: Brian T. Vita <70702.2233@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Re: DTMF Driven Answering Machines > There is a switch on the side labeled 'REMOTE CODE' which has two positions, > '2' and '8'. At the risk of sounding flippant, I think that you will find that your actual remote code IS either 2 or 8. Brian Vita CSS, Inc. CI$70702,2233 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jun 93 16:01 GMT From: John C. Fowler <0003513813@mcimail.com> Subject: Re: 1-800-COLLECT versus 10222-0 I was just wondering: is there any difference between placing collect calls using 1-800-COLLECT and placing them using 10222-0? John C. Fowler, 351-3813@mcimail.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 11:12:59 -0400 (EDT) From: SKASS@DREW.DREW.EDU Subject: Re: 1-800-COLLECT versus 10222-0 Can someone give out the details of how 1-800-COLLECT works? Who is the carrier, and what are the rates, for example? I've seen advertisements for it lately as a safe way to make collect calls from COCOTs (if they allow 1-800 calls) and avoid ripoff AOS charges. I called to ask, but the person I reached wasn't helpful. I figure someone here might know about it or have used it. Steve Kass/ Math and CS/ Drew U/ Madison NJ 07940/ 201-514-1187 skass@drew.drew.edu [Moderator's Note: 1-800-COLLECT is a service of Microwave Communications, Inc., sometimes known as MCI. PAT] ------------------------------ From: am299bv@sdcc15.ucsd.edu (Ravinder Bhumbla) Subject: Re: 800 Number Telnet Access (Information available) Date: 14 Jun 93 01:04:16 Organization: Aerospace Structures Lab, AMES Dept, UC San Diego Reply-To: rbhumbla@ucsd.edu (Ravinder Bhumbla) I didn't notice anyone else posting this information so I thought I'd do it. 800 number telnet access is addressed in the Frequently Asked Questions posting on alt.internet.access.wanted which is available by anonymous ftp from: rtfm.mit.edu:pub/usenet/alt.internet.access.wanted as are the FAQ postings for all newsgroups that have them. Among the providers with 800 service listed are: CLASS (Cooperative Library Agency for Systems and Services), Community News Service, CR Laboratories Dialup Internet Access, Colorado SuperNet Inc., DELPHI, dial-n-cerf (from CERFnet), jvnc, OARnet. Of course, they all charge extra for providing the service but the service is there if you need it. All the best, Ravinder Bhumbla rbhumbla@ucsd.edu U. of California, San Diego ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 01:10:28 PDT From: Daniel Fandrich Organization: Fandrich Cone Harvesters Ltd. Subject: Re: Advice on Buying Fax-Back Machine > Has anyone had any experience with fax-back machines, those useful > gizmos that answer your phone call with a voice mail menu of options, > ask for your fax number and then send you the dog grooming > instructions you requested, or whatever. I tried to convince a nearby quasi-government agency to let me install one of them a few months ago. They compile a list of information which is mailed weekly to a closed group, but make copies available to the public from their offices. They don't have the budget or manpower to mail or fax a copy to everyone who asks, every week, so I did some research to try to save me frequent drives to their offices. Unfortunately, they turned down my proposal due to insufficient funds, but I did learn something about the state of the art. Here are some of the products I found in my research. The information given is from the respective companies' literature -- I never got a chance to set one up personally :-( Data Dispatch Corporation P.O. Box 985 2000 Madison Ave. Montebello, CA 90640 Tel: +1 213 724 9832 Fax: +1 213 887 0022 Demo line: +1 213 887 0022 (0500 to 1700 PST M-F) Product: VFax 2.1 Features: 1000 document capacity up to 99 pages each; password protection; user can enter alphabetic name for cover page generation; can send requested faxes on same call or can outdial to user's machine (one or two call system); menu driven operation; can run on most XT machines (286 ISA recommended). ---------- FaxQuest Corporation 2211 Steiner St. San Francisco, CA 94118 Tel: (800) 995-9141 or +1 415 771 0923 Fax: +1 415 922 3666 Demo line: +1 415 563 0155 Product: RoboFax-EZ Features: menu driven decision tree setup; one call system; password protection; caller can leave voice messages; uses Ventel hardware; 286 ISA machine required. ----------- Voicelink Inc. 1840 Oak Ave. Evanston, IL 60201 Tel: +1 708 866 0404 Demo line: +1 708 866 0404 x5 Product: FactslinkPRO Features: one or two call system; voice mail features; menu driven; can Interface to dBASE files or to custom applications; multiple configurations selected from keypad or DID (for service bureau applications); fax mailboxes; network support; password protection; up to 16 fax boards and 48 voice lines per system; runs under OS/2. --------------- Sorry, conspiracy theorists; I have no connection with any of the above companies, even that of satisfied customer. Dan ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #389 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa06717; 14 Jun 93 23:51 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA18661 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 21:20:39 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA19457 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 21:20:02 -0500 Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 21:20:02 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306150220.AA19457@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #390 TELECOM Digest Mon, 14 Jun 93 21:20:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 390 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Taboo Words on Prodigy (was Re: Prodigy <> Internet) (Barry Margolin) Reverse Directories For Caller ID (Blake Patterson) Interesting News from Ohio Bell (Jeff Miller) Static on Phone and an Uncooperative Phone Company (Scott A. Harris) Cellular Company Imposing New Charge (Russ Latham) Re: Cordless Phone as a Permanent Extension (Joel Upchurch) Who Pays? (Ted Koppel) 411 Danger in New Jersey (John Castaldi) Smart Card References Wanted (Lars Kalsen) Seeking Information For Internet and NREN Paper (Ross Stapleton) Re: Help Needed With Kermit (Ted Dodd) Call Forwarding and Caller ID (Steven J. Tucker) Glossary of Telecom Terms Wanted (Dale Wharton) Ticketmaster Techniques For Dealing With the Masses (Entropy Warrior) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: barmar@Think.COM (Barry Margolin) Subject: Taboo words on Prodigy (was Re: Prodigy <> Internet) Date: 14 Jun 1993 15:52:38 GMT Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA In article ARTHUR%MPA15C@MPA15AB.mv-oc. Unisys.COM writes: > My own experiences suggest that this is accurate. And the great > majority of censorship of the public forums is seemingly mechanical; > certain naughty words are detected and the message is returned to the > sender. You might be amused that one of the no-no words is "suck", > which unfortunately is a realistic verb to use when, for example, > discussing the power of vaccuum cleaners in response to a query about > purchasing same. "Extract", however, gets through. Hmm, I wonder if this will eventually spawn a new type of jargon, Prodigy Euphemisms. Just about any word can be co-opted to have a dirty or pejorative meaning, although it's much easier in person when you can augment the word with inflection and body language (but that's what smileys are for :-). If you don't believe me then you can just go clean yourself. Even nonsense words would work; only a flurbhead would dispute that. Does it recognize the taboo words when some of the letters have been knocked out? For instance, many newspapers and magazines will print "f--k" when quoting someone; will these be caught by Prodigy's censor program? Barry Margolin System Manager, Thinking Machines Corp. barmar@think.com {uunet,harvard}!think!barmar [Moderator's Note: This reminds me of fifteen years ago and Bill Blue's very impressive (at the time) 'Peoples Message System', or PMS for short. It was a very sophisticated BBS program which ran on the Apple ][ series of computers. He had a file of naughty words through which all messages from unvalidated users were filtered. His filter had the usual four-letter words; local sysops were free to add to the list as needed. The trouble is, the filter was case-sensitive, so that oddball upper/lower case spellings got through; the word ending 'uck' could be entered in a message spelled 'uch' ... or 'ucc' ... the meaning was plain even if the PMS -- in its otherwise brilliance -- was not smart enough to censor those messages as well. All that happ- ened was the new message to be posted was grepped looking for the com- bination of letters which Bill Blue considered ill-advised to use in public postings; if the local sysop got too carried away with trying to catch all possible combinations, then perfectly legitimate messages got dumped as well. PAT] ------------------------------ From: blake@hou2h.att.com Date: Mon, 14 Jun 93 13:17 EDT Subject: Reverse Directories for Caller ID Subscribers who followed recent discussions of Caller ID and bashings of 900 services may like to know about legit 900 services that provide reverse directory assistance. These services seem a natural complement to Caller ID, and I'm surprised they aren't widely known. You can call a new 900 service, the UnDirectory, from any U.S. touch-tone phone and enter a ten-digit East-Coast number. A synthetic voice immediately states the name and address, including zip code. If you press "1", you can hear the name and address spelled out. The cost is $1 a minute, and a speedy user can do three lookups a minute. The service only provides published information -- it tells nothing about listed numbers, and its database is not as complete or current as the phone company's. Eventually the service provider, Clarity Inc., of Red Bank, NJ, plans to offer lookups for all listed US numbers. The UnDirectory number is 900-933-3330. There is an older 900-type reverse directory service, Telename, that uses human-type operators and costs $1.50 per minute, $.75 for each additional minute. It is a service of the Times Journal Co. The Telename number is 900-884-1212. Illinois Bell offers a reverse directory service for Chicago-area phone numbers. I'm not sure what it costs. Does anyone know about other dial-up reverse directories? Blake Patterson [Moderator's Note: IBT's service costs 35 cents when used by a 312/708 subscriber. It is just the usual toll charge to Chicago otherwise. The number is 312-796-9600, and it only provides listed numbers. PAT] ------------------------------ From: jmiller@afit.af.mil (Jeff Miller) Subject: Interesting News From Ohio Bell Organization: Air Force Institute of Technology Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 15:43:53 GMT Thought you all might be interested in a couple of inserts in my latest Ohio Bell bill ... First was a short blurb contained in the monthly "news" insert, exhorting callers to let the distant phone ring "at least six times" when placing a call. If I were a cynical sort, I would say this is a hidden ploy to generate more revenue for IXC's (who all seem to say to hang up after five rings, else be charged for a one-minute call), or has the answer-supervision problem at long last been solved? Or am I just showing my ignorance for all to see :-) ? Second was a blurb announcing the onset of Caller ID in certain Ohio exchanges. Buried inside this one was the notice that "Even if you do not have Caller ID or any Advanced Custom Calling Service, it is possible for your telephone number to be transmitted to subscribers of Advanced Custom Calling Services ... across town or across the country." It goes on to discuss various blocking procedures (including *67). I wonder how many people will take the time to read this insert, or just toss it like another piece of advertising...? Jeff Miller, NH6ZW/N8, AFA1HE (ex WD6CQV, AFA8JM, AFA1DO) AFIT School of Engineering, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH ------------------------------ From: sharris@chopin.udel.edu (Scott A Harris) Subject: Static on Phone and an Uncooperative Phone Company Organization: University of Delaware Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 18:11:20 GMT I hope someone can help me, pleaseeee. :-) Well, I've been complaining to the phone company about line noise. Not that noticeable as a voice line, but as a data line, it really sucks. I can't ever get a decent connection. The first time I whine to the phone company they send someone out and the check the line and say there aren't any problems. I don't get charged (luckily) but the phone line is still a mess. The second time, a guy comes out and checks everything over and says that 14 of the 24 risers or stacks or something in that box out by the telephone pole are bad. So I probably just have a bad one and need to have it fixed. He calls in, they send another guy out. He checks the line, no noise, so he writes a note on the door ... no noise, nothing needed to be done. Meanwhile, I still have a noisy line and no one will do anything about it. Any ideas? Your help in resolving this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Scott Harris sharris@chopin.udel.edu [Moderator's Note: I think you need to call and make a little noise of your own -- maybe it is time to call the chairman's office. PAT] ------------------------------ From: rlatham@hpmail1.fwrdc.rtsg.mot.com (Russ Latham) Subject: Cellular Company Imposing New Charge Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 14:27:46 -0600 (CDT) In my most recent bill from SouthWestern Bell Mobile Systems (the B-system cellular service provider in Dallas Ft Worth), they sent an advertisement bragging about their new expanded coverage, which is almost twice that of the competitor. They also had a small statement in the bill that stated ALL calls will now have an additional two cent per minute charge for the land interconnect fee that has to be paid for this new great coverage. Before this I had free airtime after 8:00pm and on weekends. Now I will be charged whenever using the phone. A friend called and complained, and the response she got was that the original contract stated that the "airtime" was free, and it still is. This additional charge is not airtime (it is a land interconnect fee), therefore they can get away with it. Any advice on what to do in this situation? I signed a three year contract, do I have any legal right to cancel the contract and not have to pay the outrageous cancellation fee, or can they get away with this if it has been approved by the PUC? Has anyone ever tried taking the phone company to small claims court in a situation like this, assuming I cancel and they try to collect a cancellation fee? At the rate I'm going, this new fee would cost me an additional couple of hundred dollars per year ... Russ Latham Motorola - Ft Worth, Texas (rlatham@mailbox.fwrdc.rtsg.mot.com) [Moderator's Note: Regardless of what they *call* it, your costs have been increased over what you agreed to pay in the contract. Don't pay the adjustment, and they will eventually back down. Ameritech tried this on me a few years ago when I first got a cell phone. I signed a contract for six months with the dealer; a month later Ameritech says, "well, we have decided to do thus and so ..." (I forget what the scheme was). "No you haven't," I told them. They persisted; I pushed back. Finally they agreed to credit me manually each month for the duration of my contract. The credits were always a month or two late in getting put on the bill, but they showed up. Once the contract ran out then of course I had to do it their way. PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Cordless Phone as a Permanent Extension From: upchrch!joel@peora.sdc.ccur.com (Joel Upchurch) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 93 00:52:17 EDT Organization: Upchurch Computer Consulting, Orlando FL marka%dsinet@dsinet.dgtl.com (Mark Anacker) writes: > A friend of mine has a problem that I hope the Telecom readers can > help us solve. He has a phone in one location -- and he needs it > extended to another about 100 meters away. Hardwire is out of the > question, and there is a concrete building between the two locations. > We are considering a 900Mhz cordless phone for this application. What > I am wondering is: > 1) Will a unit such as the Tropez penetrate the concrete with > sufficient range? An external antenna is a possibility -- this is > outside the U.S. so the FCC rules don't mean much :-) It isn't obvious that you need a 900MHz unit. My parents had a similar problem four or five years ago. I had them buy one of those GE units that has a corded base unit and a cordless handset with a recharging cradle. The sound quality wasn't perfect, but it satisfied their needs. I would think that the newer models with the noise reduction circuitry would do an even better job. Of course my parents had an advantage in that they lived in the country, so they didn't have a lot of electronic noise to contend with. (If your mail bounces use the address below.) Joel Upchurch/Upchurch Computer Consulting/718 Galsworthy/Orlando, FL 32809 joel@peora.ccur.com {uiucuxc,hoptoad,petsd,ucf-cs}!peora!joel (407) 859-0982 ------------------------------ From: tkoppel@cassandra.cair.du.edu (Ted Koppel) Subject: Who Pays? Organization: CARL Systems Inc, Denver, Colo. Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 12:47:28 GMT At a nearby swim-tennis club, there is a pay phone (Southern Bell, long distance by AT&T). When I drop my kids off there, I usaully give them a couple of quarters so that they can call me if they need anything (food, etc.). Recently they have been coming back with the quarters, but still calling me. It turns out they someone had shown them that they can dial 10288 + seven digits and the call will go through. This seems to be common knowledge among all the kids at the pool ... someone's always on the phone. Now, someone is going to end up paying for these calls, I am sure. Seems like AT&T will, since the kids are dialing 10288. I thought that 10288 numbers on a pay phone had to be followed by a credit card number. Why are these local calls going through for free? Ted Koppel -- ted@carl.org or tkoppel@cassandra.cair.du.edu [Moderator's Note: I suspect AT&T is not even seeing the call; that Southern Bell is seeing the local number, plucking it off and handling it themselves, but with some flaw in the billing software which is billing it to the phone rather than asking for money. It probably did not occur to SB that anyone would dial this way, and the error may be throughout the local area on all payphones in that central office. Maybe one of our SB readers should look to see how coin calls are being handled when the caller dials a carrier code on the front. You might also like to see if 10288 + ten digits is also processed 'for free', meaning the charges from AT&T are billed to the phone. PAT] ------------------------------ From: castaldi@heroes.rowan.edu (John Castaldi) Subject: 411 Danger in New Jersey Organization: Rowan College of New Jersey Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 13:19:05 GMT while calling 411 this weekend, I was prompted to press 1 to be automatically connected. Oh no! Sounds like a way to beat CDR. Anybody heard how to stop this? [Moderator's Note: This new feature has proven to be a nuisance to administrators of phone systems (in hotels for example) who find themselves getting all these 35 cent charges from extension-users who made a to 411, and got the call connected via that route without the PBX ever knowing about it. Not only do they get the 35 cent charge on the PBX bill, they get the charge for the call itself, which, since it was not seen by the PBX will not show up in the call detail for the purpose of billing the individual responsible. PAT] ------------------------------ From: dalk@login.dkuug.dk (Lars Kalsen) Subject: Smart Card References Wanted Organization: DKnet Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 12:37:20 GMT Does someone have a good reference (a book) where I can read something about Smart Cards which are used for telephone applications. For example are they used in GSM as SIM-cards. Please E-mail me if you have suggestions. Lars Kalsen dalk@login.dkuug.dk ------------------------------ From: booloo@framsparc.ocf.llnl.gov (Mark Boolootian) Subject: Seeking Information For Internet and NREN Paper Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 08:28:42 -0700 (PDT) Forwarded to the Digest from another newsgroup: Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1993 15:32:14 -0700 (MST) From: STAPLETON@bpa.arizona.edu (The future Ross Stapleton-Gray) I'm in the process of writing two papers on the Internet and NREN for a foreign affairs/policy audience; one will address the implications of the growth of global networking for how countries conduct diplomacy, and the other will be more of a tutorial for those working in government who don't yet have access to the Internet and would like to make the case to their organizations that having same would help them do their jobs. For both I would be interested in examples of how individuals and groups are using the Internet to conduct diplomacy and technical assistance (whether public or private) with foreign recipients (this could include sister city projects, school exchanges, etc.). I'd also be interested in anecdotes about getting network access (especially in the Washington DC area), and would welcome vendors to send me info (the latter article would likely include a side-bar on whom to go to for network access). I would also appreciate cross-posting of this note to other appropriate lists, as there are dozens of lists and newsgroups I can't even know about given the time I've got to spend wading through com-priv... ;-) All information and replies via E-mail, please, to: stapleton@mis.arizona.edu or stapleto@arizmis.bitnet Ross ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Help Needed With Kermit From: ted.dodd@ehbbs.com (Ted Dodd) Date: 14 Jun 93 17:41:00 GMT Organization: Ed Hopper's BBS - Berkeley Lake, GA - 404-446-9462 Reply-To: ted.dodd@ehbbs.com (Ted Dodd) > Does anyone out there use Kermit on a unix system? I am having > trouble getting the scripting to work, and it is a hassle to move > batch data to a PC for uploading. I do, amigo, but I don't do any scripting. I use the server mode. I was unaware of any scripting. I am going to have to start reading docs one of these days. Ted B Ed Hopper's BBS - ehbbs.com - Berkeley Lake (Atlanta), Georgia |USR/HST:404-446-9462 V.32bis:404-446-9465-Home of uuPCB Usenet for PC Board ------------------------------ From: dh395@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Steven J Tucker) Subject: Call Forwarding and Caller-ID Date: 14 Jun 1993 19:46:08 GMT Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA) Reply-To: dh395@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Steven J Tucker) Can someone tell me, when you forward your calls in a Caller ID equipped area, does the called party get the original caller number or the number doing the forwarding? Steven J Tucker dh395@cleveland.Freenet.edu P.o.Box 33475 North Royalton Ohio 44133-0475 [Moderator's Note: Here in Chicago, they get the original number. PAT] ------------------------------ From: dale@dale.cam.org (Dale Wharton) Subject: Glossary of Telecom Terms Wanted Date: Mon, 14 Jun 93 14:27:37 GMT Patrick, I saved the FAQ sheet you posted in the past few weeks, but I need a glossary of acronyms, abbreviations, etc (I can do only email-- no ftp). Would you either post a glossary or email one? Also, can you recommend an introductory text on computers and telecommunication? Regards, Dale Wharton dale@dale.cam.org M O N T R E A L Te souviens-tu? [Moderator's Note: The several glossaries of telecom terms available in the Archives are far too large for inclusion here. Readers who wish to learn some of the acronyms and terms we use here are invited to get the glossaries and refer to them as needed. Use anonymous ftp to reach our archives at lcs.mit.edu. 'cd telecom-archives', then pull the various files with 'glossary' as the first word in the file name. I will see to it that Mr. Wharton gets copies. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jun 93 00:55:37 EST From: Entropy Warrior Subject: Ticketmaster Techniques For Dealing With the Masses Forwarded to us from another mailing list: From: PO1::"WORDS-L@UGA.BITNET" "English Language Discussion Group" 13-JUN-1993 01:35:09.59 Subj: outRAGEOUS !??! It goes like this: My brother called me up this afternoon to gab. Told me he'd been calling for two hours trying to get tickets for the Washington World Cup games next year -- nothing but busy signals. I said, "Do you have a dialer on the computer there at your office?" "Dialer?" (This is why, before Crossfire on Thursday night, in which lobbyists were , my brother appeared for about three seconds in a film clip of the lobbyists who were about to be .) "Yeah, a gismo that will automatically redial a busy number." "No. Do you?" "Yes." "Well, why don't you call." He gave me the 800 number, and I did. I got the message, "The number you have dialed cannot be reached from your area code." OK, so the number he gave me was a D.C. 800 number. I called 800 information. Nothing under World Cup anything. So I consulted a well known database, only to discover that the number was the same in San Francisco, Orlando, and Boston. Pretty conclusive that it was a national 800 number. So I called ATT. No, they don't handle the 800 stuff anymore, Sprint does. So I called Sprint. I began, "Can you tell me why I can't call 800- ..." "Are you trying to call 769-1994?" "Yes" "What's your area code?" "812" "Ticketmaster has blocked your area code. They think it's fairer to have revolving access. We don't know when the order to open the line to your area code will come." "Oh." Well, I tried to get around it via calling card access -- Sprint and MCI -- turns out you can't call an 800 number via Foncards and the like. Just can't do it. Eventually I did it by means of call forwarding via my brother's office. Still didn't get through after 70 attempts, but these jerks advertised tickets on a "first come, first served" basis and then block area codes. Ticketscheister is the organization, btw. Time to write the FTC and slam their happy ass. Outrageous. "Well, I never ..." ka [Moderator's Note: Thanks for sharing! :) PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #390 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa06918; 14 Jun 93 23:56 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA14132 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 21:26:04 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA14158 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 21:25:21 -0500 Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 21:25:21 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306150225.AA14158@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #388 TELECOM Digest Mon, 14 Jun 93 19:27:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 388 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson CompuServe Through Merit (was Re: Compuserve White Pages) (Carol Springs) Reach Compuserve via Internet (was: Using hermes...) (Joel Snyder) Re: Stocks via Internet (Brian Smithson) Internet Access via Delphi (Was Prodigy <> Internet) (Sander Rabinowitz) Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas (Jack Decker) Re: Blocking an Unlisted Number (David G. Lewis) Re: AT&T Any Hour Saver Promotion Snafu (John W. Temples) Re: How to Lock a Cellular on a Station? (Leonardo Lazarte) Re: CDMA Information Wanted (Ron Dippold) Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? (David Cornutt) Re: Country Codes (All Sorts) in Former Soviet Republics (Paul Robinson) Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis (Greg Andrews) Re: 16550AFN Chip (Greg Andrews) Re: PageSat and Usenet Volume (Norman Gillaspie) Re: Modem Waiting for the BONG (Sven Damiano) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 12:28:42 -0400 From: carols@world.std.com (Carol Springs) Subject: CompuServe Through Merit (was Re: Compuserve White Pages) Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA From the May 15, 1993, version of "Internet Services Frequently Asked Questions & Answers (FAQ)," posted by Kevin Savetz (savetz@rahul.net) to alt.internet.services, alt.answers, and news.answers: COMPUSERVE: CompuServe is accessible from the Internet through the Merit system, but it is quite expensive. According to Lon Lowen, Jr. (lllowen@netcom.com): CompuServe does not know anything about Hermes (Merit, Inc.) because it is actually a SprintNet line that connects to CompuServe. CompuServe never actually sees a connection from Merit. Merit is a service local to Michigan residents so all connections will be Eastern Standard Time regardless of where in the world you access Merit from. Pricing for using Merit: From 7PM - 8AM EST: $1.70/hour. From 8AM - 7PM EST: $11.70/hour. These prices are in addition to your normal CompuServe prices. The billing is all be handled by CompuServe. For further info about this service, contact : CompuServe (1-800-848- 8199), SprintNet (1-800-877-5045), or Merit, Inc.: (1-313-764-9430). The above is a brief excerpt from a long, helpful document copyright 1993 by Kevin M. Savetz. The full Internet Services FAQ, version 0.5, is available in the above newsgroups and by anonymous ftp from rtfm.mit.edu as /pub/usenet/news.answers/internet-services/faq Carol Springs carols@world.std.com ------------------------------ From: jms@opus1.com (Joel M-for-Vnews Snyder) Subject: Reach Compuserve via Internet (was: Using hermes...) Date: 14 Jun 1993 14:27:25 GMT Organization: Opus One Reply-To: jms@Opus1.COM In article , syshtg@gsusgi2.gsu.edu (Tom Gillman) writes: (stuff about how to use hermes to get to CompuServe) There is another gateway as well. The University of Arizona has a CompuServe link (X.25) for a project, and that project doesn't use it very much. CompuServe does not charge the University for incoming X.25 traffic, so a few very nice folks there have volunteered to provide a gateway which lets you, effectively, "telnet to compuserve." Telnet to hopey.telcom.arizona.edu. Log into TO_CSERVE (no password) The next thing you'll see is "Host Name:" from CompuServe. The link between Arizona and CompuServe is a 9.6kbps one. Caveats: There are no guarantees of service, and complaining to anyone about any aspect of it is strictly forbidden. Other notes: it would be possible for someone with a similar link to provide the reverse service, i.e., call CompuServe, connect to this host, and then telnet into the net. The problem is that this kind of service costs money, and one would have to have a way of billing back the users of such a service. Joel M Snyder, 1103 East Spring Street, Tucson, AZ, 85719 +1 602 882 4094 (voice) 882 4095 (FAX) 882 4093 (data) jms@Opus1.COM Opus One ------------------------------ From: brian@StarConn.com (Brian Smithson) Subject: Re: Stocks via Internet Organization: Starnet-Public Access UNIX--Los Altos, CA 415-949-3133 Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 13:41:36 GMT king@rtsg.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist) writes: > gilligan@ecst.csuchico.edu (Tuka {KD6CUC}) publicly declared: >> My cousin has a mac sitting there hooked up to a receiving modem ... >> it is connected to the television cable and receives the current >> stocks constantly! Check it out! >> [Moderator's Note: Please do get more information on this and pass it >> along to the group. This sounds like an interesting project one might >> build. PAT] > [...] Basically, it's a one-way feed. The service company blasts data > across one of the cable channels. There's a box that fits between the > cable and your computer to convert this to standard RS-232. The > service provider also has proprietary software for several home > computer platforms. [...] The service company is X*Press Information Services Ltd. and the service is called X*Press X*Change. It's available on some cable systems in the US and Canada, and is available somewhere on a satellite channel as well. The modem costs about US$150, and there is no monthly fee for the service. The software isn't very impressive, but read on ... > In addition to stocks, I believe there's also some sort of newsfeed > (probably AP or UPI articles) and a few other features. [...] It has AP, {USA Today}, some other newswires (including international), financial news, business press releases, stocks, weather, and some other features. Now the good part: being generally unsatisfied with the software that X*Press provides, not to mention the fact that you have to leave your PC or Mac on all day to collect articles as they come down the wire, a mailing list was started on which people discuss using the X*Press datastream in other ways. One of the ways is, of course, to convert the articles to netnews format and pump them into a local newsgroup. Please note that because the news articles are copyrighted, you can't redistribute them beyond the location at which you get your cable feed (i.e. don't try to start a new ClariNet with this stuff). It is nice, however, to be able to read wire service articles alongside comp.dcom.telecom and to graph your favorite stocks using gnuplot :-). To subscribe to the mailing list, send mail to listserv@grot.starconn.com with the following commands in the body of the message: subscribe xpress-list firstname lastname quit (replace "firstname lastname" with your name, of course, and not with your e-mail address) Brian Smithson brian@grot.starconn.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jun 93 00:49 GMT From: Sander J. Rabinowitz <0003829147@mcimail.com> Subject: Internet Access via Delphi (Was Prodigy <> Internet) Bob Hofkin wrote in a Telecom article dated 10 June 1993: > As a moderator for BIX, I am amazed at how rapidly it is installing > Internet services, now that General Videotex is in charge. [...] > GVC owns DELPHI, so the Internet services may already be available > there. Confirmed. Someone logging onto Delphi would access Internet services (FTP, Telnet, Gophers, etc.) by joining the Internet Forum. This is $3/month above and beyond all other Delphi charges. Beyond that, connect time charges apply while these remote sessions are in progress. There is a stipulation that no more than 10 Meg of data can be transferred per month through a combination of methods (eMail, FTP, and so on). On the whole, the service appears reliable and quite economical relative to the other alternatives that I'm aware of. Sander J. Rabinowitz, sjr1@mcimail.com, Spring Hill, Tenn. 37174-1195. Alternate eMail: rabinowitz@delphi.com. AT&T LD: 0 700 SANDY 77. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jun 93 12:03:55 EDT From: ac388@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu (Jack Decker) Subject: Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas This is a bit late, but in a message a few days ago, Carl Moore talked about some geographic oddities and how they receive phone service (such as Carter Lake, Iowa). I know of a few more: 1) Lost Peninsula, Michigan ... was part of Ohio (it's adjacent to metropolitian Toledo) but was lost back to Michigan through some court decision. But it's physically connected to Ohio, not Michigan. Phone service is provided by GTE North (which serves the areas of Michigan across the river) but dial tone actually comes from an Ohio Bell switch in Toledo. I recall reading one time how this meant that Ohio Bell had to keep Michigan's rate tables in their computers. I think that GTE provides maintenence of the lines in that area, and there's a cross-connect box sitting right on the state line ... everything south of that is Ohio Bell's responsibility, everything north is GTE's. GTE also handled phone maintenence as well. This info was correct in 1975 (when I read about it); I have no idea if anything has changed since. 2) Point Roberts, Washington ... physically connected to Canada and not to the rest of Washington State (kids used to take a bus 40 miles through Canada to get to school in Blaine, Washington). Used to get phone service from BC Tel, and was a local call to the metro Vancouver area. Don't know what the status of any of this is today. 3) Angle Inlet, Minnesota ... physically connected to Saskatchewan, not the rest of Minnesota. Never knew much about what was there (a post office, at least) nor where their phone service came from. I'd be kind of interested to know how phone service is currently provided to these communities. By the way, Point Roberts is/was NOT the only example of cross-border local calling between the U.S. and Canada, though instances of such are relatively rare and usually confined to very small towns. Jack Decker | Internet: ac388@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu Fidonet: 1:154/8 or jack.decker@f8.n154.z1.fidonet.org Note: Mail to the Fidonet address has been known to bounce. :-( [Moderator's Note: Regards Point Roberts, you can't get there from here without going through Canada ... on a boat yes, but to stay on land you have to cross into Canada and back out again. PAT] ------------------------------ From: deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (david.g.lewis) Subject: Re: Blocking an Unlisted Number Organization: AT&T Date: Mon, 13 Jun 1993 10:59:31 GMT In article jeffj%jiji@uunet.UU.NET (Jeffrey Jonas) writes: > In reply to Mike Coyne (Volume 13, Issue 355, Message 4 of 18) >> There is, however, no compelling requirement for Caller-ID to deliver >> an actual dialable number. > I quite agree, and that's why some areas are now delivering the > caller's name (or whatever the phone listing is)... > I think the Digest has already discussed the issue of identifying the > caller vs identifying the line that originated the call. I'd like to > have my name delivered as the ID of my calls whether I'm at home, at a > payphone, or at a hotel. Note, though, that the Calling Name service doesn't do this -- it delivers the *listing* name, not the *calling* name. > I'd love to have the ability to send my own name when placing a call, > so phone lines that are shared can identify the caller. Of course, there are some downsides to this as well. What prevents me from entering a false name? For that matter, what prevents me from entering "F**K YOU JEFF", and preceding this with *67 so you don't know who called? You also get much deeper into the possibilities of using the network to pass information on failed, and therefore unbilled, call attempts. I call my wife and enter "HOME IN 15" as the "name", thereby passing to her the message that I'll be home in 15 minutes without her answering the call. (We just spent an hour or so discussing this at a T1S1 standards meeting, so it's fresh in my mind ...) > I suppose that PBXs using trunks can send some hint as to how to > identify the call, Actually, they can't, which is one problem with Caller ID. PBX trunks show up as either a main group number or "Out of Area", until you go to ISDN PRI. > but what of the POTS user like me? I'd like to have the name > show the family member placing the call, not just the name that > appears on the phone bill. Then you need something very different from the service which is being offered by the telcos -- it offers the listing name, and the listing name only. [Moderator's Note: I don't see how you could send a message of any sort and still use *67, If you block the ID, you would block anything that went with the ID including the 'name', or whatever you put there. It is either/or: you block it with *67 or you don't; if you don't then the caller gets the number as well as any name or phrases, etc. PAT] ------------------------------ From: tarpit!jwt!john@peora.sdc.ccur.com Subject: Re: AT&T Any Hour Saver Promotion Snafu Organization: Private system -- Orlando, FL Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 11:22:13 GMT In article Monty Solomon writes: > A couple of months ago we had a discussion here about AT&T's Any Hour > Saver promotion where they were going to reduce their rates for calls > that appear on the May 1993 bill. My understanding was that we were supposed to get either the reduced rates in May, *or* get a "free month" later this year, and AT&T would be deciding which subscribers would be getting which, based on some (unknown to me) criteria. I got the mailing indicating I would be getting the free month, and then a subsequent mailing asking whether I wanted to receive my "free month" as long distance certificates, or if I preferred to receive it as Air Miles. However, I just got my May bill, and I had the reduced rates. John W. Temples john@jwt.UUCP -or- john@jwt.oau.org ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Jun 93 12:51:58 EST From: llazarte@cnpq.br (Leonardo Lazarte) Subject: Re: How to Lock a Cellular on a Station? Thanks to all who replied to the above question. Below, a summary of what I found could be of interest to the list. I will reply privately to those which made other questions. Most people said the intelligence in choosing the strongest signal is in the system, rather than in the phone. Some suggested that there *might* be a way to program the phone. Many critizized the way the system was implemented, if some phones are supposed to be fixed, then the software should take care of locking them in a given antenna. Some said they will not expect a telco to do things the right way, while others said in fact (where?) fixed systems worked that way, by simply disabling "scanning receivers" (devices to determine relative signal strength). A promising approach was suggested by Steve King, who suggested that some models (Motorola was mentioned), could lock on a given channel (but will that mean locking on a given fixed station?). Some mentioned that there are several parameters which could be set in the system, to disallow being transfered (signal threshold, etc). But mentioning anything about "parameters" to people in the telco will be wothless (my remark). And then, of course, there is the unwanted "solution" of a (super) directional antenna :-( [There is a strong "wrong" antenna in the same direction, and I cannot switch because this one is said to be overcrowded.] Thanks to: =>nagle@netcom.com (John Nagle) =>froula@red.rtsg.mot.com (Don Froula) =>svec@sand.rtsg.mot.com (Larry Svec) (will reply by e-mail) =>johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) =>richgr@netcom.com (Rich Greenberg) =>Norman Gillaspie (will reply by e-mail) =>fischman@nynexst.com (Gary Fischman) =>king@marble.rtsg.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist) =>rvt@sbctri.sbc.com (Roger V. Thompson) Leonardo Lazarte - LLazarte@cnpq.br Dep. de Matematica - Univ. de Brasilia - Brazil ------------------------------ From: rdippold@qualcomm.com (Ron "Asbestos" Dippold) Subject: Re: CDMA Information Wanted Organization: Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 19:07:18 GMT WILLIAM.D.BAUSERMAN@gte.sprint.com writes: > Does anyone know a good source for info on CDMA (Code Division > Multiple Access). I would prefer something technical, but at this > point I settle for anything. To get the CAI (Common Air Interface) for CDMA as submitted to TR45.5 of the TIA, you can ftp to ftp.qualcomm.com and cd pub/cdma - everything is gzipped postscript format (the gzip package is in the directory if you don't have it). I'm not sure what the TIA has published for public consumption, if anything. ------------------------------ From: cornutt@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov (David Cornutt) Subject: Re: MCI -- 10222 vs Dial 1? Organization: NASA/MSFC Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 17:28:36 GMT mattair@synercom.hounix.org (Charles Mattair) writes: > In article deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com > (david.g.lewis) writes: > Agreed, Texas permits IXC's to carry intraLATA traffic if dialed with > a PIC. However, it apparently does not mandate it. I've tried this experiment here (South Central Bell, North Alabama LATA). I've never seen them ignore a 10xxx. However, the specified carrier won't necessarily accept the call. AT&T, MCI, and Sprint all refuse the call, routing to various intercepts. But, the last time I tried it, about a year ago, Telecom*USA (10852) handled the call. I haven't tried it since they were bought out. I'll have to go dig up my old bills and see how it was billed, but I'm pretty sure it was billed as just plain old Telecom*USA (on a page by itself in the bill), and not as "agent" for S.C. Bell. Now I'm wondering... was this legal in Alabama? Was it a programming botch on Telecom*USA's part? Hmmm ... (Pat Turner, can you comment?) I'll go try it again, and see what the situation is now, and try some of the carriers that I didn't try the first time. David Cornutt, New Technology Inc., Huntsville, AL (205) 461-4517 (cornutt@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov; some insane route applies) "The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of my employer, not necessarily mine, and probably not necessary." ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 00:35:14 -0400 (EDT) From: Jurassic Park Control Center <0005066432@MCIMAIL.COM> Reply-To: Jurassic Park Control Center <0005066432@MCIMAIL.COM> Subject: Re: Country Codes (All Sorts) in Former Soviet Republics I'd like to thank David Leibold for posting the new information. I am currently doing an update to my Internet RFC 1394 which lists telephone, telex, Internet and country codes for everywhere I could find. If anyone has any changes to the telex or telephone lists, I'd like to know about it too. I'm specifically interested in multiple countries that share a single code, and how to distinguish them; for example, reports I have indicate the country of San Marino uses code 39549, e.g. through Italy, Andorra 33628 e.g. through France, Anigula in the British West Indies uses 1809497, Bermuda is 18092, etc. One point I'm unclear about; David mentions is that Russia allegedly has the new telex code of 64. The old code for the USSR was 871, and this seems odd as all of the telex codes outside Canada and Mexico are all three digits. Paul Robinson -- TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM ------------------------------ From: gerg@netcom.com (Greg Andrews) Subject: Re: Autodialer Plaguing Indianapolis Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 00:29:40 GMT ARTHUR%MPA15C@MPA15AB.mv-oc.Unisys.COM writes: > In 13/364, our Esteemed Moderator writes: >> If they capture the calling number, they wait a few days and call back. >> If a computer answers, they proceed to format the hard drive, and leave >> a single line textfile message... > Pat, I work on "real" computers and am as baffled by PCs as the next > guy, BUT is this possible? How could an incoming data stream to an > user's fax application, say WinFaxPro, format the hard drive??? This > strikes me as poodle-in-the-microwave material. But it's entertaining. It can't, of course. Might as well say the fax transmission could also re-program the telco switches that pass the signals. Nope. A far more likely scenario would be what happened at an office where I worked a few years ago. Someone sent a ten page fax during the night to our fax machine. The pages fell off the counter, and the motion triggered the burglar alarm! Glad it wasn't me who sent the fax. My boss wasn't happy about receiving a call from the police at 3am ... Greg Andrews gerg@netcom.com ------------------------------ From: gerg@netcom.com (Greg Andrews) Subject: Re: 16550AFN Chip Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 00:34:52 GMT padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson writes: > Just as an aside, the first computer I really understood was a PDP-8 > and by 1980 had written a "terminal emulator" program for the VAX that > allowed file transfer (and could do binary file transfer using > something much like uuencode/decode, anyone remember "TekHex ?"). Boy, do I! Takes me back to my first tech job at a leetle teeny prom programmer manufacturer. TekHex was one of the data formats our programmer could read. Greg Andrews gerg@netcom.com ------------------------------ From: norman@NETSYS.COM (Norman Gillaspie) Subject: Re: PageSat and Usenet Volume Organization: Netsys Inc. Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 05:48:08 GMT jpettitt@well.sf.ca.us (John Pettitt) writes: > Pagesat had better think about compressing those batches soon: > 9600 = ~1K a second > = 60K / min > = 3600K / hr > = 84000K / day > If they are already seeing 40Mb a day and 80Mb a day peak (as the > postpcript indicated) then thay are close to saturation. Plot the > growth of USENET over the last two years and project and no way will > 80Mb a day handle a full broadcast feed in two years time. Even > assuming 50% compression they may be in trouble by the time your two > "free" years expire. > "When I was a lad you could get all of USENET in an hour at > 1200 uncompressed ... " :-) More bandwidth and faster modems are available when needed. The main thing is to do something to fill a need. We can improve add upon etc. However we need to gain experience. The peaks are towards the middle of the week and we haven't seen any tremendous increase in volume over the last year. For information regarding Pagesat's Satellite delivered usenet news mail info request to "pagesat@pagesat.com" or call: 415-424-0384 Delivering 45+ megabytes of Usenet news each day via satellite ------------------------------ From: echterna@Informatik.TU-Muenchen.DE (Sven Damiano) Subject: Re: Modem Waiting for the BONG Organization: Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Germany Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 14:16:32 +0200 Talking about the BONG, does anyone have the exact frequencies and durations of that tone? I guess it would be fun to play with that! :) Sven ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #388 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa00753; 15 Jun 93 11:17 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA27939 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 23:41:25 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA27926 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Mon, 14 Jun 1993 23:40:50 -0500 Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 23:40:50 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306150440.AA27926@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #391 TELECOM Digest Mon, 14 Jun 93 23:36:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 391 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Talk Tickets Now Available Electronically (TELECOM Moderator) What's Special About DTMF C? (Jack Pines) Remember the War on Pagers? Try This on For Size! (Guy J. Sherr) Particularity of 555? (Reinhard A. Hamid) Direct Programming of the Fax-Communication-Protocol (Albrecht Mayer) AOS Scam #xxxx (Dave Grabowski) What is BUDGET CALL? (Chris Katopis, Mike Rosen, others) Is it Possible to Reach Sprint Customer Service by Email? (Robin Brookes) Information on Fax Broadcast Services (Pat Stephenson) Some Thoughts About Walmart and Southern Bell (Tim Hogard) Cellular Phone Alternative (Dr. R. Singla, MD) Voicemail Applications Study (Claudia Poepperl) AT&T Merlin Equipment Needed (Charles W. Cooper II) Oops; Germany Info Expired, and Now I Need it! (Laird Broadfield) Re: SKY-PAGE & Cellular Integration (Jim Thompson) Re: SKY-PAGE & Cellular Integration (Perry E. Metzger) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 22:36:20 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Subject: Talk Tickets Now Available Electronically Orders for Talk Tickets, the prepaid telephone calling card can now be handled entirely from your terminal. Although you can mail me a check or money order if you prefer to continue doing it that way, I can now handle your order and place a debit on your checking account as payment. Talk Tickets are the calling cards we have discussed here in the past. They cost $2 each (or ten for $15), and provide you with four minutes of calling time to anywhere in the USA, local or long distance. To use them, you dial an 800 number followed by the serial number of the ticket, and the number you wish to call. You can use the card for four one minute calls, one four minute call, two calls of two minutes each, etc ... any combination. The computer will tell you each time how many units remain on the card. You can use the Talk Tickets from any phone. Card reader style phones are not required. The tickets are best utilized from pay phones or hotels where a surcharge would normally be applied to the call. Short calls made during daytime business hours are the calls on which the most economy will be realized by using the Talk Tickets; this is basically the same as the 'Orange Card' proposition: no surcharge but rates higher than you would normally pay at night and weekends. Talk Tickets can be purchased/used semi-anonymously. That is, I need some name and address to send them to where you get mail, but you are free to use a money order to purchase them if desired. No record is kept of who gets what once the check has cleared. You can now order/receive Talk Tickets through your computer: ============================================================= I will charge your checking account automatically if you provide these details in email to me: EXACT NAME as it appears on your checking account; EXACT ADDRESS as it appears on check or in bank records; THE CHECK NUMBER to be used for the purchase; THE BANK ROUTING/TRANSIT and ACCOUNT number on bottom of check; THE NAME OF THE BANK on which the check is drawn; THE DOLLAR AMOUNT of tickets you wish to purchase. Even if the name to which tickets are to be sent is different, I need the name the checking account is under. You should then be certain to note in your check register the details of the purchase, and deduct the amount from your balance as always. This will hasten the delivery of your tickets by several days -- the period of time it would take for mail to get from you to me. Orders for tickets where direct debit has been authorized will get serviced the same day I get the email. In return, you may have actual paper Talk Tickets if desired; be sure to include the address where you want them mailed. Or, if you prefer, I will send you the appropriate serial numbers by email, along with a help file on how to use the tickets. This will again result in a saving of a few days -- the time it would take mail to get from me to you. The actual paper tickets will still be mailed out if requested, or will simply be voided from my inventory. If you choose electronic debit of your checking account for the purchase of the tickets, you will receive in your bank statement a debit for the amount of the purchase only -- no service charges, etc -- and a paper notation (depending on how your bank handles this) with a debit advice entitled 'Talk Tickets/Telecom Digest' and the amount. Some banks may put a slip of paper in which resembles a check in with your other cancelled checks saying the same thing, and where your sig- nature would normally appear, the statement 'your depositor authorized this transaction'. This new electronic method for the purchase of Talk Tickets from your computer is intended to make it convenient for you to buy these as you need them, and I hope you will find it useful. Electronic orders which do not include all the above requested information will have to be returned for further details; for those which are sent in correct, you may have your tickets back in a matter of hours, or certainly within a day or two if I am out for the day, etc. Electronic orders to: ptownson@eecs.nwu.edu put TALK TICKET in subject. "Regular' mail order with checks/money orders to: Telecom Digest 2241 West Howard Street #208 Chicago, IL 60645 To follow up on orders in transit, other problems: 312-465-2700. Of you have a fax and you wish to fax me the voided check you used for your electronic purchase you may fax 312-743-0002. PAT ------------------------------ From: pjp@netcom.com (jack pines) Subject: What's Special About DTMF C? Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 20:44:19 GMT In TR-NWT-OO1273, "Generic Requirements for an SPCS to Customer Premises Equipment Data Interface for Analog Display Services", Bellcore states: "Since generation of DTMF C has been reserved for various government functions in North America, (sic) We will avoid interference with these functions by not transmitting a DTMF C over the ADSI." Does any one know what functions they are talking about? The Autovon network does have gateways to the PSTN but what is special about C? Doesn't Autovon use all the digits? Why doesn't the AMIS spec which does call for transmission of DTMF C clash with these "government functions in North America"? Jack Pines pjp@netcom.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jun 93 20:48 GMT From: Guy J. Sherr <0004322955@mcimail.com> Subject: Remember the War on Pagers? Try This on For Size! The DC Metropolitan Police took a suspect into custody last Thursday, after hearing gunshots and there this fellow was. Of course, that is not cause for arrest, but it is cause for suspicion. Eventually, he was arrested and they began looking for the weapon which I presume they thought he had tossed it in the nearest bush. When the officer searched the suspect, imagine his surprise at finding a realistic looking, ersatz pager that turns into a FUNCTIONING .22 caliber handgun (I guess about the size and range of a Derringer). The report was that it was dangerous, and available in convincing neon/day-glo colors to avoid detection ... ------------------------------ From: hamid@tnt.uni-hannover.de (Reinhard A Hamid) Subject: Particularity of 555? Reply-To: hamid@tnt.uni-hannover.de Organization: Universitaet Hannover, Theoretische Nachrichtentechnik Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 21:20:18 GMT In nearly all TV-Films I have seen, when people are giving out their telephonenumber , it started with 555. Is there something special on numbers which started with 555? Hope for replies. Thanks, Reinhard [Moderator's Note: Well Reinhard, it's like this: Here in the USA, a lot of insane or otherwise mentally disturbed people watch television or go to the moving/talking picture shows. Some of these people *actually *try to call* the phone numbers given in dramatic presentations on the television. In other words, they call the number recited by the actor or actress 'just to see who the number belongs to ...'. Some, who are more disturbed than others actually think they will be talking to the person on the television. In an effort to avoid disturbing the people who might otherwise have these numbers, the scripts are written to only give out numbers which begin '555', since this prefix or exchange is only used for directory assistance in the USA, and a few other odd things such as the TTY service for people who are hearing impaired, etc. That way, when the twisted people who watch television try to call these numbers, they wind up either getting no one at all or maybe the directory assistance operator. In other words, it is done to avoid giving out a 'real' number. This is sort of obvious to most Americans who know something about the phone network here; admittedly it could be a curious thing for Europeans or others who get to see our shows but whose own telephone networks have nothing special about 555. PAT] ------------------------------ From: alma@chamber.in-berlin.de (Albrecht Mayer) Subject: Direct Programming of the Fax-Communication-Protocol Organization: Zombie's Burial Chamber, Berlin, West Germany. Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 12:58:25 GMT Who knows how to handle the fax-communication-protocol with a faxmodem? I want to write parts of an application software that handles the fax-communication-protocol itself according to CCITT recommendations T.4 and T.30. That means I want to control the modem's type of modulation and speed to build my own HDLC-frames for signalling and data transfer. So it should be possible, for example, to define the Facsimile Information Field (FIF) by my software. ------------------------------ From: dcg5662@hertz.njit.edu (Dave Grabowski (KxiK)) Subject: AOS Scam #xxxx Organization: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 02:40:20 GMT Yet another story for the archives of AOS scams. But, at least this one isn't the usual $500/second crazy phone bill ... I live in a fraternity house. We have a payphone, serviced by New Jersey Bell. Our long distance service is handled by AT&T. We get a phone call from "Castle Communications,", requesting to speak to "whoever pays the bills." That's me; I'm the treasurer. The nice lady tells me that I should be receiving commissions from my local telephone company (NJB) for all calls placed on my payphone (as far as I know, this isn't true.) I told her that I wasn't, and she said that I should contact my telco and find out why. Then, she hit me with the pitch (which I would liken to a split-fingered fastball): "Due to a new FCC ruling, you are entitled to receive ONE DOLLAR for each operator-assisted call placed on your phone." Oh, goodie! "All I need to do is find out where the checks should be mailed." She proceeded to verify our name and address. "I'll need to speak with my supervisor, and I'll call you back in a couple minutes." This sounded just a little bit too fishy. "You want to send me a dollar every time someone calls the operator from MY phone? Why? Because you like me? How do YOU make money?" (We all know how they make their money, I just wanted to get her to say it.) It took about two minutes of this silliness before she ADMITTED to me that they were an AOS. At that point, I got kinda peeved, and proceed to ask her if they were one of those companies that charge people $5 a minute for collect calls and provide lousy service and do all this and all that ... She hung up. I called NJB and verified that AT&T and NJB were still my carriers, and I had them put a note on my account to not make any service changes without permission from somebody who lived in the house. Phew! I'm not quite sure what to make of all this. Oh well ... -Dave Kappa Xi Kappa - Over & Above Since 1964 dcg5662@hertz.njit.edu In Beautiful Newark, NJ (car theft capital USA) 70721.2222@compuserve.com ------------------------------ From: katop@astro.ocis.temple.edu (Chris Katopis) Subject: What is BUDGET CALL? Organization: Temple University Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 19:44:58 GMT I am a Bell of Penna. long distance customer. I received a letter from a company called "Budget Call, Long Distance, Inc." They told me if I dial their code before before making a long distance call I will save 10-20%. Has anyone used this service? Can anyone tell me more? it's Dial 10368 + the long distance number for savings. 'chris [Moderator's Note: This message from Chris arrived at the same time as one from Michael Rosen asking the very same thing. He also received a letter from the company, as did a couple other writers. Perhaps this firm recently did a mass mailing. Any knowledge of them? PAT] ------------------------------ From: robin.brookes@dubbs.ie Date: Mon, 14 Jun 93 17:24:02 Subject: Can I Reach Sprint Customer Service by E-Mail? Can anyone tell me if I can reach Sprint Customer Service by E-Mail? They don't seem to respond to 'phone calls!!! They issued a card to me bearing the name "Robin L. Brookes" (L and K are next to each other on the keyboard). So I 'phoned and said what they'd done. "A new card will be issued straight away with the correct initial" Today it arrived, guess what it says ... Robin L. Brookes ... and the number's different! Rev. Robin K.Brookes 74 Gracepark Road Drumcondra Dublin 9 Ireland E-MAIL - Fidonet: Robin Brookes 2:263/151 or 2:263/167 Internet: robin.brookes@dubbs.ie or rbrookes@dublin.cerf.fred.org FAX + 353 1 677 3552; TEL + 353 1 372505 or mail as above ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 22:52:34 -0400 (EDT) From: Pat_Stephenson@transarc.com Subject: Information on Fax Broadcast Services I am looking for information on availability and pricing of commercial fax broadcast services. The basic need is to get a 25 page document to several hundred fax numbers once a week, occasionally more often. It should arrive within a few hours of being sent (ie one dial-out fax line probably won't cut it :-)). Most of the recipients are in the USA, but we are also interested in international delivery. The ability to upload the master via email is nice but not essential. Similarly for the ability to upload postscript instead of raw text. Any pointers towards suitable services would be much appreciated. Many thanks, Pat Stephenson ------------------------------ From: thogard@wrdis01.robins.af.mil (Tim Hogard) Subject: Some Thoughts About Walmart and Southern Bell Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 11:26:21 -0400 (EDT) I just was in the local Walmart looking for a answering machine and I noticed that the two cheapest ones had mostly the same features and they were fairly well equipped for bottom of the line. Upon closer inspection I noticed that they had the same FCC Registration number. It seem that both the Unisonic $29 and the BellSouth at $34.99 had the FCC number of CWIMLA-74316-AN-N. They both have the same ETV number as well (H059143200M) The serial number were both of the form R930204#####. The repair number on the back both are of the form 212-242-XXXX. Walmart here also has Caller ID boxes. They only have the AT&T ones left and they have a sticker about a "limited supply"; it seems that they don't sell enough. One last thing that the local Walmart has was two different brands of cellular phones. The one was in the glass case with at sticker saying that it was programmed to code ??? with number 912-XXX-XXXX. I wonder how many calls the future purchaser will get along the lines of "you bought a Walmart phone?" It seems strange the the once small five and dime is now big into the telephone business. The local phone company is Southern Bell and they have nice equipment here. I have mostly worthless Caller-ID ($6/mo) on the line and distinctive ringing. Its nice having a line for friends, foes and women. My Caller ID here will ID calls from Macon GA, the town, the county and the Air Force base (but that shows up as 912-926-XX50 from any line.) So far I have not heard about Caller-ID blocking and I wasn't given any instructions on how to block a call. When I asked for an ISDN line I got the normal response "Whats that? (said with a sorthern voice)" Well it won't hurt to ask. At least they pretend to have Caller-ID unlike GTE in Columbia MO. Who do I complain to about interstate caller ID? Is this govermental political problem, or is it a phone company political problem? The local phone co said it was the long distacne company's problem. AT&T said they would be happy to sell me a box but they don't provide that service. Then the local phone co said that it was "not in the tariff." The repair serivice (611) said they could talk to me about it but couldn't fix it. Now I get calls daily from their autodailer (which won't ID itself) asking if I was satisfied with the service. Since I keep telling it no (because I can't tell it H#ll NO!) it keeps calling back. -tim hogard thogard@wrdis01.robins.af.mil In Warner Robins GA 31088-6184 ------------------------------ Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago, academic Computer Center Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 20:05:35 CDT From: U19250@uicvm.uic.edu Subject: Cellular Phone Alternative I recently ran across a device that will provide an inexpensive alternative to cellular phone service, and cellular phones. The only catch is that the device is NOT approved by the FCC, and such, is not approved for sale or use in the USA. Therefore, it is only for export. I had the luxury of using one recently. Therefore, if there are any interested netters outside the USA, I would be happy to send on the manufacturer. Dr R Singla MD [Moderator's Note: But you can write again and at least describe this service to us. We promise not to violate any US laws if you tell us about this and where to buy it, etc. :) PAT] ------------------------------ From: cpoeppe@andy.bgsu.edu (claudia poepperl) Subject: Voicemail Applications Study Organization: Bowling Green State University B.G., Oh. Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 19:10:29 GMT I am a master student in Mass Communication and I am working on a proposal for a forecasting study for voicemail applications. In case you know some sources who have done forecasting studies on voicemail, please let me know. cpoeppe@andy.bgsu.edu ------------------------------ From: Charles W. Cooper II Subject: AT&T Merlin Equipment Needed Organization: OneWorld Enterprises/OneWorld Computing Resources Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 18:40:20 GMT I'm looking for a Wholesaler of used/refurbished Merlin II equipment. Specifically, Single Line Set modules and ring generators. Also, looking for a source for ten button speaker phone sets. Please contact me at the address below. Thanks! Charles W. Cooper II |OneWorld Enterprises (206)453-8766 |OneWorld Computing Resources (206)453-7083 fax/data |203 Bellevue Way N.E. STE 314 charles@oneworld.wa.com |Bellevue, WA 98004 USA ------------------------------ From: lairdb@crash.cts.com Subject: Oops; Germany Info Expired, and Now I Nneed It! Date: 14 Jun 93 17:49:16 GMT Sorry folks, I know we just did this thread again within the last month or so, but it's expired here and somebody just asked me this A.M. about taking their laptop to Germany. Could somebody either send me a thread collection or a quick summary? Ideally it would cover interface issues (what do the jacks look like, can you use an adapter, are they electrically compatible, does it use DTMF), practical issues (good trix for getting good connections to the US), and regulatory issues (presumably you're *supposed* to use an approved modem, but?) Thanks!! Laird P. Broadfield lairdb@crash.cts.com ...{ucsd, nosc}!crash!lairdb ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 Jun 93 14:57:59 CDT From: jim@tadpole.com (Jim Thompson) Subject: Re: SKY-PAGE & Cellular Integration In my experiance, I can send numeric messages to number-only pagers using TAP/IXO. Its fun to annoy folks by paging them to each other ... Jim ------------------------------ Subject: Re: SKY-PAGE & Cellular Integration Reply-To: pmetzger@lehman.com Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1993 15:30:42 -0400 From: Perry E. Metzger Jody Kravitz says: > I am trying to find a simpler way for my clients to get > hold of me. I have been a SKY-TEL customer for several years, > but many of my clients do not know (or remember) how to use > the SKY-PAGE system. > I'd like to know if anyone could lend some advice on this problem. > If its not possible to get the cellular company's voice-mail to > do it, I do have access to a used WATSON system. I'd suggest that you write yourself a TAP (or IXO, its the same protocol) driver and have the thing autodial 1-800-SKY-MEMO and transfer messages to you that way. Thats what I do. (I built a system here at Lehman that allows even stupid users to send people pages via the computer system -- I have driver daemons running for all the local paging companies and for SKY-TEL.) It might require that you have an alphanumeric pager, though, to use the computer-computer interface to SKY-TEL. Jim Thompson says: > In my experiance, I can send numeric messages to number-only pagers > using TAP/IXO. Its fun to annoy folks by paging them to each other ... It depends on the pager company -- some don't assign explicit PINs to their numeric-only beepers... Perry ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #391 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa16127; 15 Jun 93 21:25 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA25038 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Tue, 15 Jun 1993 19:10:34 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA04780 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Tue, 15 Jun 1993 19:10:01 -0500 Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 19:10:01 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306160010.AA04780@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #392 TELECOM Digest Tue, 15 Jun 93 19:10:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 392 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson GSA Press Release: Post-FTS2000 Telecom (Ken Stillson) *67 Caller-ID Question (Mike Jung) Southern Bell and Call Hunting (407/904 Area) (A. Padgett Peterson) How to Tell if We're Really Saving Using AT&T's Any Hour? (Michael Rosen) The '30-Second Slum Clearance Plan' (was re: Lightning) (Paul Robinson) Lightning/EMP and Phone Service (Jeffrey Jonas) Re: Information on Fax Broadcast Services (Paul Robinson) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: stillson@mitre.org (Ken Stillson) Subject: GSA Press Release: Post-FTS2000 Telecom Organization: The MITRE Corporation Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 16:41:09 GMT The following is posted by the MITRE Corp as a service for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). -------------------- The following press release and Commerce Business Daily announcement from the General Services Administration (GSA) may be of interest. GSA is the provider of telecommunications services for the federal government. GSA currently provides circuit switched voice and data, packet switched, compressed video, and dedicated transmission services to over 1 million federal users. GSA is interested in receiving comments on how to best provide telecommunications services in the 1998 through 2008 time-frame. GSA hopes to received comments across a wide range of topics including technology, government requirements, acquisition strategies, future regulation, and best prices. Comments may be sent to GSA at concept@access.digex.com. GSA News Release June 1, 1993 #9108 GSA Requests Ideas for FTS2000 Follow-on Services The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) today said it is looking for ideas on how intercity telecommunications services should be provided to federal users following expiration of the FTS2000 contracts in December, 1998. GSA wants to begin a public dialogue now on "how" and "what" services should be provided and how they should be managed after the FTS2000 contracts expire. GSA is particularly interested in the future direction of telecommunications technology, market offerings, applications and regulation, as well as comments on mandatory use, procurement strategies and program management. All comments received will be made part of the concept-development record for FTS2000 follow-on services. GSA will make this record available to the public for review and comment. In addition, GSA plans to conduct a conference in October to publicly discuss the comments received. Comments should be submitted by August 1 to: U.S. General Services Administration, Concept Development Conference, 7980 Boeing Court, Vienna, VA 22182-3988. Commerce Business Daily Announcement May 13, 1993 The federal government currently meets its needs for inter-city telecommunications services through the FTS2000 program. The existing FTS2000 contracts will expire in 1998. The federal government desires a free and open discussion of ideas related to the provision of intercity telecommunications resources to its users after 1998. Areas of interest to the government include, but are not limited to, the future direction of telecommunications technology, market offerings, applications, and regulation as they impact the provision of telecommunications services to the federal user. The government is also interested in comments related to mandatory use, procurement strategies, and program management. The government will accept ideas and comments from all interested parties using two mechanisms. First, the government is hereby requesting written comments related to the above areas of interest. These comments will be organized into a post-FTS2000 environment concept development record. This record will be used as one informational basis for the desired concept development. The government will make this record available to the public for review and further comment. Second, the government will conduct a conference to hear further comments and encourage discussion of different points of view on the post-FTS2000 environment. Based on written comments received, the government will invite representative points of view to be presented at the conference. The conference will be open on a space available basis to the public. The government plans to conduct this conference during October 1993. This conference will provide an opportunity for the presentation of multiple points of view related to: the future direction of the telecommunications marketplace, services, technology, and regulation; the future telecommunications requirements of the federal government, including major government and society trends likely to affect future telecommunications requirements; strategies for the procurement of telecommunications services and systems; program management strategies; possible price structures; and, how the government can ensure continuing competitive prices. Written comments for inclusion in the concept development record may be submitted to General Services Administration, Attention: Concept Development Conference, 7980 Boeing Court, Vienna, VA 22182-3988. It is preferred that comments be submitted electronically at concept@ access.digex.com. Comments must be received no later than August 1, 1993. It is anticipated that the concept development record will be available for public review in the GSA Public Reading Room on or about September 1. ------------------------------ From: mjung@coplex.coplex.com (Mike Jung) Subject: *67 Caller-ID Question Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 04:48:30 GMT Organization: Copper UNIX/USENET Services My understanding of caller ID is that it can be disabled by using the code *67 from practically any phone in the country. Note: My limited understanding tells me that this does not limit a caller that has the ring-back feature to call you back even though they do not have your telephone number, but that is all they can do. (It is your option to answer the telephone!). 1) I have a AT&T as my long distance carrier; I also have voicemail through AT&T. If I call from my local telephone number to get my mailbox messages then the mailbox computer voice software (AT&T?) does not ask me for my local access number (my telphone number) but says hello "MIKE", please enter your passowrd; thus I assume (that's risky ...) that the computer knows my number (mailbox) from Caller-ID and simply want a password ... this is cool ... I don't have to enter my local telephone number then password to get my messages. CONCERN: My understanding of *67 is that it will not allow anyone to obtain the caller' telephone number. I can press *67 locally and get the "staggered" dial tone (which by what I have been led to understand means that you are now private), then you dail your number, or in this case the local mail box number "502-245-0220" but it still says "Hello Mike" and does not ask my mailbox number. My Question: How could it know I was calling from my default mailbox number if the carrier (AT&T) allowed the mailbox service to get my local telephone number (via Caller ID) when I instructed the carrier via *67 not to forward my local phone number??? Again my understanding of being able to disable Caller-ID was not to be limited to general users of the phone systems but to any user including AT&T, MCI, SPRINT, FBI, NSA, or just pick anyone you please. Maybe I am way off base on this topic, but I don't think so ... What I have tried to describe is in no way critical to my daily activities, but it does raise in my mind what limits are really in place within carriers as a group, and what can an individual expect. Caller-ID can be a very useful tool, but in my opinion the caller not the recipient of the call should have the final say on what information is to be disclosed. I am not trying to start a thread that will be unending, but simply trying to comprehend how my local AT&T service knew the number that I was calling from when I specifically told the telephone system NO!! All responses appreciated ... mjung@coplex.com uunet!coplex!wd4arm!mjung [Moderator's Note: A common error is to mix up Caller-ID and Automatic Number Identification (ANI). Caller-ID is a product for end users, or subscribers. Your use of *67 does not hide your number from other telcos or network services; it is only intended to tell those other telcos or network services to not reveal your number to the called party. In the case of voicemail supplied by telco, this is just a network service, not an actual end user or subscriber. You *cannot ever block ANI* from being delivered. *67 has no effect on ANI. The end result of Caller-ID and ANI is quite similar, but they are not the same services. Your use of *67 does not hide your number when you call 1-800 numbers for example. Those subscribers get ANI automatically with their bill each month, not Caller-ID. I have noticed here in Chicago that IBT voicemail operates in the way you noted: If I dial the seven digit voicemail message pickup number, I am dumped right at the 'enter your password' prompt. But if I dial *67 then the seven digit voicemail message pickup number, it acts like I am an outsider it has never seen before. So I guess this is an option the telco can use or not as it wishes; but a general rule of thumb is that *67 will never hide your identity from telcos or other network services along the way processing your call, nor will your number be concealed when you dial *67 plus 800/900/976 numbers. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Jun 93 14:02:54 -0400 From: padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson) Subject: Southern Bell and Call Hunting (407/904 Area) I just called Southern Bell to inquire about call hunting for my two home (residential) lines. Was told that it is available but the charge is $5.23 per month per line involved (*not* the number of lines "rolled" - I asked about the main number rolling to the second only and not the reverse). Thus for me the charge would be $10.46 per month to have the single line roll-over (and I thought $7.50/month per line for Caller-ID was bad 8*(. Sounds like whoever was getting it free was really in a friendly area. I told them 'no thanks'. Warmly, Padgett ------------------------------ From: mrosen@nyx.cs.du.edu (Michael Rosen) Subject: How to Tell if We're Really Saving Using AT&T's Any Hour Program?? Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci. Date: Tue, 15 Jun 93 04:09:19 GMT How can I be sure our calls are being applied accurately to AT&T's Any House program? I use Call Manager for my long distance phone calls and was told they would apply as well. I don't know if I can tell whether or not the Call Manager calls are being applied or not. If they are fit into the first hour of calls, are they omitted from the listing of calls made under the Call Manager code? Also, why, if we are signed up for the program (I have seen the $10 charge on the phone bill), did we get an AT&T sales rep call our house offering the program to us? He had no idea we were already signed up to it. It makes me wonder whether it is actually working properly. Mike ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 04:19:21 -0400 (EDT) Reply-To: 0005066432@MCIMAIL.COM Subject: The '30-Second Slum Clearance Plan' (was Re: Lightning) From: Paul Robinson Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA Daniel Burstein writes: > Now, if it had been an EMP from a nuclear explosion ...? > [Moderator's Note:[The NRC said] it would not be worth the cost of the > nuclear energy required to blow Chicago off the map and give the > cockroaches a chance to start over and build the city from scratch. During the week of that famous international disaster six years ago, the newspapers in the Soviet Union gave full coverage to the incident, including how it happened, what caused it, the burning and the attempts to put out the fire. Yes, the Soviet Newspapers gave full and complete coverage to the fire at the Los Angeles Public Library. I once said that if Los Angeles got the '30 Second Slum Clearance Plan' that I wouldn't mourn more than a couple of minutes, but once I found out the library had been destroyed (twice!) I decided I could care less. Now this gives me a chance to raise a telephone related question. In the 1960s movie 'Fail Safe' a bomber team drops one on Moscow. It was determined that if it did go off, they could tell by leaving the phone at the Ambassador's residence in Moscow off the hook and listening, because the phone, as it melted in the nuclear blast, would give off a high-pitched screech. Now, the technical advisiory people for this film were not all that good -- when they filmed this movie, in one scene showing a large computer the tape drives were running backwards -- so it makes me wonder if this is true; anyone have any ideas? Paul Robinson - TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Jun 93 11:31:03 EDT From: jeffj%jiji@uunet.UU.NET (Jeffrey Jonas) Subject: Lightning/EMP and Phone Service In Telecom-Digest: Volume 13, Issue 386, Message 5 of 18 Daniel Burstein says (in jest I hope): > Now, if it had been an EMP from a nuclear explosion ...? I have a morbid fascination with the machines of war, particularly since I'm still a member of the Association of Old Crows (the electronic warfare folks). I've seen ads for a "nucleur event detector" that's capable of "detecting multiple events". Yeesh. There's no mention of what you do with such a detector. Light up a sign "kiss your *ss goodbye" perhaps? If the detector's really sensitive, you'll get what, a few seconds of warning before the EMP is high enough to destroy the machine. That's not enough time to dump all the core onto EMP shielded disks/storage (or is it?). Seriously, I have not read anything recently about the programming and hardware aspects to making failsafe systems. When Evanston's fire alarms tripped, what do the switches do to protect themselves? Dump all state and contents to tape/disk and prepare for crisis? Go to a shutdown or minimal mode? The Uninterruptable Power Supply makers are now offering "smart" power conditioners that can signal impending doom. I guess they simply shut down the computer. Any first hand experiences? Is that integrated with fire alarms and other reasons for emergency action? Jeffrey Jonas jeffj@panix.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 12:02:12 -0400 (EDT) Reply-To: 0005066432@MCIMAIL.COM Subject: Information on Fax Broadcast Services From: Paul Robinson Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA Pat_Stephenson@transarc.com writes: > I am looking for information on availability and pricing of > commercial fax broadcast services. The basic need is to get a > 25 page document to several hundred fax numbers once a week, > occasionally more often. It should arrive within a few hours > of being sent (ie one dial-out fax line probably won't cut it > :-)). I have just the thing for you. It's the E-Mail address this message has as its From: header, e.g. MCI Mail. Here's how it works: 1. You tell the system you want to send a message. 2. You tell the system to whom it is to be sent. 3. You enter in or /UPLOAD the text to be transmitted (using Kermit or Zmodem). 4. You tell the system to transmit the page(s) and it will do so. Number 2 - the address list - may be created at the time the message is entered (for new recipients), may use a "mailing list" of recipients, or may do both. I'm not sure what the top number of delivery recipients per message is - it might be around 200 or 250 - but worst case you might have to set up two lists. Now as to cost, it's not too expensive, and you can get discounts. Note in the below case that message units are charged based on outgoing messages; there is no charge to _receive_ E-Mail or telexes. The cost to subscribe to MCI Mail is one of at least 3 choices (and there may be more): Basic Rate is $35 a year, with no message unit allocation (message units are - and this is where it connects to you - a 5K E-Mail message or a 1/2 page domestic U.S. fax message). There is a $10 a month option, where the $35 a year price is waived, and you get 40 message units. For individuals, there is a "Friends and Family" plan which costs $25 a month and gives you 250 message units a month; only one to a customer, please. :) Now with whatever plan you choose, on fax messages, the cover sheet is free. After the message unit allocation, the charge is roughly 50c for the first 1/2 page and probably about 25c per 1/2 page after that, I haven't checked rates all that closely. MCI Mail has announced also they are beta testing the introduction of Postscript capability on facsimile messages. Using your figures you are talking about 250 x 25 or 6250 pages. This would run about $3125 in fax charges for each message. If you used the "Friends and family" discount, you would pay for 6125 pages or $3062.25 plus $25 a month for the service, or $3087.25 if you do this once a month. MCI Mail will also return E-Mail confirmation of each delivery. With this high a volume - especially if it's more than once a month - you might want to look into a fax-relay service and getting a special arrangement for high-volume transmissions. You might also want to look into buying some used XT's, putting a fax modem in each, and setting them up with phone lines. It really depends on how fast you absolutely have to have this out. Let's say that you can stand a four-hour delay. Since each fax will take about 2 pages a minute or with dialing and transfers, about 15 minutes per fax, this means one machine can send out 16 faxes in the 4 hour period. This means you would need to have about 15 phone lines (this gives one spare line to reduce the time and to help in case a machine goes down.) Used XT-type PCs with a 20 meg hard drive are about $300 each, and since they will all simply run one application, you can run them without monitors. A modem on each, with fax software, will run about $100, if you purchase a 2400 baud modem. (All new fax modems do 9600 baud outgoing.) You could then hook them up on their own network so that each could download the facsimile file from a service computer. Lan cards are about $100 each, or you could have each one call into the modem on a server computer, or do an explode: Fast 486 with large ramdisk creates the fax image, but doesn't transmit it. Your computer calls one of the client machines and transmits the fax image file to it, then calls another. As each of the client machines is loaded, it then calls another until all of them have the image; this machine then calls another. The server probably calls two clients, they in tern call two others and this way in a few minutes all of the machines are loaded with the image to be transmitted This also allows your system to test itself for integrity since if it doesn't transmit properly, you know something is wrong. Now, each client goes down the list of 16 sites and delivers the fax to them. Each time it generates it, a results note is generated. This can be examined to see if pages need retransmission. Now, costs in this case. 15 XTs with modems will cost $400x15, or $6000; if you don't already have 15 spare phone lines, installation will probably run you about $100 each, or $1500. Installation cost is therefore $7500. Monthly charges will run about $70 per line plus usage or $1050 a month. Over a one year period, the cost will be roughly $12,600 plus $7500 to install or $20,100. The cost per page, if you are doing a lot of faxes, will drop down to perhaps 10c per U.S. destination based on two pages per minute based on a rate of perhaps 20c per minute if you get a high-volume calling plan. Based on this cost of 10c per page and allowing a 10% margin for errors and retransmissions, the net cost per transmission is therefore $690. (Add in the difference for each overseas transmission.) If you get a service that gives really steep discounts of 1/2 of the rate I quoted for MCI Mail, each transmission will cost $1500. Looking at this figure, if in a one-year period, the difference in cost volumes indicates that after 29 transmissions, it would be cheaper to buy the equipment. If you need two-hour delivery, it's cheaper at 60 transmissions, and so on. The mix is based on how much it will cost for the service. If you are interested in setting something like this up, write me back and let me know, as I do something like this myself and I know how it works. Paul Robinson - TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #392 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa19208; 15 Jun 93 23:23 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA25111 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Tue, 15 Jun 1993 20:40:48 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA09273 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Tue, 15 Jun 1993 20:40:07 -0500 Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 20:40:07 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306160140.AA09273@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #393 TELECOM Digest Tue, 15 Jun 93 20:39:30 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 393 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Again I Come to Ask a Favor (TELECOM Moderator) US-German Telecom Secret (Dale Wharton) Comdial Help, Anyone? (Andrew Marc Greene) You Are Invited to a Free Seminar at WESTECH EXPO, Santa Clara (C. Altman) Need Modem Lockout Circuit (Kevin M. Patfield) Plugging Telephone Handset Directly Into Phoneline (Arthur Kodama) SpeechSoft Phone Numbers (Steve Edwards) Grocery Stores Accepting Credit Cards (Steve Edwards) Information on the Electronic Highway (siri@aigle.ccrit.doc.ca) Is There a Future for Digital Audio Tape/Compact Cassettes (Michele Jarvis) Voicemail Recommendation Wanted (Steve Edwards) Re: 1-800-COLLECT versus 10222-0 (Doug Sewell) Re: 1-800-COLLECT versus 10222-0 (R. Kevin Oberman) Re: 411 Danger in New Jersey (trenton@netcom.com) Re: 411 Danger in New Jersey (Ed Greenberg) Re: Nationwide CD-ROM Telco Lists Question (Dan Gillmor) Re: Nationwide CD-ROM Telco Lists Question (J. Robert Burgoyne) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 19:40:50 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Subject: Again I Come to Ask a Favor Once again I need to ask for help from the generous readers of the Digest in meeting a few basic expenses in the production of this journal. Again, Illinois Bell is rumbling about a past due balance, and a cut in service is again imminent. Your support of the Digest through the Orange Card, the 800 service and more recently the Talk Tickets has been greatly appreciated, and your use of these products has begun to ease the crunch and pressure I have been under for several months here. In other words, there *is* a light at the end of the tunnel, but it still is a distance away. The red ink is slowly disappearing here, but day-to-day cash flow continues to be a major concern. If I can just hang on a few more months, the worst of it will be over. And hang on I will, as long as I can because of the large number of you who have come to depend on TELECOM Digest as an educational and informative source of knowledge about the workings of 'the phone company' and other aspects of telecommunications. No one needs to remind me it was a mistake to leave my full time employment of several years to begin this little venture: a not-for-profit educational service relating to telecommunications. The trouble is, I did not expect it to be *quite as 'not-for-profit' as it has been*. As before, this is an embarassing message for me to post, so I will cut it off at this point with the request that if you have not previously assisted financially in the support of the Digest before, I sincerely urge you to do so at this time. If you have assisted previously and can do so again, I hope you will do so. The Digest is able to receive your donations electronically, or you may mail them to the office. Thank you for whatever you can and wish to do. As always, participation in the Digest itself is not tied in in any way with the use of the products offered here or your otherwise generous financial support. May I hear from you in the next day or so please, as you feel inclined. Telecom Digest 2241 West Howard Street #208 Chicago, IL 60645 Patrick Townson ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 17:27:51 edt From: Dale Wharton Subject: US-German Telecom Secret EC DEMANDS FULL DETAILS OF U.S.-GERMAN TELECOMS DEAL The European Commission sent a letter to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl demanding the details of a secret German - U.S. telecommunications deal. U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor revealed last Thursday the existence of the deal, which lets U.S. and German telecommunications suppliers bypass EC-U.S. sanctions and countersanctions. EC Trade Commissioner Leon Brittan will discuss the matter with Kantor this week. France sharply criticized Germany at a time when the two countries are trying to bridge their differences over GATT. "France has asked the European Commission to fully clarify this matter. We cannot imagine that such a breech of Community solidarity could be approved," said a foreign ministry statement. Source: Andres Wolberg-Stok, "U.S.-German Telecoms Pact Causes Pre-Summit EC Rift," REUTER, June 14, 1993. ( excerpt from ) Produced by: Kai Mander The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) 1313 Fifth Street SE, Suite #303 Minneapolis, MN 55414-1546 USA Telephone:(612)379-5980 Fax:(612)379-5982 E-Mail:kmander@igc.apc.org ------------------------------ From: Andrew_Marc_Greene@frankston.com Subject: Comdial Help, Anyone? Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 17:32 -0400 I'm in the process of connecting an Amerifax LaserVoice voice mail card up to our Comdial DigiTech phone system here at work. Of course, the DTMF codes that the Comdial uses to communicate with its ExecuMail system are secret proprietary information, and even our Comdial dealer doesn't have them. So far I've figured out enough to get the system halfway working, but if anyone has any information that might be relevant, I'd appreciate hearing from you. Thanks, Andrew Greene [Not my real address, just the one that works!] :-) ------------------------------ From: caltman@retix.com (carol altman) Subject: You Are Invited to a Free Seminar at WESTECH EXPO, Santa Clara Organization: Retix, Santa Monica CA Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 21:38:05 GMT John Reidy, Product Manager of this sxciting new technology, Cellular Digital Packet Data will be speaking at the WESTECH Expo at the Santa Clara Convention Center Monday June 21 and Tuesday June 22 at 12:30 PM and 6:30 PM each day. We will be happy to answer any questions and talk technically. Stop by our booth # 534 at the EXPO. The Santa Clara Convention Center is located at 5001 Great American Parkway at Tasman, Santa Clara. ------------------------------ From: patfieldk@agcs.com (Kevin M. Patfield) Subject: Need Modem Lockout Circuit Date: 15 Jun 1993 16:31:43 -0700 Organization: AG Communication Systems, Phoenix, AZ [I hope this isn't a FAQ but our site doesn't have a copy] Can someone please help me with a circuit for preventing someone breaking my modem connection by picking up an extension phone? I know I could just buy a couple from Radio Shack but where's the intellectual challenge in that :-) I presume the way these things work is to use an scr or something similar to only connect the extension phones to the line when line voltage is present. Email would be appreciated. Thanks. Kevin Patfield, AG Communication Systems, Phoenix, AZ Internet: patfieldk@agcs.com AOL: Patfield voice: (602) 581-4812 fax: (602) 581-4390 ------------------------------ From: akodama@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Arthur Kodama) Subject: Plugging Telephone Handset Directly Into Phoneline Organization: University of Hawaii Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 21:11:18 GMT As a TELECOM Digest reader, I'm sure most of you have experimented to see what would happen if you plugged the handset of a modular corded telephone directly into the telephone jack. You probably found the same thing as me: you can hear things but you can't say things onto the line. Ie, you can get dialtone or listen to a phone conversation already in progress on the line, but whatever you say will not be transmitted onto the line. So I ask thee knowledgeable Telecom reader, is it possible to make the handset transmit onto the line when directly connected to the phone line/wall jack? I need to know since it would be very useful to me if it did. Small schematics are fine, I can wield a solder to a certain degree. Thanks and Aloha, akodama@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu [Moderator's Note: The kinds of things you would be soldering 'to a certain degree' would be the things you find inside the phone network presently ... so why not just use one? In other words, what is there about your application which makes a handset -- as opposed to the complete guts of the phone -- preferable? If you really must go the direction you speak, try using a Trimline phone, since all the guts *are* in the handset. A Trimline handset with a modular cord can be plugged in to the wall connector and used as is. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: 15 Jun 93 11:25:36 From: sceard!newline!steve@UCSD.EDU (Steve Edwards) Subject: SpeechSoft Phone Numbers According to the fax I received 6/7/93, their phone numbers are: 609-466-1100 and 609-466-0757 fax Steve Edwards Internet: steve@newline.uucp Voice: +1-619-723-2727 Newline CompuServe: 73677,3561 Fax: +1-619-731-3000 ------------------------------ Date: 15 Jun 93 11:54:43 From: sceard!newline!steve@UCSD.EDU (Steve Edwards) Subject: Grocery Stores Accepting Credit Cards king@rtsg.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist) writes: >As an aside, the grocery store I shop now accepts credit cards and >automatic teller cards. Double-plus convenient! (Please, no flames >about the risks of keying in my PIN out in plain sight at the checkout >counter ...) In southern California (at least LA, OC, and SD counties), Ralphs and Lucky grocery stores accept credit cards without any PIN! Just "swipe" (pun intended) the card and you can walk out with the goods. Steve Edwards Internet: steve@newline.uucp Voice: +1-619-723-2727 Newline CompuServe: 73677,3561 Fax: +1-619-731-3000 [Moderator's Note: The Jewel and Dominick chains here in Chicago can swipe an ATM card (or a debit card, or credit card) at the cash register but they do require you to punch in a PIN in the process. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Jun 93 14:37:25 EST From: siri@aigle.ccrit.doc.ca Subject: Information on the Electronic Highway Providing you with information that you can put to work ... Following feedback from our readers, the SIRI (Service integre de ressources d'information/Integrated Service for Information Resources) team at the Canadian Workplace Automation Research Centre (CWARC) is in the process of revising its products, services and policies. For anyone in an interdisciplinary field wanting to remain fully up-to-date, scanning multiple journals on a regular basis is critical. It is, however, a time-consuming activity. Moreover, one may not necessarily have access to all the relevant periodicals dealing with the subject being researched. The objective of the SIRI team, therefore, is to offer through FLASH INFORMATION and a new additional product (which is yet to be named), a selective dissemination of information specifically geared towards the information needs of researchers and management within the fields of information management and information technologies. These electronic publications will keep our readers up-to-date by providing details of relevant newly published information scanned from some 300 journals and news bulletins from our collection on a weekly basis. Our new format ... The SIRI team is working toward improving the contents, format and access of FLASH INFORMATION. Future issues of FLASH INFORMATION, our bibliographic issue of articles on information technologies and industry news, for example, will be more comprehensive and entries will be grouped under general subject headings. Topics identified reflect the Centre's main research interests which include language technology, content engineering, multimedia, human-computer interaction issues, and learning technologies. An indexed listing of the journals scanned will be provided upon request. Our New Product ... Whereas FLASH INFORMATION is a list of titles of articles, our new product will consist of abstracts of articles. This publication will provide researchers and management with news on strategic alliances within the industry and the Canadian government, industry news and issues, market and R & D trends, and recent developments in information/computer/communications related fields. These abstracts will be distributed jointly with FLASH INFORMATION. If you want a list of subject headings, an example of FLASH INFORMATION in its new format and sample entries of our new product please contact us at: SIRI@AIGLE.CCRIT.DOC.CA Up to now FLASH INFORMATION has been made available free of charge. We will continue sending you FLASH INFORMATION together with our new publication free until September. In order to provide you with the new products and services, however, a minimal subscription fee may be charged beginning September in order to recover some of the production costs. ------------------------------ From: mjarvis@andy.bgsu.edu (michele jarvis) Subject: Is There a Future for Digital Audio Tape/Compact Cassettes? Organization: Bowling Green State University B.G., Oh. Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 19:43:43 GMT I would like recommendations about what newsgroup would be best to discuss digital audio tape and digital compact cassettes. I am particularly interested in looking at future usage of each of these technologies. (If they do indeed have a future.) mjarvis@andy.bgsu.edu ------------------------------ Date: 15 Jun 93 11:34:00 From: sceard!newline!steve@UCSD.EDU (Steve Edwards) Subject: Voicemail Recommendation Wanted I'm looking into a PC based voicemail system for a friend's real estate office. They want the phone to be answered by a human who will hand the call to the voicemail box if the agent is out. The system will sit behind a "System 66." (Whatever that is.) I've got literature from SpeechSoft, AVT, Parity, and ITI Logiciel. If you have experience with any of these (or any others I should consider), please post or email and I will summarize. Thanks in advance, Steve Edwards Internet: steve@newline.uucp Voice: +1-619-723-2727 Newline CompuServe: 73677,3561 Fax: +1-619-731-3000 [Moderator's Note: You might want to also contact former TELECOM Digest participant John Higdon (john@zygot.ati.com). He custom designs precisely the sort of software you are seeking, and may wish to quote a price you will find attractive. PAT] ------------------------------ From: doug@cc.ysu.edu (Doug Sewell) Subject: Re: 1-800-COLLECT versus 10222-0 Date: 15 Jun 1993 01:15:38 GMT Organization: Youngstown State University John C. Fowler (0003513813@mcimail.com) wrote: > I was just wondering: is there any difference between placing collect > calls using 1-800-COLLECT and placing them using 10222-0? Where I work, most classified employees are not trusted with long distance access (I can run multi-million-dollar computer equipment, however). Unless I go through the department secretary or the university switchboard (who wants my phone card number so SHE can tell the operator, to make sure I'm not pulling a scam), I can only make local and 1-800 phone calls. The other alternative is a public phone in the building lobby. I'll bet that 1-800-COLLECT isn't blocked on our switchboard yet ... but I have an Orange Card (and before that a FON card fron Sprint) to make personal calls without the hassle. Too bad AT&T didn't come up with a way to place LD phone calls in cases like this earlier ... Doug Sewell, Tech Support, Computer Center, Youngstown State University doug@cc.ysu.edu doug@ysub.bitnet !cc.ysu.edu!doug ------------------------------ From: oberman@ptavv.llnl.gov Subject: Re: 1-800-COLLECT versus 10222-0 Date: Tue, 15 Jun 93 00:54:17 GMT Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory In Article SKASS@DREW.DREW.EDU writes: > [Moderator's Note: 1-800-COLLECT is a service of Microwave Communications, > Inc., sometimes known as MCI. PAT] Sorry, Pat, but it is a service of MCI. The name of the company was legally changed from Microwave Communications, Inc. several years ago. After all, virtually none of their communications is microwave any more. R. Kevin Oberman Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Internet: koberman@llnl.gov (510) 422-6955 Disclaimer: Being a know-it-all isn't easy. It's especially tough when you don't know that much. But I'll keep trying. (Both) ------------------------------ From: trenton@netcom.com (The Recluse) Subject: Re: 411 Danger in New Jersey Organization: The Monastary for Reclusive Monks Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 17:03:15 GMT John Castaldi (castaldi@heroes.rowan.edu) wrote: > while calling 411 this weekend, I was prompted to press 1 to be > automatically connected. Oh no! Sounds like a way to beat CDR. > Anybody heard how to stop this? > [Moderator's Note: This new feature has proven to be a nuisance to > administrators of phone systems (in hotels for example) who find > themselves getting all these 35 cent charges from extension-users who > made a call to 411, and got the call connected that way without the PBX > ever knowing about it. Not only do they get the 35 cent charge on the > PBX bill, they get the charge for the call itself, which, since it was > not seen by the PBX will not show up in the call detail for the > purpose of billing the individual responsible. PAT] While I understand that this feature is really annoying for phone system admins, I love the feature. I no longer have either find a pen and paper or even remember the number. This is quite usefull when calling from payphones. Trenton trenton@netcom.com ------------------------------ From: edg@netcom.com (Ed Greenberg) Subject: Re: 411 Danger in New Jersey Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1993 18:19:35 GMT In article TELECOM Moderator noted in response to castaldi@heroes.rowan.edu (John Castaldi): > [Moderator's Note: This new feature has proven to be a nuisance to > administrators of phone systems (in hotels for example) who find > themselves getting all these 35 cent charges from extension-users who > made a call to 411, and got the call connected that way without the PBX > ever knowing about it. Not only do they get the 35 cent charge on the > PBX bill, they get the charge for the call itself, which, since it was > not seen by the PBX will not show up in the call detail for the > purpose of billing the individual responsible. PAT] The Telco should be able to filter out anything that is coming from Hotel/Motel or Prison class of service, and not offer the option to them. Ed Greenberg edg@netcom.com Ham Radio: KM6CG ------------------------------ From: dgillmor@garnet.msen.com (Dan Gillmor) Subject: Re: Nationwide CD-ROM Telco Lists Question Date: 15 Jun 1993 13:41:57 GMT Organization: Detroit Free Press My own experience is that the numbers aren't exactly reliable. I saw the current CD at Comdex in Atlanta. The residential listing for me was two years old. Dan Gillmor Internet: dgillmor@msen.com Detroit Free Press CompuServe: 73240,334 3001 W. Big Beaver Rd. -- Suite 602 Voice: 313-649-9770 Troy, MI 48084 Fax: 313-649-2736 ------------------------------ From: burgoyne@access.digex.net (J. Robert Burgoyne) Subject: Re: Nationwide CD-ROM Telco Lists Question Date: 15 Jun 1993 15:37:23 GMT Organization: Maryland FYI Publishing, Laurel, MD USA (301)-317-0726 Daniel Burstein (dannyb@Panix.Com) wrote: > Well, I'm finally about to bite the bullet and get a cd-rom for my > system, and one of the first purchases I have in mind is a national > phone directory. My experience is with Pro-Phone. They have two editions, 1992 and 1993. You will see the 1992 edition heavily discounted through mail order; the 1993 edition is around $250. My experience with the 1993 edition, looking for residential listings, was that it was not an effective tool for the job I needed it for. I was tasked with converting phone numbers into addresses, and three things were apparent. 1) Much data is wrong. Of a sample 280 piece mailing to the names and addresses I retrieved, 70 were bad addresses. 2) But that's OK, because you can only find about one in ten addresses. :) Something like 20% of all Americans move every year, so it's not an easy task to keep the data current. 3) There were some minor bugs. But overall, the product has potential. It does let you save data to a file, although there is no "batch" mechanism. The speed of operation is quite good. J. Robert Burgoyne Maryland FYI Laurel, Maryland 301-317-0726 24 Hours burgoyne@access.digex.net 301-317-0587 FAX ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #393 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa29786; 16 Jun 93 19:08 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA18882 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Wed, 16 Jun 1993 16:36:57 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA13993 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Wed, 16 Jun 1993 16:36:08 -0500 Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 16:36:08 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306162136.AA13993@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #395 TELECOM Digest Wed, 16 Jun 93 16:36:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 395 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: Brastislava Phones (Wolf Paul) Re: Desireable Answering Machine Feature? (Ihor J. Kinal) Re: Calling Card Scam (Reinhard A. Hamid) Re: Beeper Providers: Which Have Best Coverage? (John Gilbert) Re: What is a 'Trunk'? (Dave Haber) Re: Stocks via Internet (samp@pro-gallup.cts.com) Re: Static on Phone and an Uncooperative Phone Company (Bruce Sullivan) Re: Static on Phone and an Uncooperative Phone Company (Scott A. Harris) Re: CompuServe Through Merit (was Re: Compuserve White Pages) (Dan Gillmor) Re: Blocking an Unlisted Number (David G. Lewis) Re: Interesting News From Ohio Bell (David G. Lewis) Re: Usenet News via Satellite (Norman Gillaspie) Re: Cordless Phone With Answering Machine Wanted (Carl Oppedahl) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: cc_paul@rcvie.co.at (Wolf Paul) Subject: Re: Brastislava Phones Reply-To: cc_paul@rcvie.co.at (Wolf N. Paul) Organization: Alcatel Austria Research Centre Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 17:29:09 GMT In article Jan George Frajkor writes: > In my frequently-expressed opinion, the state of the telephone > systems in Eastern Europe generally and Slovakia in particular is the > biggest single cause of economic retardation, and I am not even sure > that the government recognizes that. > Am I right in thinking that these government have been so used to > the elitist/dirigist approach (we need a fone -- the people do not) > that they are incapable of changing? It is not just a matter of > money. I have seen lots of money being put into the restoration of > old buildings (which is a nice idea in itself) when putting the same > money into public telephones and better lines would have paid for > itself in a few months. Well, I think that is putting it a bit strongly, and the blame is not even entirely due to the former communist system (whose attitudes undoubtedly are still prevalent in much of the present bureaucracies). To some extent, the same attitudes can be found in some Western European countries; the use of the telephone is NOT as common in Europe as in North America, and it is not as common in Eastern Europe as it is in Western Europe. In much of Europe, telephone costs are much higher than in the U.S. or Canada, both for local calls (which are ALWAYS metered!) and for long distance calls. Directory information not working around the clock is a phenomenon which can be found in several countries in Western Europe, and in some others the reduced number of operators on duty after 1800 hrs means it's nearly impossible to get through to one. I know a lot of business is conducted by telephone in North America; over here it is only slowly picking up, even in Western Europe. No wonder that the phone is not as high a priority to the new governments of Eastern Europe as American businesses would like. Remember also that even after allocating money (= hard currency, hard to come by for most of the post-communist governments in Eastern Europe) for phone system modernization it is a much more cumbersome process to select a vendor and commission a new switch than to put some local company to work on renovating buildings; the latter has the added advantage of (a) being paid for in local currency, and (b) providing jobs for one's own citizens, as well as hopefully attracting more tourists who bring hard currency which can be spent on the phone system and other high tech infrastructure projects. Wolf N. Paul, Computer Center wnp@rcvie.co.at Alcatel Austria Research Center +43-1-391621-122 (w) Ruthnergasse 1-7 +43-1-391452 (fax) A-1210 Vienna-Austria/Europe +43-1-2246913 (h) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 15:13:17 EDT From: ijk@trumpet.att.com Subject: Re: Desireable Answering Machine Feature? Organization: AT&T In article , phil@wubios.wustl.edu (J. Philip Miller) writes: > A standup comic last night suggested that one of his peeves are the > people who call you, but refuse to leave a message on your answering > machine. He suggested that he would love to purchase an answering > machine that would call the caller back and say "I said, PLEASE LEAVE > A MESSAGE." > With the return call CLASS feature or Caller ID it would certainly be > possible to implement such a feature. How many would like to actually > have it? Would it run afoul of the recent laws against telemarketers > that say a machine cannot make a call by itself? > I have not seen any answering machines which are Caller ID smart, i.e. > recording the caller's number along with the message. Sure seems it > would be useful. Are there any? I don't think that having a machine calling back would be a good idea: most people would NOT have the composure to leave a message, in this case. [Presumably, most of them did not leave a message in the first place because they hate talking to machines]. Instead, if you have Caller-ID, then it might be nice to just record the time and number. That way, you have the choice of trying the number. I'm very frustrated by people who don't leave messages. Just my opinion, Ihor Kinal att!cbnewsh!ijk ------------------------------ From: hamid@tnt.uni-hannover.de (Reinhard A Hamid) Subject: Re: Calling Card Scam Reply-To: hamid@tnt.uni-hannover.de Organization: RRZN Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 20:35:44 GMT In article 4@eecs.nwu.edu, jjm@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (james.j.menth) writes: > In article Dave Ptasnik washington.edu> writes: >> Phone bill arrives from US West with $1,000 in calling card charges. > Just got a bill from SWBell for $1550 on a line I use only for local > modem and incoming calls. I heard that all the numbers you are calling appear on the phone bill. Isn't it possible, to discover who used the card with the help of the dialed numbers? > SWBell's fraud detection software cancelled the card after > three days. Very good ! But how does the software know when to cancel a card? Do all phone companies offer that service? > SWBell was very helpful, cancelled the card permanently (at my > request) and removed the charges. You have luck. In Germany our (one and only -) telefon-company insists on the payment of the bill in the most cases of enourmous bills. Enourmous bills are a repeated topic in our telecom newsgroups. Reinhard ------------------------------ From: johng@comm.mot.com (John Gilbert) Subject: Re: Beeper Providers: Which Have Best Coverage? Organization: Motorola LMPS Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 13:51:17 GMT In article jshelton@ads.com (John L. Shelton) writes: > Any published reports on beeper coverage area out there? I've > apparantly missed several calls recently, in mid-town Manhattan. I > use SKY PAGE service, but am thinking of changing. I don't want to > get something worse. Skypage service is, in my opinion, a compromise. You have to deal with the PIN numbers which may be confusing to some people. You can however get one number that will reach you in much of the Americas plus parts of Asia. In most markets Skypager covers the area with far fewer transmitters than a local carrier. This means that the service won't be nearly as reliable. The service costs much more than a local carrier. The are regional carriers that can offer much more reliable service than Skytel at a much lower cost. One option that I use is to buy a synthesised pager and get regional service in several areas of the country. I frequently travel to Florida. In my pager I have a Chicago system, a statewide Florida system, and our inhouse company paging system. The Synthesised Bravo Plus does not cost much more than a regular crystal controlled pager. Another thing to consider ... most frequencies are built in major metro areas. Chances are that if you have a pager on one of the "popular" frequencies it will work throughout the country. Try a pager on channel "P5" 152.240 MHz. You will find an operator in almost any city that can put you on the air. If you only have a few cities that you travel to, this may be an option. John Gilbert KA4JMC johng@ecs.comm.mot.com ------------------------------ From: foxx@netcom.com (Dave Haber) Subject: Re: What is a 'Trunk'? Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 04:36:04 GMT Tansin A. Darcos & Company (0005066432@mcimail.com) wrote: > The user asked the question, "What is a trunk?" > A "trunk" is an actual, physical path and/or circuit available for the > transmission of information in a telephone system. For example, a > pair of telephone wire represents one "trunk". A fiber-optic cable, > because it can multiplex many simultaneous connections, may have > 10,000 "trunks" in it. > ...You have "300 phone lines" inside the building, but only "40 > trunks" coming from the outside. I agree 100%, but tell that to my GTE rep! Having most of my experience in the PBX end of telephony, I think of trunks automatically as outside lines and 'lines' as inside lines. A single line connection to a residence is a trunk also, although it's not commonly referred to that way ... HOWEVER, my GTE rep should be used to dealing with big business customers, and everytime I call up to add more 'trunks' (GTE outside lines) to my switch, we get in a BIG argument. "No, you don't want trunks," she insists. "Those are something different. You want ground start business lines." I could not pin her down, however, on what she thought a trunk was ... I just have to remember not to use the 'T' word when I call GTE ... ... and then there's the consultant who helps us with our long distance, which we have hooked up to T1s. I agree with above, 'lines' on T1 are trunks too, but he insists I call them 'channels'. (Which is not technically incorrect. But neither is TRUNKS!) Dave Haber (on the front lines of the Trunk Holy Wars!) [foxx@netcom.com/haber@qdeck.com/Manager Internal Communications for Quarterdeck Office Systems in Santa Monica, Ca.] ------------------------------ From: samp@pro-gallup.cts.com Subject: Re: Stocks via Internet Organization: ProLine [pro-gallup] +1 505 722 9513 24hrs Gallup, NM, USA Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 00:32:27 MDT In brian@StarConn.com (Brian Smithson) writes: > The service company is X*Press Information Services Ltd. and the > service is called X*Press X*Change. It's available on some cable > systems in the US and Canada, and is available somewhere on a > satellite channel as well. The modem costs about US$150, and there is > no monthly fee for the service. For a surcharge per month, a decoder module that plugs in the back of the modem is available. Someone who subscribes to the premium service needs to tell us what additional data is available -- I believe it's stock data, but don't recall if it's more data that's available, or if the data is more current (closer to real time). Have any of the gray market mail order places offered the modem? (They'd ask you to sign a statement that you would notify your local cable company that you would be using the device, of course.;) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 17:05 GMT From: Bruce Sullivan Subject: Re: Static on Phone and an Uncooperative Phone Company Scott Harris (sharris@chopin.udel.edu) writes:: > Well, I've been complaining to the phone company about line noise. Let's see ... Delaware. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that'd put you in C&P territory, wouldn't it? In the course of my "professional" life, it's necessary to deal with various RBOCs and LECs across the country. C&P has been by far the worst (yes, that's counting GTE) in terms of customer service, responsiveness, technical ability, troubleshooting ... I think you get the idea. In terms of what you can do about it: I'd go along with Pat. Probably the most important thing you can do is COMPLAIN. They need to realize that you are not going to leave them alone until such time as they actually deign to get off their collective butts and fix your problem. Once they realize that it will be LESS work to fix it than to deal with you, you may get some action. Keep going up that organizational ladder, if you must. Let them know you will be complaining to the local Public Utilities Commission. Finally, you may need to take time off to be there when they come to fix it. It's too easy to leave a note saying there's no problem. It's tougher to say it to your face. When my LEC didn't want to fix a T1 they'd hosed up, I told them, "Look. I realize you think you don't think you have a problem. I'M telling you that there's a problem, YOU need to fix it, and I'm going to be all over you until you do. If you need to escalate to a supervisor, now would be the time." While this was a bit different, it gives the general idea that you fully intend to ride them until they fix it. One caveat: You'd better be confident that it IS their problem ;-). ------------------------------ From: sharris@chopin.udel.edu (Scott A Harris) Subject: Re: Static on Phone and an Uncooperative Phone Company Organization: University of Delaware Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 11:51:17 GMT In article sharris@chopin.udel.edu (Scott A Harris) writes: > [Moderator's Note: I think you need to call and make a little noise of > your own -- maybe it is time to call the chairman's office. PAT] It seems the louder I yell, the less willing they are to help and the more they charge. :-( Thanks, Scott Harris sharris@chopin.udel.edu ------------------------------ From: dgillmor@garnet.msen.com (Dan Gillmor) Subject: Re: CompuServe Through Merit (was Re: Compuserve White Pages) Date: 16 Jun 1993 13:14:26 GMT Organization: Detroit Free Press Carol Springs (carols@world.std.com) wrote: > COMPUSERVE: CompuServe is accessible from the Internet through the Merit > system, but it is quite expensive. According to Lon Lowen, Jr. > (lllowen@netcom.com): CompuServe does not know anything about Hermes > (Merit, Inc.) because it is actually a SprintNet line that connects to > CompuServe. CompuServe never actually sees a connection from Merit. > Merit is a service local to Michigan residents... Small correction: It's not local to all Michigan residents, just the ones who happen to have nodes in their local calling areas. That's a lot of Michigan residents, however. Dan Gillmor Internet: dgillmor@msen.com Detroit Free Press CompuServe: 73240,334 3001 W. Big Beaver Rd. -- Suite 602 Voice: 313-649-9770 Troy, MI 48084 Fax: 313-649-2736 ------------------------------ From: deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (david.g.lewis) Subject: Re: Blocking an Unlisted Number Organization: AT&T Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 13:46:24 GMT In article deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (david.g.lewis) writes: > In article jeffj%jiji@uunet.UU.NET > (Jeffrey Jonas) writes: >> I'd love to have the ability to send my own name when placing a call, >> so phone lines that are shared can identify the caller. > Of course, there are some downsides to this as well. What prevents me > from entering a false name? For that matter, what prevents me from > entering "F**K YOU JEFF", and preceding this with *67 so you don't > know who called? > [Moderator's Note: I don't see how you could send a message of any > sort and still use *67, If you block the ID, you would block anything > that went with the ID including the 'name', or whatever you put there. > It is either/or: you block it with *67 or you don't; if you don't then > the caller gets the number as well as any name or phrases, etc. PAT] Any discussion we have of this would be moot, because there is no service defined anywhere so far as I know that allows a POTS customer to provide a name for delivery. The only service defined that allows any user to provide the name for delivery is in a Bellcore TA for ISDN Calling Name from Primary Rate Interfaces; it only specifies user-provided names for intra-Business Group (Centrex, essentially) calls, and in that limited definition, presentation status of the calling name and presentation status of the calling number are indeed handled separately. However, the issues (both technical and political) are very different for intra-group calls than they are for calls from one POTS line to another POTS line, so any discussion we would try to have would be completely conjectural. David G Lewis AT&T Bell Laboratories david.g.lewis@att.com or !att!goofy!deej Switching & ISDN Implementation ------------------------------ From: deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (david.g.lewis) Subject: Re: Interesting News From Ohio Bell Organization: AT&T Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 14:01:21 GMT In article jmiller@afit.af.mil (Jeff Miller) writes: > First was a short blurb contained in the monthly "news" insert, > exhorting callers to let the distant phone ring "at least six times" > when placing a call. If I were a cynical sort, I would say this is a > hidden ploy to generate more revenue for IXC's (who all seem to say to > hang up after five rings, else be charged for a one-minute call), or > has the answer-supervision problem at long last been solved? The answer-supervision problem was only a problem for some IXCs to begin with, and it no longer exists except for those IXCs too cheap to install equipment that can properly handle the signaling. If *I* were a cynical type, I'd say it's a hidden ploy to increase the LEC's revenue for IXC access, because access charges begin accruing from the moment that the IXC returns wink (on MF trunks) or the moment that the LEC sends the SS7 ISUP IAM to the IXC (on SS7 ISUP trunks), regardless of whether the call is answered. However, since The Bell System has been advertising that a caller should let the phone ring ten times before hanging up probably since the first SXS was installed, I'll lay my cynicism to the side and impute benign motives to the LEC. David G Lewis AT&T Bell Laboratories david.g.lewis@att.com or !att!goofy!deej Switching & ISDN Implementation ------------------------------ From: norman@NETSYS.COM (Norman Gillaspie) Subject: Re: Usenet News via Satellite Organization: Netsys Inc. Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 08:54:26 GMT Jan.Ceuleers@k12.be (Jan Ceuleers) writes: > I quote Norman Gillaspie (norman@pagesat.com): >> The service is delivered over the K2 ku band satellite that provides >> continental US (conus), southern Canada, and northern Mexico coverage. > Are there any plans to provide this service in other parts of the > world, notably Europe? It is certainly possible ... if there is enough interest. To determine the amount of interest I suggest that those interested send an info request to pagesat@pagesat.com. Currently pagesat is looking into "C" band serice into Alaska and South America. KU band service is available into europe. The problem is the risk involved in providing this service. Regards, Norman ------------------------------ From: oppedahl@Panix.Com (Carl Oppedahl) Subject: Re: Cordless Phone With Answering Machine Wanted Date: 16 Jun 1993 11:29:43 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC In juyoung@kiwi.ucs.indiana.edu writes: > In article sattler@rtsg.mot.com (Chris > Sattler) writes: >> I'm looking to get a cordless phone with a built in answering machine. >> I need it to be wall-mountable. Does anyone know of anything like >> this? Any recommendations? > Try reading {Consumers Reports} (Nov 91, I think). Though the info > may be a bit outdated, it helps. In my book, I recommend _not_ getting a combined answering machine and telephone. I feel the same way about a combined answering machine and cordless phone. The reason is simple -- if one breaks, you have to throw them both away. What's more, the answering machine that you would really like will probably happen not to be packaged with the cordless phone that you would really like. You would end up settling for second-best on one or the other. Carl Oppedahl AA2KW (intellectual property lawyer) 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112-0228 voice 212-408-2578 fax 212-765-2519 ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #395 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa29962; 16 Jun 93 19:13 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA07291 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Wed, 16 Jun 1993 16:34:40 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA32360 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Wed, 16 Jun 1993 16:34:02 -0500 Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 16:34:02 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306162134.AA32360@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #394 TELECOM Digest Wed, 16 Jun 93 16:08:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 394 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: Remember the War on Pagers? Try This on For Size! (Paul Theodoropoulos) Re: Remember the War on Pagers? Try This on For Size! (Rob Boudrie) Re: Remember the War on Pagers? Try This on For Size! (C. Norloff) Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas (Jim Jordan) Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas (John J. Butz) Re: Reverse Directories for Caller ID (J. Robert Burgoyne) Re: Reverse Directories for Caller ID (Carl Oppedahl) Re: 800 Number Telnet Access (John R. Levine) Re: 800 Number Telnet Access (Darren Alex Griffiths) Re: Direct Programming of the Fax-Communication-Protocol (A. P. Peterson) Re: Direct Programming of the Fax-Communication-Protocol (Paul Robinson) Re: More "Features" For AT&T's 1-800 Service (David Holleb) ---------------------- TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively -- to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800 service. In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for the file 'products'. The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail- ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu. Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom. Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there, where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not require the use of our products and services. The two are separate. All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi- zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein. Send tithes and love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :) Phone: 312-465-2700. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: pt@crl.com (paul theodoropoulos) Subject: Re: Remember the War on Pagers? Try This on For Size! Date: 16 Jun 1993 12:47:13 -0700 Guy J. Sherr <0004322955@mcimail.com> writes: > The DC Metropolitan Police took a suspect into custody last Thursday, > after hearing gunshots and there this fellow was. Of course, that is > not cause for arrest, but it is cause for suspicion. Eventually, he > was arrested and they began looking for the weapon which I presume > they thought he had tossed it in the nearest bush. > When the officer searched the suspect, imagine his surprise at finding > a realistic looking, ersatz pager that turns into a FUNCTIONING .22 > caliber handgun (I guess about the size and range of a Derringer). These guns have been around for quite a few years, and are legally available to any non-disqualified person -- except of course in DC, where nobody can legally own one. > The report was that it was dangerous, and available in convincing > neon/day-glo colors to avoid detection ... All firearms are potentially dangerous. What is particularly dangerous is that the media -- by making this a cause celebre -- will be advertising the existence of such guns. One wonders who such advertising will most influence ... hint: law abiding citizens in DC can't buy them. paul theodoropoulos pt@crl.com diogenes@well.sf.ca.us [Moderator's Note: I don't happen to believe the media has any right to withhold news on the basis that they think they know what is best for us. If they know something, they should report it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: rboudrie@chpc.org (Rob Boudrie) Subject: Re: Remember the War on Pagers? Try This on For Size! Organization: Center For High Perf. Computing of WPI; Marlboro Ma Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 11:00:04 GMT > The DC Metropolitan Police took a suspect into custody last Thursday, > after hearing gunshots and there this fellow was. Of course, that is > not cause for arrest, but it is cause for suspicion. Eventually, he > was arrested and they began looking for the weapon which I presume > they thought he had tossed it in the nearest bush. > When the officer searched the suspect, imagine his surprise at finding > a realistic looking, ersatz pager that turns into a FUNCTIONING .22 > caliber handgun (I guess about the size and range of a Derringer). > The report was that it was dangerous, and available in convincing > neon/day-glo colors to avoid detection ... This report is utter BS. The cylynder of a .22 revolver is clearly visible when this is folded -- in fact, the large grip (not present on earlier models) makes it harder to conceal than the standard model (a North American Arms .22 revolver). In fact, a pager case for the standard model (which doesn't have the big fold around jacknife style grip) has been available for years. Any decent training program for police covers the existance of these guns which can be mounted in special belt buckles, necklaces, etc. I have also seen an X-ray of one (along with a handcuff key) found in a prisoner's rectal cavity. Followups to rec.guns ... rob boudrie rboudrie@chpc.org ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 10:51:18 EDT From: cnorloff@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil Subject: Re: Remember the War on Pagers? Try This on For Size! I haven't seen these actual weapons, but in the photos they look nothing like pagers. Though they are small, based on the reports of officers concealing them in cigarette packs (using them as backup weapons). The cylinder is exposed, so when you look at it you see what is obviously a gun part, inside the plastic housing (which is the handle when the cylinder/hammer/barrel assembly is folded out). Probably about as accurate and useful as any firearm with about a one-inch barrel (that is not very, unless *extremely* close), but it raises "concealability" to new levels! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 12:30:00 +0000 From: Jim (W.J.) Jordan Subject: Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Some clarifications and amplifications to Jack Decker's posting and Pat Townson's note: > This is a bit late, but in a message a few days ago, Carl Moore talked > about some geographic oddities and how they receive phone service > (such as Carter Lake, Iowa). I know of a few more: > 1) Lost Peninsula, Michigan ... > 2) Point Roberts, Washington ... > 3) Angle Inlet, Minnesota ... physically connected to Saskatchewan, > not the rest of Minnesota. Never knew much about what was there (a > post office, at least) nor where their phone service came from. > I'd be kind of interested to know how phone service is currently > provided to these communities. By the way, Point Roberts is/was NOT > the only example of cross-border local calling between the U.S. and > Canada, though instances of such are relatively rare and usually > confined to very small towns. > [Moderator's Note: Regards Point Roberts, you can't get there from > here without going through Canada ... on a boat yes, but to stay on > land you have to cross into Canada and back out again. PAT] Minnesota's Northwest Angle is physically connected to Manitoba, not Saskatchewan, and the only way to get to it from Minnesota or Ontario is through Manitoba or across Lake of the Woods. I don't think MTS had a mandate to provide telephone service outside Manitoba (it's a provincial crown corporation [read "government cash cow"]), and I don't remember seeing Angle Inlet in Bell Canada's Northwest Ontario listings when I last lived in the area a dozen years ago. However, Bell Canada did have phone listings for (and presumably provided service to) Baudette, MN, right across border from Rainy River, ON, and in the vicinity of the Northwest Angle. If Bell Canada serves Baudette, they probably provide service to Angle Inlet. Anyone in Minnesota or NW Ontario know for sure? The thing that puzzled me was why Baudette was in the NW Ontario listings, but International Falls wasn't. I guess (and this is pure speculation begging for clarification) International Falls was a big enough market that an American telephone company got to it, but Baudette didn't merit the attention. When Bell Canada got to providing service to Rainy River, the two towns were so closely tied that an agreement was struck to allow Bell Canada to serve both sides of the border. This raises an interesting question: how do residents of American towns served by Canadian telephone companies get billed for long distance? Are they charged Canadian rates, or do the Canadian switches allow 10xxx access to the long distance carrier of choice on lines terminated on the American side of the border? W. Jim Jordan dwarf@x400gate.bnr.ca (Internet) I work for BNR, not speak for it. ------------------------------ From: John.J.Butz@att.com Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 11:47:52 EDT Subject: Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) writes: > Spuyten Duyvil has been referred to as being on the Bronx side of the > Harlem River but politically in the borough of Manhattan, New York > City. I checked a Rand-McNally atlas and notice such an area (no name > provided) on the New York City area map, and it is certainly not a > remote area, which includes Broadway (U.S. Route 9) just after it > crosses over from Manhattan. Assuming this is indeed the area in > question, what phone exchanges would serve it, and how does it stand > with reference to Bronx being moved from 212 to 718? I was just in > New York City, and wish I had spotted this by then (instead, I made a > quick stop in the Bronx to look for area code 718 on a pay phone). > Encyclopedia Americana has a note about the Manhattan-Bronx boundary > quirk: The Harlem River formerly did not connect to the Hudson except > via the small Spuyten Duyvil creek. Then in 1905, the Harlem River > was extended in a manmade channel to reach the Hudson, and that part > of the creek not lying on the new channel was filled in. But the > Manhattan-Bronx boundary stayed put, so that (part of?) the Marble > Hill area ended up on the "wrong" side of the Harlem River. During my Jasperville days, I used to live on 234th Street in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, about 1/2 mile north of Marble Hill, Manhattan and Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx. Politically, Marble Hill is part of Manhattan, while geographically part of the Bronx. It is served by the 718 area code and I confirmed this with a NY Tel rep. I guess the reasons for this are: 1. Marble Hill, which is south of 230th street is served by the NY Tel central office located on the northwest corner of 230th and Corlear (in the Bronx). (By the way, the building has [dirty] windows and the frames are visible from the sidewalk!) 2. Most of the residents are aware of the border, but don't really make any distinction between the two political zones. Having two area codes without a distinct boundary like the Harlem River, would only confuse everyone. I have no idea what exchanges are used in Marble Hill. However, Manhattan College just north in Riverdale uses 920, and the two apartments I lived in used 796 and 549 respectively. If you ever return to the area, the pastor of the local Presbyterian Church sponsors a free history walk thru the Marble Hill, Spuyten Duyvil, and Kingsbridge neighborhoods every May. Don't worry, despite the Bronx's bad rep, these neighborhoods are the best kept secrets in New York City. J Butz AT&T - CCS hogpa!jbutz ER700 Sys Eng ------------------------------ From: burgoyne@access.digex.net (J. Robert Burgoyne) Subject: Re: Reverse Directories for Caller ID Date: 16 Jun 1993 15:42:50 GMT Organization: Maryland FYI Publishing, Laurel, MD USA (301)-317-0726 blake@hou2h.att.com wrote: > Does anyone know about other dial-up reverse directories? CompuServe has one. Go PHONEFILE. J. Robert Burgoyne Maryland FYI Laurel, Maryland 301-317-0726 24 Hours burgoyne@access.digex.net 301-317-0587 FAX ------------------------------ From: oppedahl@Panix.Com (Carl Oppedahl) Subject: Re: Reverse Directories for Caller ID Date: 16 Jun 1993 13:29:26 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC In blake@hou2h.att.com writes: > Illinois Bell offers a reverse directory service for Chicago-area > phone numbers. I'm not sure what it costs. > Does anyone know about other dial-up reverse directories? > [Moderator's Note: IBT's service costs 35 cents when used by a 312/708 > subscriber. It is just the usual toll charge to Chicago otherwise. The > number is 312-796-9600, and it only provides listed numbers. PAT] Hawaii had one a few years ago (maybe they still do) that gives listings for numbers starting with the Hawaii area code. Regrettably, the number one calls to get the service was blocked so that one could not call it from outside of Hawaii. Carl Oppedahl AA2KW (intellectual property lawyer) 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112-0228 voice 212-408-2578 fax 212-765-2519 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 12:01 EDT From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: 800 Number Telnet Access Organization: I.E.C.C. > Actually, there is a company call Delphi and they have an address of > @delphi.com. I got a card asking if I wanted access to the Internet > for a fee per month (I forgot the fee). The number to dial up to was > an 800 number. Delphi has an 800 dialup number, but you can only use it for your initial session to sign up. After that, access is via direct dial to Cambridge MA or Kansas City, telnet to delphi.com, or Sprintnet or Tymnet (should we now call that last one MCInet?) There's no communication surcharge for direct dial, telnet, or off-peak Tymnet. The standard packages are $10 for four hours/month or $20 for twenty/month. They have extensive Internet access at a flat monthly surcharge of $3, with Telnet, FTP, gopher, archie, wais, mail, and other odds and ends. At this point, Delphi seems to offer the best Internet access of the major on-line services. Although Delphi happens to be headquartered about a mile from here, no connection with them other than as a subscriber. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl ------------------------------ From: Darren Alex Griffiths Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 15:25:47 PDT Subject: Re: 800 Number Telnet Access In comp.dcom.telecom I write: > Digest readers have already heard about one service, Speedway, that > will allow Internet access fairly easily, but it requires long > distance charges, and you must dial via an AT&T so they can get their > kick backs. The number is 10288-1-503-2222, and since it costs money > it is unlikely your average Internet fool would use it for hacking. > [Moderator's Note: Are we missing part of the number there, Darren? I > think you owe us another three digits somewhere. PAT] Sorry, the number is 10288-1-503-520-2222. Cheers, Darren Alex Griffiths | dag@nasty.ossi.com Senior Software Engineer | (510) 652-6200 x139 Fujitsu Open Systems Solutions Inc. | Fax: (510) 652-5532 6121 Hollis Street | Emeryville, CA 94608-2092 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 09:00:31 -0400 From: padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson) Subject: Re: Direct Programming of the Fax-Communication-Protocol alma@chamber.in-berlin.de (Albrecht Mayer) asked: > Who knows how to handle the fax-communication-protocol with a > faxmodem? > I want to write parts of an application software that handles the > fax-communication-protocol itself according to CCITT recommendations > T.4 and T.30. That means I want to control the modem's type of > modulation and speed to build my own HDLC-frames for signalling and > data transfer. We just talked about this a little while ago. The best description of class 1 and class 2 fax protocols I have seen for free were downloadable from the Supra bulletin board (+503.967.2444) however what you can do is somewhat limited. (will send a uuencode if I can find it) The basic FAX communications (Group 3) are burned into the modem's ROMs. FAX communication with the modem is by a series of extended "AT" commands (AT+F...) and are limited to what can be done in conformance to the Class 1 (software negotiation) and Class 2 (hardware negotiation) -- might have gotten them backwards but youknowhatimean. Consequently I cannot say whether what you want to do is possible with a conventional mass-market (low cost) fax-modem. If the command you need is pre-programmed, fine. If not you cannot, you will need something else. Good luck, Padgett ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 13:39:49 -0400 (EDT) Reply-To: 0005066432@MCIMAIL.COM Subject: Re: Direct Programming of the Fax-Communication-Protocol From: Paul Robinson Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA Albrecht Mayer , writes: > Who knows how to handle the fax-communication-protocol with a > faxmodem? While I don't know how to do the work directly, I do have some idea of what is going on and I have a general idea of how to find out. The GNUFAX program mentioned below is what encouraged me not to bother writing one myself, also since I no longer had the need to do the application I had planned. Internet RFC 804 ("CCITT draft recommendation T.4 [Standardization of Group 3 facsimile apparatus for document transmission].") tells exactly how the data is set up. For getting the data into the modem, you need to convert the characters into a graphic image bitmap, then translate the bitmap into a fax image file. Then you issue the commands to the modem to dial a number and issue the fax hunt tone (a 'beep' every 3 seconds) and when the other side answers, to send what I call an "answerback" but is technically a "TTI" - this is the message that appears in the display window on the other fax machine - then you accept the other side's TTI, then you start the transmission, and so forth. Some machines also generate a CSI, which means you have one message that appears in the window, one that appears on the log, and still another that appears at the top of each page. You can get a copy of the GNUFAX program sources, and there may be other applications. You might also need the Ghostscript program to translate postscript or text into the format GNUFAX used. Also, Silicon Graphics Inc has written a program to send faxes from a unix box and has it available for FTP from one of their sites, 'sgi.com' if I'm not mistaken. You might be better off licensing one of the PC products such as Smith's Quick Link II or BITFAX, which will do an adequate job of transmitting (and receiving) faxes and are probably not that expensive to license. Now if you are not running on a PC platform, the 'roll-your-own' method is probably your only choice. Paul Robinson - TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM ------------------------------ From: davidthx@netcom.com (davidThx) Subject: Re: More "Features" For AT&T's 1-800 Service Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 09:42:02 GMT bogstad@blaze.cs.jhu.edu (Bill Bogstad) writes: > In the May 24th {Information Week} on pg. 20 there is an > article discussing new features that AT&T is planning for its 1-800 > network. In particular, a call recognition routing feature will allow > network managers to automatically route calls based on their ten digit > phone number. One of the suggested uses for this system is to > automatically route calls from customers who are delinquent in their > bill to your collections office. Given the result when American > Express used ANI to answer calls with the callers name, I can just > imagine what customer reactions to this "feature" will be. I'm curious as to what the result was when American Express used ANI, and do they still? David Holleb Lambda Voice & Graphic Systems davidthx@netcom.com [Moderator's Note: American Express customers got very annoyed and very freaked out when the service reps answered the call greeting them by name, etc. Now the reps still get ANI and a picture of the account calling them, but they pretend like they don't, and ask the customer for their name and number. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #394 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa00806; 16 Jun 93 19:33 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA10407 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Wed, 16 Jun 1993 16:09:19 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA29982 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Wed, 16 Jun 1993 16:08:31 -0500 Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 16:08:31 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306162108.AA29982@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #394 TELECOM Digest Wed, 16 Jun 93 16:08:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 394 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: Remember the War on Pagers? Try This on For Size! (Paul Theodoropoulos) Re: Remember the War on Pagers? Try This on For Size! (Rob Boudrie) Re: Remember the War on Pagers? Try This on For Size! (C. Norloff) Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas (Jim Jordan) Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas (John J. Butz) Re: Reverse Directories for Caller ID (J. Robert Burgoyne) Re: Reverse Directories for Caller ID (Carl Oppedahl) Re: 800 Number Telnet Access (John R. Levine) Re: 800 Number Telnet Access (Darren Alex Griffiths) Re: Direct Programming of the Fax-Communication-Protocol (A. P. Peterson) Re: Direct Programming of the Fax-Communication-Protocol (Paul Robinson) Re: More "Features" For AT&T's 1-800 Service (David Holleb) ---------------------- TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively -- to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800 service. In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for the file 'products'. The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail- ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu. Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom. Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there, where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not require the use of our products and services. The two are separate. All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi- zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein. Send tithes and love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :) Phone: 312-465-2700. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: pt@crl.com (paul theodoropoulos) Subject: Re: Remember the War on Pagers? Try This on For Size! Date: 16 Jun 1993 12:47:13 -0700 Guy J. Sherr <0004322955@mcimail.com> writes: > The DC Metropolitan Police took a suspect into custody last Thursday, > after hearing gunshots and there this fellow was. Of course, that is > not cause for arrest, but it is cause for suspicion. Eventually, he > was arrested and they began looking for the weapon which I presume > they thought he had tossed it in the nearest bush. > When the officer searched the suspect, imagine his surprise at finding > a realistic looking, ersatz pager that turns into a FUNCTIONING .22 > caliber handgun (I guess about the size and range of a Derringer). These guns have been around for quite a few years, and are legally available to any non-disqualified person -- except of course in DC, where nobody can legally own one. > The report was that it was dangerous, and available in convincing > neon/day-glo colors to avoid detection ... All firearms are potentially dangerous. What is particularly dangerous is that the media -- by making this a cause celebre -- will be advertising the existence of such guns. One wonders who such advertising will most influence ... hint: law abiding citizens in DC can't buy them. paul theodoropoulos pt@crl.com diogenes@well.sf.ca.us [Moderator's Note: I don't happen to believe the media has any right to withhold news on the basis that they think they know what is best for us. If they know something, they should report it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: rboudrie@chpc.org (Rob Boudrie) Subject: Re: Remember the War on Pagers? Try This on For Size! Organization: Center For High Perf. Computing of WPI; Marlboro Ma Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 11:00:04 GMT > The DC Metropolitan Police took a suspect into custody last Thursday, > after hearing gunshots and there this fellow was. Of course, that is > not cause for arrest, but it is cause for suspicion. Eventually, he > was arrested and they began looking for the weapon which I presume > they thought he had tossed it in the nearest bush. > When the officer searched the suspect, imagine his surprise at finding > a realistic looking, ersatz pager that turns into a FUNCTIONING .22 > caliber handgun (I guess about the size and range of a Derringer). > The report was that it was dangerous, and available in convincing > neon/day-glo colors to avoid detection ... This report is utter BS. The cylynder of a .22 revolver is clearly visible when this is folded -- in fact, the large grip (not present on earlier models) makes it harder to conceal than the standard model (a North American Arms .22 revolver). In fact, a pager case for the standard model (which doesn't have the big fold around jacknife style grip) has been available for years. Any decent training program for police covers the existance of these guns which can be mounted in special belt buckles, necklaces, etc. I have also seen an X-ray of one (along with a handcuff key) found in a prisoner's rectal cavity. Followups to rec.guns ... rob boudrie rboudrie@chpc.org ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 10:51:18 EDT From: cnorloff@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil Subject: Re: Remember the War on Pagers? Try This on For Size! I haven't seen these actual weapons, but in the photos they look nothing like pagers. Though they are small, based on the reports of officers concealing them in cigarette packs (using them as backup weapons). The cylinder is exposed, so when you look at it you see what is obviously a gun part, inside the plastic housing (which is the handle when the cylinder/hammer/barrel assembly is folded out). Probably about as accurate and useful as any firearm with about a one-inch barrel (that is not very, unless *extremely* close), but it raises "concealability" to new levels! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 12:30:00 +0000 From: Jim (W.J.) Jordan Subject: Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Some clarifications and amplifications to Jack Decker's posting and Pat Townson's note: > This is a bit late, but in a message a few days ago, Carl Moore talked > about some geographic oddities and how they receive phone service > (such as Carter Lake, Iowa). I know of a few more: > 1) Lost Peninsula, Michigan ... > 2) Point Roberts, Washington ... > 3) Angle Inlet, Minnesota ... physically connected to Saskatchewan, > not the rest of Minnesota. Never knew much about what was there (a > post office, at least) nor where their phone service came from. > I'd be kind of interested to know how phone service is currently > provided to these communities. By the way, Point Roberts is/was NOT > the only example of cross-border local calling between the U.S. and > Canada, though instances of such are relatively rare and usually > confined to very small towns. > [Moderator's Note: Regards Point Roberts, you can't get there from > here without going through Canada ... on a boat yes, but to stay on > land you have to cross into Canada and back out again. PAT] Minnesota's Northwest Angle is physically connected to Manitoba, not Saskatchewan, and the only way to get to it from Minnesota or Ontario is through Manitoba or across Lake of the Woods. I don't think MTS had a mandate to provide telephone service outside Manitoba (it's a provincial crown corporation [read "government cash cow"]), and I don't remember seeing Angle Inlet in Bell Canada's Northwest Ontario listings when I last lived in the area a dozen years ago. However, Bell Canada did have phone listings for (and presumably provided service to) Baudette, MN, right across border from Rainy River, ON, and in the vicinity of the Northwest Angle. If Bell Canada serves Baudette, they probably provide service to Angle Inlet. Anyone in Minnesota or NW Ontario know for sure? The thing that puzzled me was why Baudette was in the NW Ontario listings, but International Falls wasn't. I guess (and this is pure speculation begging for clarification) International Falls was a big enough market that an American telephone company got to it, but Baudette didn't merit the attention. When Bell Canada got to providing service to Rainy River, the two towns were so closely tied that an agreement was struck to allow Bell Canada to serve both sides of the border. This raises an interesting question: how do residents of American towns served by Canadian telephone companies get billed for long distance? Are they charged Canadian rates, or do the Canadian switches allow 10xxx access to the long distance carrier of choice on lines terminated on the American side of the border? W. Jim Jordan dwarf@x400gate.bnr.ca (Internet) I work for BNR, not speak for it. ------------------------------ From: John.J.Butz@att.com Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 11:47:52 EDT Subject: Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) writes: > Spuyten Duyvil has been referred to as being on the Bronx side of the > Harlem River but politically in the borough of Manhattan, New York > City. I checked a Rand-McNally atlas and notice such an area (no name > provided) on the New York City area map, and it is certainly not a > remote area, which includes Broadway (U.S. Route 9) just after it > crosses over from Manhattan. Assuming this is indeed the area in > question, what phone exchanges would serve it, and how does it stand > with reference to Bronx being moved from 212 to 718? I was just in > New York City, and wish I had spotted this by then (instead, I made a > quick stop in the Bronx to look for area code 718 on a pay phone). > Encyclopedia Americana has a note about the Manhattan-Bronx boundary > quirk: The Harlem River formerly did not connect to the Hudson except > via the small Spuyten Duyvil creek. Then in 1905, the Harlem River > was extended in a manmade channel to reach the Hudson, and that part > of the creek not lying on the new channel was filled in. But the > Manhattan-Bronx boundary stayed put, so that (part of?) the Marble > Hill area ended up on the "wrong" side of the Harlem River. During my Jasperville days, I used to live on 234th Street in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, about 1/2 mile north of Marble Hill, Manhattan and Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx. Politically, Marble Hill is part of Manhattan, while geographically part of the Bronx. It is served by the 718 area code and I confirmed this with a NY Tel rep. I guess the reasons for this are: 1. Marble Hill, which is south of 230th street is served by the NY Tel central office located on the northwest corner of 230th and Corlear (in the Bronx). (By the way, the building has [dirty] windows and the frames are visible from the sidewalk!) 2. Most of the residents are aware of the border, but don't really make any distinction between the two political zones. Having two area codes without a distinct boundary like the Harlem River, would only confuse everyone. I have no idea what exchanges are used in Marble Hill. However, Manhattan College just north in Riverdale uses 920, and the two apartments I lived in used 796 and 549 respectively. If you ever return to the area, the pastor of the local Presbyterian Church sponsors a free history walk thru the Marble Hill, Spuyten Duyvil, and Kingsbridge neighborhoods every May. Don't worry, despite the Bronx's bad rep, these neighborhoods are the best kept secrets in New York City. J Butz AT&T - CCS hogpa!jbutz ER700 Sys Eng ------------------------------ From: burgoyne@access.digex.net (J. Robert Burgoyne) Subject: Re: Reverse Directories for Caller ID Date: 16 Jun 1993 15:42:50 GMT Organization: Maryland FYI Publishing, Laurel, MD USA (301)-317-0726 blake@hou2h.att.com wrote: > Does anyone know about other dial-up reverse directories? CompuServe has one. Go PHONEFILE. J. Robert Burgoyne Maryland FYI Laurel, Maryland 301-317-0726 24 Hours burgoyne@access.digex.net 301-317-0587 FAX ------------------------------ From: oppedahl@Panix.Com (Carl Oppedahl) Subject: Re: Reverse Directories for Caller ID Date: 16 Jun 1993 13:29:26 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC In blake@hou2h.att.com writes: > Illinois Bell offers a reverse directory service for Chicago-area > phone numbers. I'm not sure what it costs. > Does anyone know about other dial-up reverse directories? > [Moderator's Note: IBT's service costs 35 cents when used by a 312/708 > subscriber. It is just the usual toll charge to Chicago otherwise. The > number is 312-796-9600, and it only provides listed numbers. PAT] Hawaii had one a few years ago (maybe they still do) that gives listings for numbers starting with the Hawaii area code. Regrettably, the number one calls to get the service was blocked so that one could not call it from outside of Hawaii. Carl Oppedahl AA2KW (intellectual property lawyer) 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112-0228 voice 212-408-2578 fax 212-765-2519 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 12:01 EDT From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: 800 Number Telnet Access Organization: I.E.C.C. > Actually, there is a company call Delphi and they have an address of > @delphi.com. I got a card asking if I wanted access to the Internet > for a fee per month (I forgot the fee). The number to dial up to was > an 800 number. Delphi has an 800 dialup number, but you can only use it for your initial session to sign up. After that, access is via direct dial to Cambridge MA or Kansas City, telnet to delphi.com, or Sprintnet or Tymnet (should we now call that last one MCInet?) There's no communication surcharge for direct dial, telnet, or off-peak Tymnet. The standard packages are $10 for four hours/month or $20 for twenty/month. They have extensive Internet access at a flat monthly surcharge of $3, with Telnet, FTP, gopher, archie, wais, mail, and other odds and ends. At this point, Delphi seems to offer the best Internet access of the major on-line services. Although Delphi happens to be headquartered about a mile from here, no connection with them other than as a subscriber. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, {spdcc|ima|world}!iecc!johnl ------------------------------ From: Darren Alex Griffiths Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 15:25:47 PDT Subject: Re: 800 Number Telnet Access In comp.dcom.telecom I write: > Digest readers have already heard about one service, Speedway, that > will allow Internet access fairly easily, but it requires long > distance charges, and you must dial via an AT&T so they can get their > kick backs. The number is 10288-1-503-2222, and since it costs money > it is unlikely your average Internet fool would use it for hacking. > [Moderator's Note: Are we missing part of the number there, Darren? I > think you owe us another three digits somewhere. PAT] Sorry, the number is 10288-1-503-520-2222. Cheers, Darren Alex Griffiths | dag@nasty.ossi.com Senior Software Engineer | (510) 652-6200 x139 Fujitsu Open Systems Solutions Inc. | Fax: (510) 652-5532 6121 Hollis Street | Emeryville, CA 94608-2092 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 09:00:31 -0400 From: padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson) Subject: Re: Direct Programming of the Fax-Communication-Protocol alma@chamber.in-berlin.de (Albrecht Mayer) asked: > Who knows how to handle the fax-communication-protocol with a > faxmodem? > I want to write parts of an application software that handles the > fax-communication-protocol itself according to CCITT recommendations > T.4 and T.30. That means I want to control the modem's type of > modulation and speed to build my own HDLC-frames for signalling and > data transfer. We just talked about this a little while ago. The best description of class 1 and class 2 fax protocols I have seen for free were downloadable from the Supra bulletin board (+503.967.2444) however what you can do is somewhat limited. (will send a uuencode if I can find it) The basic FAX communications (Group 3) are burned into the modem's ROMs. FAX communication with the modem is by a series of extended "AT" commands (AT+F...) and are limited to what can be done in conformance to the Class 1 (software negotiation) and Class 2 (hardware negotiation) -- might have gotten them backwards but youknowhatimean. Consequently I cannot say whether what you want to do is possible with a conventional mass-market (low cost) fax-modem. If the command you need is pre-programmed, fine. If not you cannot, you will need something else. Good luck, Padgett ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 13:39:49 -0400 (EDT) Reply-To: 0005066432@MCIMAIL.COM Subject: Re: Direct Programming of the Fax-Communication-Protocol From: Paul Robinson Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA Albrecht Mayer , writes: > Who knows how to handle the fax-communication-protocol with a > faxmodem? While I don't know how to do the work directly, I do have some idea of what is going on and I have a general idea of how to find out. The GNUFAX program mentioned below is what encouraged me not to bother writing one myself, also since I no longer had the need to do the application I had planned. Internet RFC 804 ("CCITT draft recommendation T.4 [Standardization of Group 3 facsimile apparatus for document transmission].") tells exactly how the data is set up. For getting the data into the modem, you need to convert the characters into a graphic image bitmap, then translate the bitmap into a fax image file. Then you issue the commands to the modem to dial a number and issue the fax hunt tone (a 'beep' every 3 seconds) and when the other side answers, to send what I call an "answerback" but is technically a "TTI" - this is the message that appears in the display window on the other fax machine - then you accept the other side's TTI, then you start the transmission, and so forth. Some machines also generate a CSI, which means you have one message that appears in the window, one that appears on the log, and still another that appears at the top of each page. You can get a copy of the GNUFAX program sources, and there may be other applications. You might also need the Ghostscript program to translate postscript or text into the format GNUFAX used. Also, Silicon Graphics Inc has written a program to send faxes from a unix box and has it available for FTP from one of their sites, 'sgi.com' if I'm not mistaken. You might be better off licensing one of the PC products such as Smith's Quick Link II or BITFAX, which will do an adequate job of transmitting (and receiving) faxes and are probably not that expensive to license. Now if you are not running on a PC platform, the 'roll-your-own' method is probably your only choice. Paul Robinson - TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM ------------------------------ From: davidthx@netcom.com (davidThx) Subject: Re: More "Features" For AT&T's 1-800 Service Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 09:42:02 GMT bogstad@blaze.cs.jhu.edu (Bill Bogstad) writes: > In the May 24th {Information Week} on pg. 20 there is an > article discussing new features that AT&T is planning for its 1-800 > network. In particular, a call recognition routing feature will allow > network managers to automatically route calls based on their ten digit > phone number. One of the suggested uses for this system is to > automatically route calls from customers who are delinquent in their > bill to your collections office. Given the result when American > Express used ANI to answer calls with the callers name, I can just > imagine what customer reactions to this "feature" will be. I'm curious as to what the result was when American Express used ANI, and do they still? David Holleb Lambda Voice & Graphic Systems davidthx@netcom.com [Moderator's Note: American Express customers got very annoyed and very freaked out when the service reps answered the call greeting them by name, etc. Now the reps still get ANI and a picture of the account calling them, but they pretend like they don't, and ask the customer for their name and number. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #394 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa04095; 16 Jun 93 20:58 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA24772 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Wed, 16 Jun 1993 16:53:23 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA32204 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Wed, 16 Jun 1993 16:53:01 -0500 Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 16:53:01 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306162153.AA32204@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #396 TELECOM Digest Wed, 16 Jun 93 16:53:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 396 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: Interactive Voice Response System Needed (rdb1@homxb.att.com) Re: Help! Looking for SpeechSoft Voice Mail (Carl Moore) Re: Blocking an Unlisted Number (Mark Garlanger) Re: How to Access 800 Numbers When 1+ Restricted (Bill Landolina) Re: Information on Fax Broadcast Services (Paul Hardwick) Re: Caller-ID and Call-Waiting (Thomas Chen) Re: Particularity of 555? (Andrew Marc Greene) Re: Particularity of 555? (Michael Rosen) Re: Who Pays? (system@garlic.sbs.com) Re: Telecom Trip Report: Deaver, WY (Al Varney) Re: Usenet via Satellite (Robert Smathers) Re: Southern Bell and Call Hunting (407/904 Area) (Bob Sherman) Re: Modem Compatible Digital AirPhone (Fariborz Skip Tavakkolian) Re: 411 Danger in New Jersey (Jack Decker) Re: 411 Danger in New Jersey (Dave Niebuhr) Re: Need Modem Lockout Circuit (Gary W. Sanders) Re: DTMF Driven Answering Machines (Monty Solomon) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 14:37:41 EDT From: rdb1@homxb.att.com Subject: Re: Interactive Voice Response System Needed Organization: AT&T In article varney@ihlpl.att.com writes: > AT&T InfoWorx(rg) Interactive Voice Services provides custom inter- > active voice services. They own/operate the hardware (Conversant(rg), > of course) and will work with you on the software. No on-premises > floor space needed, etc. I don't have an official contact number. > Try Ron DeBlock, 1-908-805-2248 (not sure if mentioning my name will > be a plus ...) Thanks for the plug, Al. The preferred contact for InfoWorx is your AT&T Account Exec, if you have one. Otherwise, contact Clarence Bulluck, AT&T InfoWorx Sales Manager, at 1-908-658-2217. Clarence's email address is cbulluck@attmail.com or attmail!cbulluck. Ron DeBlock rdb1@homxb.att.com (that's a number 1 in rdb1, not letter l) AT&T Bell Labs Somerset, NJ USA ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 15:30:05 EDT From: Carl Moore Subject: Re: Help! Looking for SpeechSoft Voice Mail >> [Moderator's Note: Speech Soft - 32 Manners Road - Ringoes, NJ 08551 >> Phone 609-466-1100. johnl@iecc.com writes: > Are you sure about the phone number? 609-466 is the PBX at the AT&T > (ex WECo) research center in Hopewell. Ringoes is in 908. Check a map of New Jersey to see if this can be a case of being near a zipcode boundary and/or phone prefix boundary. Wasn't that 639 instead of 466 at the AT&T Hopewell facility? Earlier this year, I wrote of Town Hill, PA 17267 (same zipcode as Warfordsburg, which has phone prefix 717-294), which was on 814-735 Breezewood instead. ------------------------------ From: garlange@convex.com (Mark Garlanger) Subject: Re: Blocking an Unlisted Number Organization: Engineering, CONVEX Computer Corp., Richardson, Tx., USA Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 21:09:39 GMT In article deej@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (david.g.lewis) writes: > Of course, there are some downsides to this as well. What prevents me > from entering a false name? For that matter, what prevents me from > entering "F**K YOU JEFF", and preceding this with *67 so you don't > know who called? You also get much deeper into the possibilities of > using the network to pass information on failed, and therefore > unbilled, call attempts. I call my wife and enter "HOME IN 15" as the > "name", thereby passing to her the message that I'll be home in 15 > minutes without her answering the call. This kind of abuse can be done with collect calls too. By having various names associated with various messages. If in fact there is an emergancy, then use your name, otherwise use the name corresponding to the message. There is always ways to take advantage of the system if you look hard enough. Mark ------------------------------ From: gatech!emory!tackle!wcl@uunet.UU.NET (Bill Landolina) Subject: Re: How to Access 800 Numbers When 1+ Restricted Organization: Technology Atlanta Corporation Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 18:33:54 GMT In article Brian T. Vita <70702.2233@ CompuServe.COM> writes: > Better yet, ask the proprietor of the PBX to correct the oversight in > the PBX's programming that doesn't allow 1 + 800 to pass. All of the > systems that I've worked with either allow 1 + 800 as a default > exception when programming in a 1+ block or allow you to to program an > exception table to allow certain NPA's to pass. > Some networks, notably AT&T's Interspan, allow accessing their nodes > through a 950-xxx number. Perhaps that will work. Unfortunatly, my "PBX" (an AT&T Merlin 820D2) doesn't seem to have any way to get the restrictions I must have and allow the harmless and useful things like 1-800. My system is behind a centrex system and there is quite a history of talking the operator into charging calls to improper places, so I ended up disallowing 9 + 0 and 9 + 1 calls. If someone can give me a lead on how to better program my switch I would be very interested. In general, one of the reasons I got an MCI card long ago was that they offered both 1-800 and 950 access. Back in the early days of third party pay phones I encountered several phones that disallowed one or the other of these accesses _but_not_both_. Although I know they have it, AT&T has never bothered to inform me that my AT&T card can be used through any route other than 10288 ... I still run into hotel PBX systems that block some of these paths. Bill Landolina (404) 434-0450 (Home) Technology Atlanta Corporation (404) 303-0446 (Office) Suite 200A (404) 303-0448 (FAX) ------------------------------ From: hardwick@Panix.Com (Paul Hardwick) Subject: Re: Information on Fax Broadcast Services Date: 16 Jun 1993 11:23:28 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and Unix, NYC Both MCI and AT&T have Fax distribution networks that sound like they will do what you want (ie send same FAX to MANY people quickly). The only type of I/P that they will acept is a FAX (no text, GIFs, BMPs, TIFFs, etc) They will retry a fixed number of times if line busy or no answer. In addition MCI-mail (may also AT&T-mail I don't know) will take a raw ASCI TEXT file and send it to a mailing list (which can contain FAX numbers) but I beleive that this may be more costly(not sure). I don't know if either accepts PostScript. Paul Hardwick | Technical Consulting | InterNet: hardwick@panix.com P.O. Box 1482 | for MVS (SP/XA/ESA) | Voice: (212) 535-0998 NY, NY 10274 | and 3rd party addons | Fax: (212) Pending ------------------------------ From: tchen@sdesys1.hns.com (Thomas Chen) Subject: Re: Caller-ID and Call-Waiting Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 22:55:15 GMT Organization: Hughes Network Systems Inc. Just out of curiosity, since telco sends the information between first ring and second ring, how many digits can it send? What about the thing I heard that some Caller-IDs actually display ASCII? How is that done? tom ------------------------------ From: Andrew_Marc_Greene@frankston.com Subject: Re: Particularity of 555? Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 17:32 -0400 The phone number given out at the end of _Sneakers_ wasn't a 555 number, as I recall. The rumour was that it was the number for the San Francisco branch of the Infernal Revenue Service. Andrew Greene ------------------------------ From: mrosen@nyx.cs.du.edu (Michael Rosen) Subject: Re: Particularity of 555? Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci. Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 02:57:47 GMT hamid@tnt.uni-hannover.de (Reinhard A Hamid) writes: > [Moderator's Note: Well Reinhard, it's like this: Here in the USA, a > lot of insane or otherwise mentally disturbed people watch television > or go to the moving/talking picture shows. Some of these people *actually I don't know if you could call all of them insane, just curious maybe. Remember all the people calling the real number that was given out in Sneakers? Mike ------------------------------ From: system@garlic.sbs.com Subject: Re: Who Pays? Date: 16 Jun 93 12:47:28 GMT Organization: CARL Systems Inc, Denver, Colo. > Now, someone is going to end up paying for these calls, I am sure. > Seems like AT&T will, since the kids are dialing 10288. I thought > that 10288 numbers on a pay phone had to be followed by a credit card > number. Why are these local calls going through for free? This must be a software bug in almost every electronic switch. The same thing happens at the health club here in East Providence. But there is a twist to ours, all you have to do is punch 0+ the phone number. And as far as I'm concerned, New England Telephone DESERVES to lose the money. After all , they're the company who decided it should cost more to call within state than LD. :( ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 00:53:37 CDT From: varney@ihlpe.att.com Subject: Re: Telecom Trip Report: Deaver, WY Organization: AT&T In article butch@nas.nasa.gov (Butch M. Anton) writes: > "lf" == Lou Fernandez writes: >> The first surprise about the phone service is that they can make >> intra-exchange calls by dialing only the last four digits of the >> phone number. I think this capability is fairly rare now although >> I know it used to be more common. Does anyone know of other U.S. >> locations where this is still possible? > Yepper. Cut Bank, MT (my home town) still has four digit dialing for > intra-exchange calls. I believe that most towns in that area still > do, as well. Rumor has it that we're getting an ESS of some form that > will kill all that (but we get call waiting, oh boy :-) ). But it's not too late to ask the PUC to have the LEC retain four-digit dialing -- make the whole town a Centrex group (or any private dialing plan), retain the four-digit dialing and still use 1+/0+ to get "into" the public dialing plan (assuming that, as in the case of my home town, every direct-dial call outside town was a "dial-1+" toll call). I argued this approach with a boyhood friend now employed by a LEC -- he thought my argument that all the old folks in town shouldn't have to learn to use seven-digit dialing was any interesting one. But I thought of it too late to help out my grandmother last year. (My dad doesn't need any help with telephones; he thinks they're mostly a bother and can easily ignore a ringing one. I'm not sure he believes working for a telephone switch manufacturer is a legitimate occupation.) Al Varney ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 00:42:57 -0600 From: Robert Smathers Subject: Re: Usenet via satellite Jan Ceuleers (Jan.Ceuleers@k12.be) wrote in a recent TELECOM Digest article: > I quote Norman Gillaspie (norman@pagesat.com): >> The service is delivered over the K2 ku band satellite that provides >> continental US (conus), southern Canada, and northern Mexico coverage. > Are there any plans to provide this service in other parts of the > world, notably Europe? This service only works in the footprint of the satellite being used (K2 in this case). For this service to occur in Europe, someone has to set up a similar type of transmission system (similar to Pagesat's) and also use a satellite that can be received in Europe. To my knowledge, there is no service in Europe who delivers Usenet by satellite. The Pagesat service is a one-way transmission. The moderator is correct in stating that the mail from a site to the Internet has to be delivered by phone lines to get posted onto the net. Robert roberts@triton.unm.edu [Moderator's Note: So even though the sysadmin still needs to keep his UUCP connectivity in the traditional way with phones, the phone bill winds up being much, much less once he is only sending his stuff out and not hanging on the line for hours on end polling for news each day. That is where the potential user of Pagesat has to calculate his costs and detirmine if the one time fee over two years could be just- ified by the savings on the phone. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Bob Sherman Subject: Re: Southern Bell and Call Hunting (407/904 Area) Date: 16 Jun 1993 03:12:19 -0400 In padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson) writes: > I just called Southern Bell to inquire about call hunting for my two > home (residential) lines. Was told that it is available but the charge > is $5.23 per month per line involved (*not* the number of lines > "rolled" - I asked about the main number rolling to the second only and > not the reverse). Thus for me the charge would be $10.46 per month to > have the single line roll-over (and I thought $7.50/month per line for > Caller-ID was bad 8*(. Try asking for busy signal forward. It along with no answer forward are offered by Southern Bell in the 305 area, so I would suspect your area has it also. It is used in conjunction with their voice mail service so that if your phone is busy, it automatically forwards to your voice mailbox. However they charge $1 extra for each of the above services on top of the voicemail so I suspect you could talk them into that service alone since it has its own tariff. If you get it, you will in effect have hunting for a buck a month instead of the prices they quoted you. Let us know how you make out with them. bsherman@mthvax.cs.miami.edu MCI MAIL:BSHERMAN an764@cleveland.freenet.edu ------------------------------ From: fst@nimo.claircom.com (Fariborz Skip Tavakkolian) Subject: Re: Modem Compatible Digital AirPhone Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 05:08:33 GMT In article dmc@tv.tv.tek.com (Donald Craig) writes: > I called 1# to enquire (for free) as to the status of the modem > connector. The helpful but impotent gentleman at the other end of the > fairly noisy connection told me that modem service was not yet > available, and he didn't know when it might be available. The audio > connection seemed very half duplex. I told him I would have used the > phone if it did have data, thanked him, and hung up. Sigh. Voice band data will be here soon. I am not allowed to tell you when. Regarding the noise, you should not have experienced much, except the background noise inside the cabin (which depending on your seating could be considerable). The air-to-ground link is digital, and the handsets are ISDN Basic Rate (BRI). The reason for voice band data not being available immediately is the fact that band-width to the ground is 6KHz per channel. This would give about 12Kbps using Phase Shift Keying. To go from 64Kbps for a B-channel to something less than 12Kbps, your (by now digital) voice goes through a voice encoder to get the proper compression. For data (voice band data, rather than say HDLC) the system needs to use a data encoder instead of vocoder. If you are not satisfied with the quality of the call, PLEASE ask for credit for the call you made. More importantly you should call the customer care number (free call), give them your airline (currently Alaska and Southwest), flight number and possibly seat number and tell them what problem you experienced. It helps us maintain the systems better, and improve on the voice quality and quality of service. Sincerely Fariborz ``Skip'' Tavakkolian fst@claircom.com (206) 389-7150 Claircom Communications Group 700 Fifth Ave, Suite 2100 Seattle, WA. 98104 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 03:49:45 EDT From: ac388@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu (Jack Decker) Subject: Re: 411 Danger in New Jersey In message , castaldi@heroes.rowan.edu (John Castaldi) wrote: > while calling 411 this weekend, I was prompted to press 1 to be > automatically connected. Oh no! Sounds like a way to beat CDR. > Anybody heard how to stop this? and Pat further commented ... > [Moderator's Note: This new feature has proven to be a nuisance to > administrators of phone systems (in hotels for example) who find > themselves getting all these 35 cent charges from extension-users who > made a to 411, and got the call connected via that route without the PBX > ever knowing about it. Not only do they get the 35 cent charge on the > PBX bill, they get the charge for the call itself, which, since it was > not seen by the PBX will not show up in the call detail for the > purpose of billing the individual responsible. PAT] Of course, if the PBX were smart enough you could deny all 411 calls, but I wonder what would happen if you did some sort of number translation, such as converting 411 to something like 10222-1-555-1212. In this example, you'd force the directory assistance call to be routed via an interexchange carrier (MCI in this example). The cost for the directory assistance call might be higher, but call completion would (hopefully) not be offered. It would probably only work in states where IXC's are allowed to complete intraLATA calls, though. In this way, users could still get to directory assistance when absolutely necessary (albeit possibly at higher cost) without the worry of unbillable calls. Don't feel too bad, I heard that for a while one Michigan Bell exchange was offering automatic call completion after directory assistance was used from payphones ... and if you asked to be connected, you were, but no additional money was requested! For some odd reason, I heard they got that particular bug fixed rather quickly! So even the telco itself got stung by this "feature" in at least one case! :-) Jack Decker | Internet: ac388@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu Fidonet: 1:154/8 or jack.decker@f8.n154.z1.fidonet.org Note: Mail to the Fidonet address has been known to bounce. :-( ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 08:56:39 EDT From: dwn@dwn.ccd.bnl.gov (Dave Niebuhr) Subject: Re: 411 Danger in New Jersey I received a blurb in my latest New York Telephone bill envelope about subscribers being able to say "yes" at any time while on the line to directory assistance and the number will be dialed for the caller. The charge is $.35(US) over and above the normal DA call $.45(US) and I have told all in my house that I never want to see the $.35 appear on any bill that I receive. If the person doing the calling doesn't have a pencil and paper handy, then tough luck or just remember what the recording says. Dave Niebuhr Internet: niebuhr@bnl.gov / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, LI, NY 11973 (516)-282-3093 Senior Technical Specialist: Scientific Computer Facility [Moderator's Note: As for you and your house, you just say NO! PAT] ------------------------------ From: gary.w.sanders@att.com Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 13:03:08 GMT Subject: Re: Need Modem Lockout Circuit Organization: AT&T In article patfieldk@agcs.com (Kevin M. Patfield) writes: > [I hope this isn't a FAQ but our site doesn't have a copy] > Can someone please help me with a circuit for preventing someone > breaking my modem connection by picking up an extension phone? I know I need just the reverse. I have three dedicated data pots lines and one shared voice data. Normally the voice line has data going across it most of the day while I am at work and between 1am and 5am while I sleep. I had a need to make a phone call late at night and had a heck of a time getting the V.32 or PEP connection to break just by picking up the phone. The HS modems will retrain for some time if they hear any tone from the other end. In a non-emergency I can just go to the computer room and hit the power switch on the modem but in an emergency I need the line ASAP. Gary W. Sanders (N8EMR) gary.w.sanders@att.com AT&T Bell Labs 614-860-5965 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 03:31:23 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Re: DTMF Driven Answering Machines >> There is a switch on the side labeled 'REMOTE CODE' which has two >> positions, '2' and '8'. > At the risk of sounding flippant, I think that you will find that your > actual remote code IS either 2 or 8. No, the 2 or the 8 is the second digit of the two digit code. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #396 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa25301; 17 Jun 93 5:38 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA26887 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Thu, 17 Jun 1993 02:51:38 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA18607 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Thu, 17 Jun 1993 02:51:04 -0500 Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1993 02:51:04 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306170751.AA18607@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #397 TELECOM Digest Thu, 17 Jun 93 02:50:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 397 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson AT&T Special Country Plan Has Problems With UK! (Jonathan Bradshaw) AT&T Loyalty Program Gives You One Month Free (Ehud Gavron) What's Happened to AT&T? (ronnie@media.mit.edu) Is MCI Taking Over Operation of the Internet? (Bill Pfeiffer) Traffic Chokes For High Volume Subscribers (Bill Garfield) Headset Equipped Cordless? (John Adams) What's the Application of DLC Data Port? (Yen-Wen Chen) Telephone Question (Charles R. Martin) Australian Capital Looks to be a Wired Society (Tom Worthington) Network Capacity (Annie Azarian Yusuf) The Best Politicians Money Can Buy (Martin McCormick) ---------------------- TELECOM Digest is an e-journal devoted mostly -- but not exclusively -- to discussions on voice telephony. The Digest is a not-for-profit public service published frequently by Patrick Townson Associates. PTA markets a no-surcharge telephone calling card and a no monthly fee 800 service. In addition, we are resellers of AT&T's Software Defined Network. For a detailed discussion of our services, write and ask for the file 'products'. The Digest is delivered at no charge by email to qualified subscribers on any electronic mail service connected to the Internet. To join the mail- ing list, write and tell us how you qualify: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu. Before submitting articles for publication, please read a copy of our file 'writing.to.telecom'. All article submissions MUST be sent to our email address: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu -- NOT as replies to comp.dcom.telecom. Back issues and numerous other telephone-related files of interest are available from the Telecom Archives, using anonymous ftp lcs.mit.edu. Login anonymous, then 'cd telecom-archives'. At the present time, the Digest is also ported to Usenet at the request of many readers there, where it is known as 'comp.dcom.telecom'. Use of the Digest does not require the use of our products and services. The two are separate. All articles are the responsibility of the individual authors. Organi- zations listed, if any, are for identification purposes only. The Digest is compilation-copyrighted, 1993. **DO NOT** cross-post articles between the Digest and other Usenet or alt newsgroups. Do not compile mailing lists from the net-addresses appearing herein. Send tithes and love offerings to PO Box 1570, Chicago, IL 60690. :) Phone: 312-465-2700. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: jbradsha@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Jonathan Bradshaw) Subject: AT&T Special Country Plan Has Problems With UK! Organization: Purdue University Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 00:43:38 GMT You may remember AT&T offering their 'special country' plan (they still do) where you select a country (in my case, UK) and they give you a discount off of each call there a month. I signed up for this service in December of 1992. Today, after the third call to AT&T I finally got them to credit my bill for two months of service and a promise to retrieve the bills from January and Feb and credit me those months. Plain and simple, IT NEVER WORKED and the kicker is IT STILL DOES NOT. AT&T tell me that for some reason the interaction between Indiana Bell (my local co) and their computers is not registering that I am calling England even tho all my bills show 'UK' for the destination. They say there is nothing they can do about it until the technical problem has been resolved. They will manually take a look at my account each month and send me a credit statement five to ten days after I get my bill. So, first, I cannot believe that it took three calls (the second of which I was informed to call my local phone company [yeh right]) and the first I got nowhere to get this credit. Can I be the only AT&T customer with UK as my special country who is not getting credit? I seriously doubt it. I would like to know the technical problem they seem to have. I have difficulty in figuring how the local exchange has anything to do with it -- they pass the number and its AT&T who connects right? AT&T is billing the correct amount for a call the UK -- why can't they also discount it? So for anyone else who may be on this service. Check your bills CAREFULLY! Right now, I simply wait each month for a manual fix. Seems rather comical after watching AT&T's commercials 'DO YOU BELEIVE IT?' Not until I see it!!!! Jonathan Bradshaw | jonathan@nova.decio.nd.edu | PGP Key Available On Request Ask me about the Purdue Os/2 Users Group | Prodigy: XMSN02B | Os/2 2.1 beta WNDU-AM/FM/TV South Bend, IN | "My employers may not share my opinions" [Moderator's Note: The flaw in your report is that no, AT&T is *not* doing the billing -- Indiana Bell is doing it 'on behalf of, or as agent for AT&T'. The complexities of inter-telco billing, collecting and who does what for whom gets a little screwy at times, so let's not get into it just now ... but the way things are done now, AT&T is at the mercy of Indiana Bell. The best they can offer you is a manual credit each month. It will do you no good at all to talk to Indiana Bell; AT&T has to pressure them and if they can't do it, no one can. Or to paraphrase something I heard awhile back, "divestiture is here; AT&T's relationship with the Bells is very queer; get used to it." PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 22:38:06 -0700 (MST) From: Ehud Gavron Subject: AT&T Loyalty Program Gives You One Month Free Organization: ACES Research Inc. If you're an AT&T long-distance customer and intend to be so for the next six months, you should consider this. Sign up for the "Loyalty Program." They will record your monthly usage of AT&T calls for the next six months. They will then credit you long distance certificates in the sum of an average (mean) month. There is no signup fee, no signature required, and it takes about ten seconds. Oh yes. They could care less about your friends, family, genital warts, etc ... Ehud Gavron (EG76) gavron@Spades.ACES.COM ------------------------------ From: ronnie@media.mit.edu Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 09:06:03 -0400 Subject: What's Happened to AT&T? I've had some very bad experiences with AT&T customer service lately. I recently moved across country. I do this often, so I am used to calling AT&T for service changes, new services, etc. On May 27th, I called them to check out the current rates for Reach Out America, and Any Hour Saver. A woman who seemed a little rude assisted me with my request. She quoted me ten cents/minute for ROA night rates, and nine cents/minute for Any-hour, from 5pm. This didn't seem right to me, because it didn't make sense for Any-hour to be cheaper. So I asked her if she was certain that these rates were correct, since I was going to choose between the two. She seemed very annoyed that I would ask such a question. I also told her I was only interested if I could get the plan active very soon. She said it would be connected on June 1. Due to her attitude and suspicious answers to my questions, I asked her for her name. "My name? Mrs. Smith." Knowing that AT&T reps always give their first names, I asked if she had a position number or anything, and she said, "No." A couple of days later I found out that AT&T was running the special one month of nine cents/minute for the month of May only, changing to eleven cents/minute. I was clearly misled by this representative, especially since my plan would be connected on June 1st. I called back and asked to speak to a supervisor. The representative who answered the phone insisted that there were no supervisors there, and insisted that she could help me. After I told her I refused to speak with anyone but a supervisor since it involves a complaint about a customer service representative, she put me on hold for a couple of seconds, and a "supervisor" named "Jeff" came on. I might be paranoid, but I don't think he was really a supervisor. His attitude was quite bad, and he seemed to just say "Uh-huh" to everything I said. He said he would change my service to ROA (no apology), and he practically hung up on me. (This was on June 3). Yesterday, I got a letter in the mail, dated June 7th, welcoming me to Any Hour Savings, which went into effect on June 5th. What the hell is going on?! I've also noticed that everytime I call 800 222-0300, I am on hold for at least ten minutes before anyone helps me. Ron (ronnie@media.mit.edu) ------------------------------ From: wdp@gagme.chi.il.us (Bill Pfeiffer) Subject: Is MCI Taking Over Operation of the Internet? Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 17:04:17 -0500 (CDT) During a discussion on the commercialization of the Internet, on another forum, this was posted ... ---Begin fwd'd message---- CoREN SELECTS MCI TO JOIN FORCES ON NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVES Washington, D.C. and Ann Arbor, Michigan, June 1, 1993. - CoREN, the Corporation for Regional and Enterprise Networking, and MCI Communications Corporation (MCI) announced today that CoREN has selected MCI to put in place key infrastructure to support the delivery of advanced networked computing and information services as well as advanced inter-regional connectivity to support the National Information Infrastructure. Under the proposed agreement, MCI will provide to CoREN and its constituents a comprehensive set of voice, data, and video services, including MCI Vnet and MCI 800 services as well as Virtual Private Data Services such as MCI's HyperStream Frame Relay, SMDS and, ultimately, ATM services. The MCI offerings will support and augment a full range of TCP/IP and other value-added networking services that CoREN will continue to provide in support of commercial, research and educational attachments to the Internet. The revenue potential to MCI for the activities included under the agreement exceeds of $200 million over the five year term of the agreement. CoREN is a newly formed organization founded by eight regional networks (BARRNet, CICNet, MIDnet, NEARnet, NorthWestNet, NYSERNet, SURAnet, and WestNet), to provide nationwide TCP/IP data networking services, including connections to the Internet and to the NSFNet national backbone, to the business, higher education and research communities. The proposed MCI/CoREN agreement will promote expanded access to the Internet, supporting the growing needs of commerce and industry as well as assembling resources necessary to lay the foundation for the National Research and Education Network (NREN) program. "This significant cooperative undertaking creates strategic synergies that will enable CoREN and MCI to expand the availability of cost-effective, leading edge telecommunications solutions to Internet users," said Jerry Edgerton, MCI's vice president of government systems. "The agreement will call for CoREN to migrate to the ATM-based network resources that MCI will deploy in the future. Edgerton also said, "This agreement will provide a foundation for enhancement of key infrastructure to support the National Information Superhighway initiatives. This award underscores MCI's continuing commitment to advancing networking technology and identifying innovative means for maximizing access to those advances in the marketplace." Dr. Eric Hood, Executive Director of NorthWestNet and a member of the CoREN Board said: "The future growth and economic stability of the Internet will depend upon the success of partnerships between the telecommunications industry and Internet service suppliers. CoREN and MCI will work together to guarantee consistently high levels of service quality on a national scale, building upon and expanding the existing regional networking infrastructure which has so successfully delivered Internet service over the last 5 years of exponential growth." "It is our intent to create the largest, most comprehensive, and highest quality Internet and value added services provider in the world today," said Dr. E. Michael Staman, Interim CoREN President and President of CICNet, "and we believe that the activities encompassed under the MCI/CoREN agreement are an ideal platform upon which to construct and offer such services." CoREN, bringing together the capabilities of BARRNet, CICNet, MIDnet, NEARnet, NorthWestNet, NYSERNet, SURAnet, and WestNet, currently delivers networking services in nearly every state of the nation, supporting TCP/IP connectivity to over 2000 sites through more than 1050 service delivery points at speeds up to 45 megabits per second. MCI Communications Corporation, headquartered in Washington, D.C., offers a full range of domestic and global telecommunications services. The company, with 1992 revenues of more than $10 billion, is the second largest long distance provider in the U.S. and has more than 60 overseas office in 55 countries and places. ----END OF FORWARDED MESSAGE---- William Pfeiffer - Moderator rec.radio.broadcasting - Internet Radio Journal Article Submission - rrb@airwaves.chi.il.us Subscription Desk - journal@airwaves.chi.il.us ------------------------------ Subject: Traffic Chokes For High Volume Subscribers From: bill.garfield@yob.sccsi.com (Bill Garfield) Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 15:09:00 -0600 Organization: Ye Olde Bailey BBS - Houston, TX - 713-520-1569 Reply-To: bill.garfield@yob.sccsi.com (Bill Garfield) At 10:00 AM Monday, June 14, 1993, Southwestern Bell's "National" CO in Houston, Texas experienced a severe call processing slowdown caused by a flood of callers attempting to obtain tickets for an upcoming George Strait concert to be held at the Astrodome. George Strait is very popular with the Houston C/W music crowd and his concerts in the 62,000-seat Astrodome are always an immediate sellout. The problem is that most of the ticket sales are handled by phone. Naturally the tickets go on sale at the peak of the morning traffic period. Imagine if you will, sharing the same switch module in a 5ESS with an outfit like {Ticketron}. I do, and I was not amused by the events of Monday morning. At 10:10 AM my telephone operators notified me that outside calls were not going through, nor were any coming in. My DS-3 fiber feed from Southwestern Bell was happy as it could be. There were plenty of idle trunks available but traffic had stalled. The "National" CO which serves Houston's trendy Galleria area was under seige. This continued until SWBT programmed a call blocker (?? their term) against the National CO at approximately 10:39 AM. According to a Bell supervisor, their tariffs do not permit them to place high traffic volume customers such as {Ticketron} in a "Choke" exchange. Traffic chokes are only tariffed for use on radio station contest lines. Why is this? I would think *ANY* subscriber with the demonstrated capacity to bring a 5E to it's knees should be forced into a choke exchange regardless of the nature of their business. Bill Garfield |Standard disclaimer applies. PBX/Datacomm Engr/Panhandle Eastern Corp |Opinions are my own. I do not Houston, Texas |represent my employer in this |forum. Ye Olde Bailey BBS 713-520-1569 (V.32bis) 713-520-9566 (V.32bis) Houston,Texas yob.sccsi.com Home of alt.cosuard ------------------------------ From: jadams@vixen.cc.bellcore.com (adams,john) Subject: Headset Equipped Cordless? Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 15:38:59 GMT Since I've been wearing a Plantronics headset and talking on a conference bridge to other labs all day everyday for the past four weeks, the disadvantages of the cord are starting to bother me. This is especially true when I have to go between labs at this location. I think a decent 900MHz cordless (Don't need anything other than POTS access) with a headset feature would be just the ticket. Can anyone steer me to a vendor / supplier? Has anyone actually used such an instrument? Thanks for your help, Jack (John) Adams Bellcore NVC 2Z-220 (908) 758-5372 {Voice} (908) 758-4389 {Facsimile} jadams@vixen.cc.bellcore.com kahuna@attmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 13:28:45+080 From: yen@n0sun4.ccl.itri.org.tw (Yen-Wen Chen) Subject: What's the Application of DLC Data Port? Hi, Networker: For most DLC (Digital Loop Carrier) products, it has to support data port cards (Asynchronous/Synchronous Data port). So far as I known, its application will be "private network data multiplexer". i.e. in this application, both terminals (COT and RT) are directly connected to end user. My question is "Is there any other application for DLC data port ?" such as connecting to PSPDN (Packet Switched Public Data Network). Thanks for your any information. Yen-Wen Chen | internet : yen@n0sun4.ccl.itri.org.tw ITRI/CCL | Tel : 886-35-917562 System Engineer | Fax : 886-35-820081 Address : N200, Bldg. 14, 195 Sec 4, Chung Hsing Rd., Chutung, Hsinchu, Taiwan 310, R.O.C. ------------------------------ From: martinc@cs.unc.edu (Charles R. Martin) Subject: Telephone Question Date: 16 Jun 93 20:57:19 Organization: UNC Department of Computer Science I have an old Bell phone -- the good old kind, the ones that don't feel like they're made of papier-mache. I have two jacks in my apartment on which it works fine; I also have one jack on which the touch tone tones won't break dial tone. It also won't break dial tone plugged through my new 14.4K modem. I understand from long ago conversations that this is a relatively simple wiring difference between my Bell phone and GTE's old wiring scheme. Can anyone clue me in on what causes this and how to fix it, at least with my regular jacks? Thanks, Charles R. Martin/(Charlie)/martinc@cs.unc.edu/Dept. of Computer Science/CB #3175 UNC-CH/Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3175/3611 University Dr #13M/Durham, NC 27707/(919) 419 1754 ------------------------------ From: tomw@ccadfa.cc.adfa.oz.au (Tom Worthington) Subject: Australian Capital Looks to be a Wired Society Organization: Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, Australia Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 02:20:43 GMT What digital communications based services are available now and likely to be available in the near future, which may be of use for the community? The ACT Government is considering how to bring the benefits of digital communications to the Canberra community. They would like ideas from the global IT Community on what services can or could be delivered by digital networks, to the home and businesses. They have invited me to a meeting next Wednesday on this topic. If you have any products or ideas please let Ian Hubbard at the ACT Government, and/or myself know. The Government appears to be open to ideas at present, but need to put them together in the next few weeks, so let them know what you have quickly. Some questions which occur to me are: * What are direct-to-home high speed digital networks good for, except more TV channels? * Which services or technology used on the Internet could be expanded to general community/business services? * Can we make network based services simple enough for everyday use? (People keep sending me IBM PC and Apple Mac e-mail front end software. Apart from Compuserve's MS-DOS software, I have not been able to get ANY of these "easy to use" packages to work.) Please contact Ian Hubbard, ACT Government, phone 06 2050589, fax: 06 2050576; International phone +61 6 2050589, fax: +61 6 2050576. ------------ Posted by Tom Worthington (tomw@adfa.oz.au), Director of the Community Affairs Board, Australian Computer Society Inc. ------------------------------ From: Annie Azarian Yusuf Subject: Network Capacity Organization: Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 11:35:46 GMT I am enquiring about network capacity. Can you tell me what to look for when the network topology is simulated with a package such as comnet? The topology is based on ram mobile structure. This is a university project. Thanks! ------------------------------ Subject: The Best Politicians Money Can Buy Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 06:59:53 -0500 From: Martin McCormick It looks like Southwestern Bell and Oklahoma are headed for a really nasty spandle. There is extremely strong evidence, now, that Southwestern Bell tried to bribe members of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in the late eighties when the commission was deciding a rate-making case. Robert Anthony, a commissioner at the time, secretly went to the FBI after being approached by Bell officials and offered money. He began to secretly record telephone conversations with Southwestern Bell operatives and wore a body wire consisting of a tape recorder when meeting with his Bell contacts. The evidence has been described on local radio and television as incontravertable. Things will get very interesting in the Sooner state before it's all over. Southwestern Bell issued the expected response to such allegations and denied any wrong-doing. Stay tuned. Martin McCormick WB5AGZ Stillwater, OK O.S.U. Computer Center Data Communications Group ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #397 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa03207; 17 Jun 93 8:19 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA16626 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Thu, 17 Jun 1993 03:57:42 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA20539 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Thu, 17 Jun 1993 03:57:01 -0500 Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1993 03:57:01 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306170857.AA20539@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #398 TELECOM Digest Thu, 17 Jun 93 03:57:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 398 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Motorola Announces PCMCIA Wireless Devices (Roger Theriault) Two Cellular Phones, One Number (Terry Begley) Non Availability of 800/NXX (John D. Gretzinger) Dial Modem For a Mailbox (Voicemail) (Patrick Laschet) Anyone Heard of Communicopia? (Ralph Hornbeck) LD Savings Plans and LEC Billing (Justin Leavens) New, Fairly-Smart Answering Machine (Bob Clements) Looking for a Number in Calgary, Alberta Canada (Marcus Brueggemann) Caller ID and Cellular Phones (Jack Lowry) Orange Card Customer Service (David B. Horvath) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: theriaul@mdd.comm.mot.com (Roger Theriault) Subject: Motorola Announces PCMCIA Wireless Devices Organization: Motorola, Mobile Data Division, Vancouver, CANADA Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 17:51:54 -0400 I'm forwarding this along as I believe it may be of interest to many of the readers. [While I do work in the Wireless Data Division, I'm not involved at this time with these modems ... however, I can certainly pass inquiries along or get a press contact number if requested] -- Roger FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 15, 1993 MOTOROLA OUTLINES PLAN FOR DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CREDIT CARD-SIZE INTELLIGENT WIRELESS MODEMS Leading Computer, Software and Network Service Companies to Work with Motorola to Establish Worldwide Standards for Intelligent Wireless Data Communications Modems BURLINGAME, California, -- Motorola, Inc.'s Paging and Wireless Data Group today reinforced its leadership position in the emerging world marketplace for wireless data by announcing and demonstrating the technology for a new family of intelligent wireless modems for pocket-size, hand-held and portable computing/communicating devices. More than a dozen industry leaders on hand at today's event indicated they will work with Motorola to establish common, worldwide standards and formats for these devices. Currently under development, this new family of PCMCIA-format intelligent modems, the first of its kind in the wireless and wireline data market, will enable both one- and two-way, wide- and local-area networking, and will operate over the most popular public and private networks. The PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) standard supports credit card-size peripheral devices that add memory and I/O capabilities to computers. Motorola is currently working closely with key hardware and software suppliers to ensure that wireless modems will work, on a worldwide basis, on a wide range of computing/communications devices and operating system platforms, and will be compatible with a breadth of software applications. At today's announcement, Apple Computer, ARDIS, Bell South, Compaq Computer, Dell Computer, EMBARC(sm) Advanced Messaging Service, General Magic Inc., GTE, Hewlett-Packard, IBM PC Company, McCaw Cellular Communications Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Mobile Telecommunications Technologies Corp.(MTEL), RAM Mobile Data, Sony, Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems and Toshiba expressed support for the development of worldwide common wireless connectivity standards. This allow the development and release of PCMCIA wireless-enabled products, such as palmtop, notebook and pen-based computers, PDAs, and personal communications devices. Motorola is also in discussion with several other leading companies and will announce additional participants in the coming weeks. Over the past three years, a number of companies including Motorola, have been contributing to the PCMCIA standards effort. This body has been very successful in creating standards, as evidenced by the number of companies designing and introducing new products based on PCMCIA. However, wireless devices pose particular challenges to the variety of computer platforms, operating systems, and network alternatives, which are not an issue when using typical PCMCIA memory and I/O peripheral cards. "While the benefits and the opportunities of these data communications cards are clear, there are some technical hurdles that need to be overcome," said Bob Growney, executive vice president of Motorola, Inc. and general manager of the Paging and Wireless Data Group. "These challenges, such as a standard software interface, proper shielding from interference, and antenna placement must be addressed uniformly and quickly if the significant unfulfilled need for wireless communications is to be met. By cooperating and working closely with these key industry participants, we can solve the complexities of marrying wireless communications to portable computers and personal communicators, and develop common standards for the benefit of all. We believe that this industry initiative will stimulate a wider acceptance of the PCMCIA format and the growth of wireless communications worldwide," Growney concluded. "We're committed to a PCMCIA format for this next generation of wireless devices because this emerging technology provides clear advantages to end users, computer and personal communicator manufacturers, and software providers," said Pat Richardson, Motorola vice president and general manager of the Wireless Data Group Subscriber Products Division. "It should give users the ability to choose from a variety of wireless communications options for their computer platform of choice. It should give computer suppliers the manufacturing cost benefit of creating a more standardized platform which can be customized -- with PCMCIA cards -- by the end user. It gives the software community the opportunity to create new wireless applications and extend existing applications to wireless, and it also gives network operators the opportunity to offer a new variety of services," Richardson said. Motorola's Paging and Wireless Data Group (PWDG) incorporates the company's business activities involved in the design, manufacturing and distribution of paging and wireless data communications products, systems and services for computer companies, carriers and end-users. The Group also manages Motorola's share of ARDIS, the data network jointly owned with IBM. Motorola, Inc., headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of electronic equipment, systems and components for worldwide markets. Additional products include two-way radios, cellular telephones and systems, integrated circuits and discrete semiconductors, defense and aerospace electronics, automotive and industrial electronic equipment, and information processing and handling equipment. Revenues in 1992 were $13.3 billion. Roger Theriault Internet: theriaul@mdd.comm.mot.com /\/\otorola -=--==-==--=- UUCP: {uw-beaver,uunet}!van-bc!mdivax1!theriaul / \ Wireless Data Group CompuServe: 71332,730 (not too often) I am not a spokesman for Motorola or anyone else besides myself. ------------------------------ From: Terry Begley Subject: Two Cellular Phones, One Number Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 10:32:49 CST Pat: Recently a firm called CommTech started advertising here in Omaha that they can allow you to have two cellular phones with one cellular number -- a topic which appears here every now and then. I contacted the firm and received a five page fax detailing how it works and the price, amongst other things. I have typed a summary of what the firm offers for the enlightment of the net. All typos are mine, and I have no connection whatsoever with the company. ----- Begin blurb: ---- COMMTECH Omaha 8945 J Street, Suite 13 Omaha, NE 68127 402-597-6556 -6558 (fax) At CommTech we have the technology to enable you to have more than one phone on the same number. C2 Plus Technology has been available for severl years, but is expensive for a carrier to provide. CommTech now makes that technology affordable! Your CommTech serviced phone will maintain its original security. The original manufacturer's software will not have to be changed nor will anything be physically added to your phone which might violate the phone's FCC type approval. IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER: A. Due to deficiencies in the established system, ONLY ONE UNIT can be on at a time. If more than one phone is on, you may be in violation of your carrier's tariffs. In some instances your service may be interrupted or even terminated due to the electronic security measures utilized by your carrier. B. CommTech will program your phone number and system ID. These must be programmed before you operate your phone. These numbers may also be programmed by your service technician. In some instances you may be able to program the numbers yourself. C. This service is available to you from information provided by you and at your request. CommTech will not assume liability for: 1. the use or nonuse of the phones, or, 2. any failure to observe any laws or regulations, or, 3. any use which might constitute either theft of services, or, 4. any use for fraudulent purposed whatsoever. D. Should your Primary (activated) phone be stolen, report it to your carrier immediately. Do not attempt to use the secondary phone since it may be blocked by the carrier. Any attempt to use the phone may result in investigation for using a reportedly stolen phone. E. Should your secondary (emulated) phone be stolen, request a number change from your carrier. After this change has been made your phone may have the number programmed. THEN call CommTech. We will advise you of the procedure to have the new phone work with the existing phone. F. Should you decide to sell your secondary (emulated) phone, or return it to the manufacturer for warranty work, call us and we will reset it to its original parameters. There will be a nominal charge plus freight for this service. A Little Something About Cellular Emulation: When a call is placed with a cellular phone, the phone transmits a unique serial number (ESN) along with your phone number that identifies you and your phone as a member in good standing. Each phone transmits a different ESN that is matched to the phone number assigned by the cellular carrier. Tow different ESN's cannot be matched to a single number. Therefore, you have been led to believe that two cellular phones and one cellular number was impossible. With cellular emulation, CommTech applies (C2+) emulation technology to your secondary phone so it transmits the same ESN as your primary phone. Simple ... two phones, one number. These two phones cannot communicate with each other like an intercom nor can both phones be in use at the same time. This may be in violation of your cellular provider's tariffs. You can however use either phone with just one number. < List of phones that modifications may be made to > < Order Form > Cost: $299.99, plus $6.00 shipping. --- end blurb ---- Prof. Terrence M. Begley Voice : (402) 280-2619 Creighton University CU Fax : (402) 280-2172 College of Business Admin Home Fax : (402) 556-5215 Omaha, NE 68178-0130 Dittos! BBS : (402) 556-4944 tbegley@creighton.edu ------------------------------ From: JOHN.D.GRETZINGER@sprint.sprint.com Date: 16 Jun 93 15:55:36-0400 Subject: Non Availability of 800/NXX Here is a list of NXXs NOT AVAILABLE for assignment due to 800 Portability. If an NXX code does not appear on this list, one can assume it is now or will be assignable with Portability. This information is based on information received from the North American Numbering Plan Administrator. The following NXX's are NOT AVAILABLE for 800 Portability and will not open for reservations in the SMS/800 database. 1.) All NXXs beginning with the numeral 1 are unavailable. |-------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.) All NXXs that end in 11. These are unavailable due to the potential for confusion with Emergency Services, like 911, LEC Trouble Reporting Numbers, e.g., 611, and Directory Numbers, e.g., 411. 111, 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, 711, 811, 911. |------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.) Special Use NXX's - These NXXs are being held for 800 Directory Assistance Applications, and Hearing Impaired Applications: 555, 855. |--------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.) NXX's Assigned to the 809 NPA for use by the Caribbean: 271, 389, 407, 415, 534, 623, 703, 740, 744, 751, 904, 907. |---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.) NXX's assigned to Canada, for calls terminating in Canada. There are many carriers that may be getting into the 800 business in Canada now that competition has been mandated by the Canadian Government. However, a complete breakdown by Canadian carrier is not available. Telecom Canada (now called Stentor): 263, 265, 267, 268, 361, 363, 387, 461, 463, 465, 561, 563, 565, 567, 661, 663, 665, 667, 668, 739. Unitel (1): 575. New Codes reserved for all Canadian Companies (45): 205, 306, 313, 314, 315, 318, 319, 380, 406, 413, 470, 490, 506, 507, 518, 519, 520, 604, 609, 614, 615, 616, 617, 670, 715, 718, 731, 790, 806, 810, 813, 816, 830, 840, 893, 903, 905, 910, 939, 957, 958, 961, 970, 973, 991. |----------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.) Radio Common Carrier NXX's - these NXXs do not work as normal 800 NXX's, they are used for Intra Lata Paging applications controlled by the LEC's: 202, 212, 302, 312, 402, 412, 502, 512, 602, 612, 702, 712, 802, 812, 902, 912. |----------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.) Testing NXX, Numbers in this NXX are to be used for testing and cannot be assigned by Resp Orgs: 250 |------------------------------------------------------------------------ At some point in the future, it is expected that some or all of the Canadian NXX's will be loaded and assignable in the SMS/800, but Stentor estimates that it will be at least two years before this will happen. Hope this helps with the confusion over 800 number availability. John D. Gretzinger [Moderator's Note: Readers should note that with the above exceptions 800 numbers are now 'portable', meaning you can keep your existing 800 number but have it serviced by any company you please -- including yours truely. PAT] ------------------------------ From: pat@dfv.rwth-aachen.de (Patrick Laschet) Subject: Dial Modem For a Mailbox (Voicemail) Organization: Communication Networks Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1993 18:51:45 GMT I'm using a mailbox on an OCTEL voicemail system (SIERRA). Because no dial out or short message service is provided by that system yet and I would like to pursue other avenues. My thoughts are that I would like to be able to check my voicemailmbox with my PC from home automatically and be notified if I have received new messages. Does anybody know equipment (hardware + software) that could be used to connect my PC (MS-DOS) with the telephone line to do this? Would a normal dial modem work? The PC should be able to call the voicemail system in regular time intervals, to forward the password and to send some additional commands (digits) via DTMF to the voicemail system to determine (depending on the announcement) if a new message was received. Especially the last part (speech recognition) might be difficult - maybe there is another way (waiting time?). The system should be flexible enough (programmable) to check more than one mailbox, check with varying time intervals and so forth. Any information, source, cost and / or availability about where I can get such a thing (in Germany if possible) or how a different solution could be developed would be most welcome. Please send your mail to me. (pat@dfv.rwth-aachen.de) ------------------------------ From: ralph@amber.ssd.csd.harris.com (Ralph Hornbeck) Subject: Anyone Heard of Communicopia? Date: 16 Jun 1993 15:43:49 GMT Organization: Harris CSD, Ft. Lauderdale, FL Has anyone heard of communicopia? My vague understanding is that refers to an alliance of telecommunications companies offering a multitude of services but I am not sure. A good definition plus pointers to where I could go for background information would be appreciated. Thanks, Ralph ------------------------------ From: leavens@mizar.usc.edu (Justin Leavens) Subject: LD Savings Plans and LEC Billing Date: 16 Jun 1993 09:32:59 -0700 Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA I signed up for the AT&T "I" Plan, and was told "it will be available from your area (Pacific Bell) starting July". Okay, fine. What I don't understand is: Doesn't the LD provider do its own billing and just send tapes to the LEC for billing, which say who owes what? And since they are already obviously supplying those tapes, why should there be any difference between customers with this "I" Plan and those without as far as the LEC is concerned? I just don't get it. Justin Leavens University of Southern California leavens@mizar.usc.edu My opinion is that my opinion is my opinion [Moderator's Note: Actually, the Bell companies do the billing for AT&T using equipment in the CO which both of them (AT&T and local telco) 'sort of' own in common. We don't really need any more long dissertations from myself (or anyone!) on inter-telco billing and accounting procedures; it gets *very* strange and technical. AT&T is more or less stuck with the way the local telcos do things for now. Maybe someday they will do all their own billing independently, but that is not the case now. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 93 11:23:59 EDT From: Bob Clements Subject: New, Fairly-Smart Answering Machine Speaking of answering machines ... My super-whizbang top of the line Sony IT-A4000 died on me the other day (two of the three in my circle of friends have now died). So I went looking for a replacement. Here's a report on the just-out PhoneMate 8900, which I chose. It has a couple of neat modern features. Basics: It's a single-line machine, with no built-in telephone. (The Sony has a phone and a speed-dialer.) It uses digital storage for the Outgoing Messages, and has two selectable OGMs. (The Sony has one OGM, digitally stored.) It uses tape for the incoming messages. (The Sony used digital storage for incoming messages.) It doesn't call you up to forward messages. (The Sony did that. Neat feature, but I never used it.) It has Caller-ID built in. (The Sony didn't.) Remote access security code is 3 digits, completely selectable by the user. (Sony was the same.) Price: $99 (or $119, depending which store I saw it in.) (The Sony was over $300 when it came out, now around $200.) Neat things: The 8900 has Caller-ID, and it integrates it with the received messages. As you play the messages, the LCD shows the CLID of each message. I think the CLID info, including date and time, is recorded digitally on the cassette. The 8900 is aware of Distinctive Ringing (or Ring Mate or whatever your Telco calls it). You can set it to play one or the other of the two OGMs depending on which kind of ring it received. Operationally, this one doesn't matter much, but I just broke out chortling when I grokked the concept: It doesn't use a backup battery for its programming info. It can get away with a capacitor for an hour or so of power outage. But to do that, it does NOT save the digital OGM memory. After a power outage, the LCD lights up saying "PLEASE WAIT, RETRIEVING OGM FROM TAPE". Yes, fellow hackers, this machine automatically restores its data from a tape backup after a crash! The OGM is stored as the first file on the incoming tape cassette. I love it. After restoring, of course, the cassette is only engaged for recording incoming messages and CLID info. So far, I like it. Of course, it doesn't do all the really neat stuff we true hackers would do if we programmed it - like playing friendly messages if the CLID is a known good guy, and nasty ones if it's a known bad guy, and answering immediately and/or hanging up on CLID-blocked calls, and so on. But it's a good start, and nice to see the CPE market starting to do something useful with the new telco features. Bob Clements, K1BC, clements@bbn.com ------------------------------ From: marcus%lancelot.uucp@Germany.EU.net (Marcus Brueggemann) Subject: Looking for a Number in Calgary, Alberta Canada Date: 16 Jun 1993 14:21:55 GMT Organization: AMG Industrie Consulting GmbH Reply-To: amg!marcus@amg.de (Marcus Brueggemann) I need to know a telephone Number in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I can't get the number by the local telecommunications-company's service. How can I get a telephone directory of Calgary? Is there any online service for such information available? Thank you for your help. Marcus Brueggemann AMG Industrie Consulting GmbH E-Mail: marcus@amg.de [Moderator's Note: Do you mean your local telco overseas service won't connect you with area code 403 information in Canada? That seems odd. Have they some rule against it for some reason? Ask your international operator for 1-403-555-1212. I do not know of any on-line service for Canadian directory assistance. I'm sure you can get a directory at little or no charge by asking Alberta Telephone; the provincial govern- ment runs the phone service there. Contact them in Calgary. PAT] ------------------------------ From: jackl@pribal.uucp (jack lowry) Subject: Caller ID and Cellular Phones Organization: Prism Medical Systems Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1993 03:09:01 GMT I am a service technician for a Medical Computer System company. As part of my job I am reimbursed for a cellular phone so I have one. Anyway, I was wondering does caller ID provide cellular phone numbers? It would be very disturbing to recieve a call from a customer on my phone. They get enough from me in the form of good service ... but there is a limit. I would try this but I do not have caller ID and I don't know anyone who does. Thanks, Jack Lowry Prism Medical Systems jackl@pribal.uucp [Moderator's Note: I think in most places Caller-ID presents the called party with either 'outside' as the response or some number which has nothing to do with anything. For instance here in Chicago, I have a cellular phone from Ameritech Mobile. When I call someone, that person's Caller-ID gives a legitimate looking number, but not mine. When trying to dial the number back, an intercept says the number is not in service for incoming calls. When doing a name and address check on the number through 312-796-9600 (here is the really odd part!) the number, which is in area 312 -- supposedly only Chicago -- turns out to be listed to the 'IBT Company' (pronounced in this case Eye Bee Tee) at an address in Hickory Hills, Illinois!! Checking that address out shows it to be an Illinois Bell central office building. Dialing that number from the cellular phone produces -- you guessed it! -- a busy signal every time. But if I call the '0' operator, she identifies me with the actual cellular number, not the number in Hickory Hills which ought to be 708 but is really 312. You tell me. Coincidentally, cell phone users are no better off than pay phone users when it comes to making an international call and billing it to a credit card; AT&T won't allow it here ... Mother is still illegally redlining 312, but Ameritech Mobile does allow IDDD billed to cellular via Mother. PAT] ------------------------------ From: David B. Horvath, CDP Subject: Orange Card Customer Service Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1993 02:00:00 CST Pat, My Orange Card arrived the other day (I was away for two weeks, so don't know exactly when it arrived) and I tried it yesterday. No luck. I called customer service, was on hold for < five minutes, and got the representative that entered my account information in the first place! In about 30 seconds he figured the problem out and put a correction in motion. The problem: LDS and Orange both issue cards but use different tables in LDS's switch; I was pointed to the wrong table. The card works fine this morning. It is really nice to get customer service that knows what's wrong and is able to correct it. You have my permission to use this in the Digest -- it *is* a testimonial of sorts. David [Moderator's Note: I've had a couple battles with those people myself, but as the Orange program now enters its sixth month, they are starting to get their act together pretty well. To set the record straight for those who have asked, 'Orange Communications' is the marketing arm of 'Accent Communicatications' in Pennsylvania. Accent is a reseller of LDS, which is the actual long distance carrier. The commissions they pay for new subscribers along with residuals from the use of the Orange Card are remitted to TELECOM Digest to help offset the costs involved with production of this journal. Considering there is no surcharge and the rates are 25 cents per minute to call anywhere in the USA, it is a painless way readers can participate financially. And seriously, I do want to maintain high standards of customer service. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #398 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa06149; 19 Jun 93 5:26 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA04475 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Fri, 18 Jun 1993 23:57:40 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA11059 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Fri, 18 Jun 1993 23:57:12 -0500 Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1993 23:57:12 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306190457.AA11059@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #399 TELECOM Digest Fri, 18 Jun 93 23:57:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 399 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: *67 Caller-ID Question (Steve Forrette) Re: Call Forwarding and Caller-ID (Jack Decker) Re: Advice on Buying Fax-Back Machine (James R. Saker Jr.) Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas (Steve Forrette) Re: Southern Bell and Call Hunting (407/904 Area) (Steve Forrette) Re: Names Added To Caller ID (Jerry Leichter) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: *67 Caller-ID Question Date: 19 Jun 1993 02:06:14 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA In article mjung@coplex.coplex.com (Mike Jung) writes: > My understanding of caller ID is that it can be disabled by using the > code *67 from practically any phone in the country. > If I call from my local telephone number to get my mailbox > messages then the mailbox computer voice software (AT&T?) does > not ask me for my local access number (my telphone number) but says > hello "MIKE", please enter your passowrd; thus I assume (that's > risky ...) that the computer knows my number (mailbox) from Caller-ID > and simply want a password ... this is cool ... I don't have to enter > my local telephone number then password to get my messages. > CONCERN: My understanding of *67 is that it will not allow anyone > to obtain the caller' telephone number. > [Moderator's Note: A common error is to mix up Caller-ID and Automatic > Number Identification (ANI). Caller-ID is a product for end users, or > subscribers. Your use of *67 does not hide your number from other telcos > or network services; *67 has no effect on ANI. The end result of Caller-ID > and ANI is quite similar, but they are not the same services. Your use > of *67 does not hide your number when you call 1-800 numbers for example. > Those subscribers get ANI automatically with their bill each month, not > Caller-ID. Our Moderator provides a good description of the ANI vs Caller ID differences. I'd like to add my perspective. Caller ID and ANI are definitely completely different services. Caller ID is a CLASS feature, which requires an end-to-end SS7 control path for the call. These are becoming much more common, but there are still many areas that do not use SS7 locally, or where the LEC-IXC interface is not SS7, even though each carrier's facilities are SS7. ANI, however, can be passed over either SS7 or MF signalled trunks. As such, it is almost universally available. In fact, any Equal Access equipped office will send ANI data on all calls passed to a long distance carrier. This covers something like 95% of the exchanges in the US. Normally, ANI is used by the IXC so that they know who to bill for a 1+ toll call. That is its purpose -- if the IXC didn't know where the call was coming from, how would it know where to send the bill? In cases where it is not available, the LEC has to record the information itself and send a billing tape to the IXC (obviously not a desired way of doing things). But, ANI is also delivered to the IXC for 700/800/900 calls. Most 800 and 900 customers get call detail reports each month listing each call, including the calling number. They can also buy an optional service whereby they get the ANI in real time as the call comes in. This requires dedicated access (usually leased T1) between the terminating customer and the IXC. Note that ANI is available regardless of whether the calling person has Caller ID or any other CLASS services available in their area. If CLASS is available, and the caller has either per-line or per-call blocking turned on, this does not affect ANI, since it is not a CLASS service. There is no way to block 800 ANI. There are also subtle operational differences between Caller ID and ANI. For forwarded calls, Caller ID will show the original calling number, whereas ANI will show the (last) number that did the forwarding. As far as the telco using 800 ANI for voicemail, that's a great idea. Keep in mind that the behavior you saw (*67 not keeping your number from the voicemail system) is available only because the voicemail was accessed by calling an 800 number. If it had been offered through a local number, then any blocking you enabled would correctly keep your number from being delivered to the voicemail system. Pat noted that it would be possible for a telco-based voicemail system to ignore Caller ID blocking, since it is a network service and the telco obviously knows the number anyway. I would contend that this is not possible in a legal sense for any voicemail product offered by the telco. Keep in mind that telco-provided voicemail is an unregulated service, and therefore has to buy its network services from the regulated side just like any other customer. Any service that the telco voicemail division subscribes to must be available to any person that comes along and wants to set up their own competing voicemail system. (As a side note, it may be that the telco has priced many of these services such that a large amount of money is needed to get a competing voicemail system [including features such as stutter dialtone] running, so as to discourage competition, but that's another story). So, if the local telco's voicemail system could get blocked Caller ID numbers, then a trunk that receives blocked numbers should be orderable by any customer. Since the regulatory bodies are unlikely to tariff any service that delivers blocked numbers, it would not be possible for telco voicemail to use such a service, unless they violate the "arms reach" rules that govern their unregulated services. Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Jun 93 03:34:11 GMT From: ac388@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu (Jack Decker) Subject: Re: Call Forwarding and Caller-ID In message , dh395@cleveland.Freenet. Edu (Steven J Tucker) wrote: > Can someone tell me, when you forward your calls in a Caller ID > equipped area, does the called party get the original caller number > or the number doing the forwarding? .... and Pat replied ..... > [Moderator's Note: Here in Chicago, they get the original number. PAT] Isn't there some danger in this, though? Let me give you an example of something that could easily happen: A is under a court order not to call or have contact with B (maybe a messy separation/divorce, or some such thing). But A is calling C for some legitimate reason (maybe to try and collect money owed) only C doesn't want to talk to A. Since A always calls C at around the same time, and since C knows about the court order, C decides to cause some mischief by forwarding his line to B. A calls C, get connected to B, and upon hearing B's voice, hangs up immediately! BUT ... B has Caller ID and can "prove" to the court that A called her, so A gets thrown in the slammer. C is happy, B is happy, and A's still wondering how the heck he got connected to B! You say this isn't likely to happen ... well, maybe not, but let me relate a somewhat similar type of thing that occurred when I was a teenager. The kid next door to me had installed one of those wireless FM telephone line transmitter modules (the kind that came in a black epoxy "ice cube" and that were available at many electronics stores for about eight bucks) in his parents' phone, so that when his parents weren't home (far too often, unfortunately) and his friends were over, he could call folks and harass them and everyone in the room could hear the "fun" over the console FM stereo. Of course, what he didn't count on was that the FM transmitter had sufficient range that the kid next door (me) could also tune in his little pranks on the FM radio in my bedroom (and I never told him, either!). Anyway, one night he and another kid (whose parents were also apparently not home) got into a phone war of sorts, each calling the other and firing off whatever gross insult they could come up with and then hanging up. This went on for a while and I was listening as it degenerated and got the bright idea to hook up my cassette recorder to the output of my stereo and "roll tape", as they say in the radio biz. Well, at about that point one of the kids placed a call and said something to the effect of "I'm going to the living right out of you!" and then hung up. Now that was pretty strong language in those days (especially in the small town where I resided), and I rather decided that it had gone a bit too far. So I waited until the next evening, and called the little potty-mouth's home to see if he was there. His mother answered, and I asked for him ... nope, as I suspected, he wasn't home and she had no idea where he was. Perfect! So I then hooked up the output of my cassette recorder to the phone line, adjusted the volume for natural sound at the distant end, waited a few minutes and redialed the kid's home. When momma answered, I just rolled the tape, hanging up immediately after junior's message was delivered. I can just about imagine what that little brat caught when he got home ... and to this day he probably has no idea why his mother would think he would ever call her and say such a thing! And even if he'd figured out that it was a tape of his previous evening's insults, he'd most likely have blamed the kid he was talking to, since he had no way of knowing that I could hear either of them! I know, it was a dirty trick, but at the time it sure seemed like fun! (By the way, I am NOT suggesting that this was a good thing to do, but I did do a FEW things when I was a teenager that I wouldn't dream of doing today!) :-) So when I see the situation where the called party receives the original caller's number on a forwarded call, the thought occurs that if someone wanted to deliberately use this feature to cause some mischief, they quite possibly could. If the caller were not all that telecom-knowledgeable, they'd probably never figure out that call forwarding was involved; they'd just know that they tried to call one person and "somehow" got connected to someone else! In my opinion, therefore, Caller-ID OUGHT to transmit some sort of indication that the call was forwarded via another number, if and when that is the case. Jack Decker | Internet: ac388@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu Fidonet: 1:154/8 or jack.decker@f8.n154.z1.fidonet.org Note: Mail to the Fidonet address has been known to bounce. :-( [Moderator's Note: You devoted all these paragraphs to a justification of why simply passing the phone number of the absolute caller to the absolute receiver of the call 'might' be a bad idea ... if the very unusual scenario you describe should happen to take place. What would you rather have, the Caller-ID provide the number of the interim party who had nothing to do with the transaction at all? Those are the two choices you have. I wish people would quit thinking up all these bizzare and unlikely reasons why Caller-ID is such a bad thing. Remember when the big thing was how all the women's shelters would never be able to have outgoing calls again because of all the angry husbands who would seek them out, etc? I said that was a crock back then, and I say it again. Now all these other onjections start showing up. PAT] ------------------------------ From: jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu (James R. Saker Jr.) Subject: Re: Advice on Buying Fax-Back Machine Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1993 14:14:06 GMT Daniel Fandrich writes: > Here are some of the products I found in my research. The information > given is from the respective companies' literature -- I never got a > chance to set one up personally :-( > Product: FactslinkPRO > Features: one or two call system; voice mail features; menu driven; > can Interface to dBASE files or to custom applications; multiple > configurations selected from keypad or DID (for service bureau > applications); fax mailboxes; network support; password protection; up > to 16 fax boards and 48 voice lines per system; runs under OS/2. Here's another one to add to the list: Product: FaxFacts Fax-on-demand system Company: Copia International, Ltd. 1342 Avalon Court Wheaton, IL 60187 Voice: (708) 682-8898 Fax: (708) 665-9841 FaxFacts:(708) 924-3030 (live FaxFacts system w/ information online) Hardware: PC-based, can run on minimal configuration of 286, 1MBytes RAM, and voice/fax hardware (Dialogic, Brooktrout, Intel Fax, etc. are some of the supported boards). Software: DOS 3.3 or better Features: Call up the FaxFacts line and request the appropriate information for all the details. Note: Although we've purchased a copy (Brooktrout flavor), I haven't begun to evaluate it yet, so I really can't say much more;-) Jamie Saker jsaker@cwis.unomaha.edu Systems Engineer Business/MIS Major Telenational Communications Univ. Nebraska at Omaha voice: (402) 392-7548 fax: (402) 391-7283 Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are mine and not my employers, nor the University of Nebraska at Omaha's. ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: Spuyten Duyvil and Similar Areas Date: 18 Jun 1993 19:50:57 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA In article ac388@freenet.hsc.colorado. edu (Jack Decker) writes: > 2) Point Roberts, Washington ... physically connected to Canada and > not to the rest of Washington State (kids used to take a bus 40 miles > through Canada to get to school in Blaine, Washington). Used to get > phone service from BC Tel, and was a local call to the metro Vancouver > area. Don't know what the status of any of this is today. > [Moderator's Note: Regards Point Roberts, you can't get there from > here without going through Canada ... on a boat yes, but to stay on > land you have to cross into Canada and back out again. PAT] I had the occasion to visit Point Roberts a couple of weeks ago. It is indeed a strange place to be -- it can't be more than a few square miles. But it is at the tip of the peninsula that dips below the 49th parallel, which by treaty makes it part of the United States. You have to clear through customs in either direction. It seems like a big waste of money for each country to staff the checkpoint, but I guess the theory goes that once you're in the US, you could take a boat to the mainland without further checks. In reality the Candians have a much bigger concern. When I was there, virtually every car in Pt. Roberts had British Columbia license plates. There are a few *hugh* gas stations, with something like 36 pumps at some of them. Canadians that live close to the boarder (mostly from the city of Tswaassan, BC) drive to Pt. Roberts to fill up their gas tanks, and buy cigarettes and liquor. Gas is around the equivalent of US$2.00 per US gallon in Canada, and cigarettes are something like $5 per pack after taxes. There is a certain limit per trip of what Canadians can bring back into Canada without paying the duty. The gas stations are clearly oriented toward Candian customers, as the gas is sold in liters as it is in Canada (well, actually, it is sold in *litres* in Canada :-)), whereas the rest of Washington State uses gallons of course. Aside from the gas stations and taverns, and a few houses, there's really not much else there. As an aside, it's interesting to compare the two checkpoints. The Canadians are really concerned about whether you are bringing guns into Canada, or anything else "that you're not taking back to the US" so that they can tax it. The US side is more concerned about your citizenship, and if you have illegal drugs. Of course, no trip to such an interesting place could be complete without at least a cursory investigation as to the telecom setup. The payphone I used was from Whidbey Telephone, which mostly provides service to Whidbey Island, not far from Seattle. But I guess they also service Point Roberts. By the way, all of Whidbey Telephone's payphones are card reader types, and accept telco calling cards as well as major credit cards. I placed a call to a test 800 number that I have that can read back the ANI, and the ANI delivered for that call was all zero's, which indicates "ANI unavailable." This is the same thing that happened when calling from Canada, as no ANI is delivered for 800 calls coming from Canada. Since lack of ANI can also happen when calling from a US location that does not have Equal Access, I could not tell if the service was actually provided by BC Tel, or if Whidbey just used old equipment to service Pt Roberts. (Whidbey Telephone's regular service area on Whidbey Island does return ANI for 800 calls). I did not try a call to Canada to see if it was a local call. I didn't notice any unusually long call setup delays in the calls I made. Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: Southern Bell and Call Hunting (407/904 Area) Date: 18 Jun 1993 20:30:03 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA In article padgett@tccslr.dnet.mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson) writes: > I just called Southern Bell to inquire about call hunting for my two > home (residential) lines. Was told that it is available but the charge > is $5.23 per month per line involved (*not* the number of lines > "rolled" - I asked about the main number rolling to the second only and > not the reverse). Thus for me the charge would be $10.46 per month to > have the single line roll-over (and I thought $7.50/month per line for > Caller-ID was bad 8*(. > Sounds like whoever was getting it free was really in a friendly area. You may want to enquire as to the cost of 'busy transfer.' For only two lines, this feature works just about the same as hunting, and you only have to pay for it on one line. The cost for this service here in Seattle is $.95 if the destination number is in the same switch or $2.xx otherwise. One other difference between hunting and busy-transfer is that busy transfer will run up message units if you have measured rate service, whereas hunting won't. There seems to be a wide variance as to what the different telcos charge for hunting. I currently have residential hunting from US West in Seattle for $2/month/line. When I had it with Pacific Bell, the charge was $.50/month/line. It does seem consistent in places where they charge for hunting that the charge is for each line, including the terminating line which really doesn't hunt to anywhere itself. Now here's my hunting question: What is the official name for the flavor of hunting that distributes calls evenly between all lines, instead of the regular behavior of starting with the first number, and giving the call to the first one that's free? The even distribution feature is handy for situtations like a hunt group of modems, where modems sometimes get hung and can put the whole group out of service if you're unlucky enough to have the first one hang. I asked US West about this, and they claim that they don't offer this. But I remember reading about it here a few years ago. US West did have circular hunting as a no-charge option, though, which would allow calls that came in on a number in the middle of the hunt group and hunted all the way to the end to wrap back around to the beginning in search of an idle line, instead of just ending at the last number as they normally do. Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 17:34:22 EDT From: Jerryy Leichter Subject: Re: Names Added To Caller ID In a recent TELECOM Digest, Brett Frankenberger responded to an earlier rather hysterical article by William Pfieffer. Pfieffer cited, and Frankenberger repeated, the time-worn "women's shelter" example; then Frankenberger took up the attack against "anonymous" phone calls. The Moderator usually doesn't let the endless Caller ID/Privacy debates in here, but since he's let these two articles in, I hope he allows a response. The issue in Caller ID is not anonymity; it's privacy. Let's take an example: Our esteemed Moderator. Do you know his home address or telephone number? I'll bet not; in fact, he has in the past pointed out that he is careful not to have a phone listed in his name, and to conduct business through a post office box. He has in fact challenged people to determine this information about him. Our Moderator presumably uses his personal telephone to create and post copies of this Digest to subscribers. Were he to CALL subscribers directly, he would have to reveal his home telephone number though Caller-ID. If we have the right to determine his telephone number in this case, shouldn't we also have it when he happens to use a modem and a terminal to reach us indirectly? Clearly not. The "anonymity" our Moderator is maintaining is really his right to keep his private life private. It is really none of our business where he lives. None of us should be calling him at home to complain about missing issues of the Digest. The analogous right applies to others. When a disturbed person calls his psychiatrist's or social worker's number, he gets an answering service. The message will be relayed, and the professional will return the call -- quite likely from home. The home number will NOT be given out, for good reason: The professional has a right to his own life. Only emergency calls should get through. But, with Caller ID, as soon as the professional calls back from home, his number is revealed. This is not a fanciful situation, and in fact all doctors have to deal with it. My sister is a surgeon. She had to change her number to an unlisted one after a disturbed patient she had treated in the emergency room started harrassing her. This kind of thing happens all the time. If you think that this is only an issue for doctors and other highly-paid people, think again. Consider the software developer who once agrees to call back a customer to solve an emergency after-hours problem. Maybe the customer won't abuse the home phone number and call directly at all hours; but maybe he will. The outcome of these scenarios is clear. Any doctor who gets harrassed after his home phone number is revealed will simply refuse to make calls after hours, to the degree he can. The customer with the software problem will just have to wait, because someone else at some point abused a trust. The world won't end, but it will be a less pleasant place. But that's what you get when you sacrifice privacy. Jerry [Moderator's Note: Actually, the phone number and address for the TELECOM Digest office is pretty well known by now: 2241 West Howard Street, Suite 208, Chicago, IL 60645; Phone 312-465-2700. PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #399 ******************************   Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by mintaka.lcs.mit.edu id aa02196; 19 Jun 93 4:01 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA21962 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist-outbound); Sat, 19 Jun 1993 01:41:16 -0500 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA15173 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for telecomlist); Sat, 19 Jun 1993 01:40:08 -0500 Date: Sat, 19 Jun 1993 01:40:08 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199306190640.AA15173@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Subject: TELECOM Digest V13 #400 TELECOM Digest Sat, 19 Jun 93 01:40:00 CDT Volume 13 : Issue 400 Inside This Issue: Moderator: Patrick A. Townson Re: Particularity of 555? (Michael Rosen) Re: Particularity of 555? (Ethan Miller) Re: Particularity of 555? (Greg Trotter) Re: Particularity of 555? (David Breneman) Re: Particularity of 555? (Jonathan F. Carpenter) Re: Particularity of 555? (Mark Evans) Re: Non Availability of 800/NXX (Bob Goudreau) Re: Non Availability of 800/NXX (Steve Forrette) Re: Non Availability of 800/NXX (Dave Niebuhr) Re: Grocery Stores Accepting Credit Cards (Khee Chan) Re: Grocery Stores Accepting Credit Cards (Ethan Miller) Re: Grocery Stores Accepting Credit Cards (Gary W. Sanders) Re: Grocery Stores Accepting Credit Cards (Steven King) Re: Grocery Stores Accepting Credit Cards (Monty Solomon) Re: The Best Politicians Money Can Buy (Carl Moore) Re: The Best Politicians Money Can Buy (Martin McCormick) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: mrosen@nyx.cs.du.edu (Michael Rosen) Subject: Re: Particularity of 555? Organization: University of Denver, Dept. of Math & Comp. Sci. Date: Sat, 19 Jun 93 04:06:44 GMT Andrew_Marc_Greene@frankston.com writes: > The phone number given out at the end of _Sneakers_ wasn't a 555 > number, as I recall. The rumour was that it was the number for the > San Francisco branch of the Infernal Revenue Service. I believe, from the discussion I remember seeing on the nets, that it was someone's house somewhere. I don't remember, but I don't think an area code was given and people tried different California area codes. Mike ------------------------------ From: elm@cs.berkeley.edu (ethan miller) Subject: Re: Particularity of 555? Date: 18 Jun 93 17:12:47 Organization: Berkeley--Shaken, not Stirred Reply-To: elm@cs.berkeley.edu In article Andrew_Marc_Greene@frankston. com writes: > The phone number given out at the end of _Sneakers_ wasn't a 555 > number, as I recall. The rumour was that it was the number for the > San Francisco branch of the Infernal Revenue Service. It was not a rumor. The seven-digit phone number was that of the Internal Revenue Service in Oakland, CA (easy enough to check in the phone book). However, they used 415 as the area code; at the time the movie was released, Oakland had already been reassigned from 415 to 510. ethan miller--cs grad student elm@cs.berkeley.edu #include ------------------------------ From: greg@gallifrey.ucs.uoknor.edu Subject: Re: Particularity of 555? Date: 18 Jun 93 16:35:19 CDT Organization: Gallifrey - Home of the Timelords In article Andrew_Marc_Greene@frankston. com writes: > The phone number given out at the end of _Sneakers_ wasn't a 555 > number, as I recall. The rumour was that it was the number for the > San Francisco branch of the Infernal Revenue Service. The NXX was 275; the area code was 415. It caused a little confusion in Oklahoma, since it seems some people thought the area code was 405, which covers central, southern and western Oklahoma. The number with the 405 area code was the home phone number of the president of the Shawnee (OK) Chamber of Commerce, who said he has received dozens of phone calls since Sneakers was released on video. This is *precisely* why Hollywood is supposed to use 555 numbers. Greg Trotter Norman, Oklahoma Internet: greg@gallifrey.ucs.uoknor.edu Fidonet: 1:147/63 Treknet: 87:6012/8009 ------------------------------ From: daveb%jaws@dsinet.dgtl.com (David Breneman) Subject: Re: Particularity of 555? Date: 18 Jun 93 20:10:15 GMT Reinhard A Hamid (hamid@tnt.uni-hannover.de) wrote: > In nearly all TV-Films I have seen, when people are giving out their > telephone number, it started with 555. Deletions... > [Moderator's Note: Well Reinhard, it's like this: Deletions... > That way, when the twisted people who watch television try to > call these numbers, they wind up either getting no one at all or maybe > the directory assistance operator. In other words, it is done to avoid > giving out a 'real' number. This is sort of obvious to most Americans > who know something about the phone network here; admittedly it could > be a curious thing for Europeans or others who get to see our shows > but whose own telephone networks have nothing special about 555. PAT] I once followed a week-long thread in one of the de (German) newsgroups, in which people were puzzling as to why Los Angeles (where all the American TV shows are made) has only one exchange - 555. Many people suggested that for some reason phone service was *very* expensive in LA, so they never needed more than 10,000 numbers. Some thought that 555 was the Hollywood exchange, where all the studios are anyway. It was a couple days into the thread that somebody suggested that maybe 555 is a "special" exchange - he'd tried calling some of those numbers from Germany! David Breneman mail: daveb@jaws.engineering.dgtl.com System Administrator, Software Engineering Services Digital Systems International, Inc. Voice: 206 881-7544 Fax: 206 556-8033 ------------------------------ From: jfc@world.std.com (Jonathan F Carpenter) Subject: Re: Particularity of 555? Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1993 18:13:07 GMT In article mrosen@nyx.cs.du.edu (Michael Rosen) writes: > hamid@tnt.uni-hannover.de (Reinhard A Hamid) writes: >> [Moderator's Note: Well Reinhard, it's like this: Here in the USA, a >> lot of insane or otherwise mentally disturbed people watch television >> or go to the moving/talking picture shows. Some of these people *actually > I don't know if you could call all of them insane, just curious maybe. > Remember all the people calling the real number that was given out in > Sneakers? Before and right after the movie came out, the director of Sneakers spent a lot of time in a special 'Sneakers' forum on CompuServe to promote the movie. Someone specifically asked him about the number because it had a non-555 prefix and the director said that he intended to do that, to be more realistic. He said that it took a lot of convincing to the movie company's legal department, and that he also paid the phone company to reserve/hold the number for a long time into the future, so that no one would be bothered by lots of curious people who had just seen the movie. Jon Carpenter ------------------------------ From: evansmp@uhura.aston.ac.uk (Mark Evans) Subject: Re: Particularity of 555? Organization: Aston University Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1993 10:14:53 GMT Reinhard A Hamid (hamid@tnt.uni-hannover.de) wrote: > In nearly all TV-Films I have seen, when people are giving out their > telephonenumber , it started with 555. > Is there something special on numbers which started with 555? You also can see the same sort of thing on advertising boards displaying phone numbers. Though there are cases of people using real numbers ... e.g. In the "Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy" there is a phone number of a flat in London, which was at one time occupied by the author. > who know something about the phone network here; admittedly it could > be a curious thing for Europeans or others who get to see our shows > but whose own telephone networks have nothing special about 555. PAT] But other places do have special numbers or ones which are supposedly real, but non existent. In the UK -- 1 (followed by two digits will do something unusual) Some such as 100, 150, 151, and 192 are universally standard. Others such as 174, 175 and 176 initiate some sort of diagnostics on the line (which, of course depends what the hardware on the other end is). Mark Evans evansmp@uhura.aston.ac.uk +(44) 21 429 9199 (Home) evansmp@cs.aston.ac.uk +(44) 21 359 6531 x4039 (Office) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1993 15:22:10 -0400 From: goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com (Bob Goudreau) Subject: Re: Non Availability of 800/NXX In article JOHN.D.GRETZINGER@sprint. sprint.com writes: > Here is a list of NXXs NOT AVAILABLE for assignment due to 800 > Portability. If an NXX code does not appear on this list, one can > assume it is now or will be assignable with Portability. > 1.) All NXXs beginning with the numeral 1 are unavailable. This would seem redundant, since "1XX" is by definition not an NXX code (remember, N=2..9). However, given that they saw fit to explicitly exlude 1XX codes, I wonder why they didn't mention 0XX codes too. Presumably, those codes are also unavailable? Bob Goudreau Data General Corporation goudreau@dg-rtp.dg.com 62 Alexander Drive +1 919 248 6231 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA ------------------------------ From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette) Subject: Re: Non Availability of 800/NXX Date: 19 Jun 1993 01:45:16 GMT Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA In article JOHN.D.GRETZINGER@sprint. sprint.com writes: > Here is a list of NXXs NOT AVAILABLE for assignment due to 800 > Portability. If an NXX code does not appear on this list, one can > assume it is now or will be assignable with Portability. > 5.) NXX's assigned to Canada, for calls terminating in Canada. There > are many carriers that may be getting into the 800 business in Canada > now that competition has been mandated by the Canadian Government. > However, a complete breakdown by Canadian carrier is not available. > Telecom Canada (now called Stentor): > 263, 265, 267, 268, 361, 363, 387, 461, 463, 465, 561, 563, 565, ^^^ Such as in 800-265-5328, otherwise known as 800-COLLECT? There was a previous report in the Digest about the unfortunate Canadian who had the number in service for calls from Canada, and was getting all sorts of wrong-number callers, apparently people who had seen the MCI ads for the number and assumed that it would work from Canada. So how does MCI get away with this? Is the rule that the prefixes listed above are not available to US companies, unless you're MCI? Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 09:03:35 EDT From: dwn@dwn.ccd.bnl.gov (Dave Niebuhr) Subject: Re: Non Availability of 800/NXX In TELECOM Digest Volume 13 : Issue 398 JOHN.D.GRETZINGER@sprint. sprint.com writes: > Here is a list of NXXs NOT AVAILABLE for assignment due to 800 > Portability. If an NXX code does not appear on this list, one can > assume it is now or will be assignable with Portability. > This information is based on information received from the North > American Numbering Plan Administrator. I recently received a Citibank Visa bill (actually last month) and where they used to have 950-XXXX as the toll-free number to call them, now it is 800-950-XXXX (I don't remember the XXXX, otherwise I would have included it ). Dave Niebuhr Internet: niebuhr@bnl.gov / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, LI, NY 11973 (516)-282-3093 Senior Technical Specialist: Scientific Computer Facility ------------------------------ Organization: ESOC European Space Operations Centre Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1993 21:48:57 CET From: Khee Chan Subject: Re: Grocery Stores Accepting Credit Cards In article , sceard!newline!steve@UCSD. EDU (Steve Edwards) says: > In southern California (at least LA, OC, and SD counties), Ralphs and > Lucky grocery stores accept credit cards without any PIN! Just "swipe" > (pun intended) the card and you can walk out with the goods. Err ... I think you have missed out something here. During my last visit to the local Ralph's, I paid by credit card. True, I was not prompted to enter my PIN after I had run my card through the card reader. However, there was something like a five second delay after the checkout clerk accepted the credit card payment option (at the card reader terminal) before the POS machine started to print out the charge slip (blank form previously inserted by clerk) which I then had to sign. Looking over the shoulder of the clerk, I saw the POS display prompting the clerk to verify my signature which of course he totally ignored! So as far as I can see, this was no different from any other credit card transaction where the merchant had to run the card through the verification terminal. Presumably that is what the POS machine did durin the five second delay. So long as there is some sort of verification, there should be no need to enter a PIN. You do not enter a PIN for other credit card transactions apart from ATM cash advances, do you? Khee Chan BITNET/EARN: kchan@esoc, kchan@caltech SPAN: jplsp::kchan INTERNET: kchan@jplsp.jpl.nasa.gov, kchan@caltech.edu I speak for no-one, and no-one speaks for me. Sometimes not even myself! ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 12:05:11 PDT From: elm@terrorism.CS.Berkeley.EDU (ethan miller) Subject: Re: Grocery Stores Accepting Credit Cards Reply-To: elm@cs.berkeley.edu In article sceard!newline!steve@UCSD. EDU (Steve Edwards) writes: > In southern California (at least LA, OC, and SD counties), Ralphs and > Lucky grocery stores accept credit cards without any PIN! Just "swipe" > (pun intended) the card and you can walk out with the goods. > [Moderator's Note: The Jewel and Dominick chains here in Chicago can > swipe an ATM card (or a debit card, or credit card) at the cash register > but they do require you to punch in a PIN in the process. PAT] Please distinguish between debit cards and credit cards. Very few stores require PINs to use a credit card -- instead, they have you sign the charge slip. This includes local grocery stores (in Northern CA). For debit cards, however, no signature is necessary, as they use the PIN for ID instead. There's nothing strange about it, and no more risk than for any other use of credit cards. ethan miller elm@cs.berkeley.edu [Moderator's Note: The debit card I have from First National Bank of Chicago also functions as an ATM card. So whether or not I sign my name or punch in a PIN depends on how it is being used. PAT] ------------------------------ From: news@cbnews.att.com Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 13:11:42 GMT Subject: Re: Grocery Stores Accepting Credit Cards Organization: AT&T In article sceard!newline!steve@UCSD. EDU (Steve Edwards) writes: > king@rtsg.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist) writes: >> As an aside, the grocery store I shop now accepts credit cards and > [Moderator's Note: The Jewel and Dominick chains here in Chicago can > swipe an ATM card (or a debit card, or credit card) at the cash register > but they do require you to punch in a PIN in the process. PAT] Most grocery stores in central Ohio accept credit cards without PIN's. However one recently say they now require a PIN. This is a big pain and bothers me ... first why do I need to enter a PIN? No one at the store can tell me except its policy. No one seems concerned about the security of the transaction. I for one don't know my PIN nor do I care to. On cards that would permit it I specifically ask not to have a PIN. I also noticed on some of my cards that use of a PIN mean its a cash transaction instead of a purchase. This can mean a higher interest rate and/or surchare. If your paying off your card monthly this may not be a problem, but what about the millons who don't? Gary W. Sanders (N8EMR) gary.w.sanders@att.com AT&T Bell Labs 614-860-5965 ------------------------------ From: king@rtsg.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist) Subject: Re: Grocery Stores Accepting Credit Cards Reply-To: king@rtsg.mot.com Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1993 18:43:12 GMT sceard!newline!steve@UCSD.EDU (Steve Edwards) publicly declared: > king@rtsg.mot.com (Steven King, Software Archaeologist) writes: >> As an aside, the grocery store I shop now accepts credit cards and >> automatic teller cards. Double-plus convenient! (Please, no flames >> about the risks of keying in my PIN out in plain sight at the checkout >> counter ...) > In southern California (at least LA, OC, and SD counties), Ralphs and > Lucky grocery stores accept credit cards without any PIN! Just "swipe" > (pun intended) the card and you can walk out with the goods. > [Moderator's Note: The Jewel and Dominick chains here in Chicago can > swipe an ATM card (or a debit card, or credit card) at the cash register > but they do require you to punch in a PIN in the process. PAT] My experiences out here in Suburbia (Wauconda IL, not quite far enough from Chicago) are that *DEBIT* (ATM) cards require the entry of a PIN but no signature. *CREDIT* cards require a signature but no PIN. As far as I know the only time you ever have to enter a PIN to use a credit card is when you're getting a cash advance at an ATM machine. Otherwise, every merchant I've ever seen has been happy with my smiling face and signature. In any case, I think the risk of someone stealing your credit card and charging a week's worth of groceries pales in comparison to the risk of the same person stealing the card and charging expensive stereo or computer gear ... Steven King, Motorola Cellular (king@rtsg.mot.com) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1993 05:01:48 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Re: Grocery Stores Accepting Credit Cards >> As an aside, the grocery store I shop now accepts credit cards and >> automatic teller cards. Double-plus convenient! (Please, no flames >> about the risks of keying in my PIN out in plain sight at the checkout >> counter ...) The supermarkets here accepts credit cards without requiring a PIN. The Mobil and Shell gas stations have credit card readers at the pump which do not require a PIN. Monty Solomon / PO Box 2486 / Framingham, MA 01701-0405 monty%roscom@think.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Jun 93 8:55:02 EDT From: Carl Moore Subject: Re: The Best Politicians Money Can Buy Martin McCormick writes: > Robert Anthony, a commissioner at the time, secretly went to > the FBI after being approached by Bell officials and offered money. Does this mean that Robert Anthony was approached by Bell officials and was offered money, then secretly went to the FBI? If it does, then I'd suggest putting "being" just before "offered" in the excerpt I quoted, and maybe a comma after "FBI". Otherwise, it could be interpreted as saying Robert Anthony offered money to the FBI. [Moderator's Note: Either way would work out okay, Carl. After all, there are lots of corrupted FBI officials who also take money or other good and valuable consideration in exchange for 'assistance'. Bribery and extortion are nothing new in the US Department of Justice and its investigative arm the FBI. When they encounter a federal judge who rules against the government on a regular basis, Justice and the FBI seek to blackmail him. Since so many federal judges themselves are not exactly saints, this is easy to do. Maybe the judge chisels on his own taxes; uses marijuana or cocaine; is a pedophile ... whatever, the FBI finds out, and the judge starts giving the kind of rulings Justice likes to see henceforth. If the judge cheats on his own taxes, the IRS never loses a case in front of him either -- you better believe it! :) Perhaps you read in your papers recently about how two dozen members of a notorious, vicious street gang in Chicago finally were sent to the penetentiary by the Justice Department only to have the whole thing come apart when it was discovered that the US Attorney here had been supplying the street gang members with cocaine and sex *while they were in the federal correctional center awaiting trial*. There was nothing wrong with the punctuation in the original message, Carl. *Of course* federal authorities take bribes in the USA. Lots of them. PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: Re: The Best Politicians Money Can Buy Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1993 08:22:04 -0500 From: Martin McCormick In message <9306170855.aa12890@WUMPUS.BRL.MIL>, Carl Moore writes: > Martin McCormick writes: >> Robert Anthony, a commissioner at the time, secretly went to >> the FBI after being approached by Bell officials and offered money. > Does this mean that Robert Anthony was approached by Bell officials and > was offered money, then secretly went to the FBI? > If it does, then I'd suggest putting "being" just before "offered" in the > excerpt I quoted, and maybe a comma after "FBI". Otherwise, it could be > interpreted as saying Robert Anthony offered money to the FBI. You have a valid point. The structure was rather poor. Actually, he went to the FBI after being offered money by Southwestern Bell officials. It turns out that it was only $10,000 or so which is pretty pathetic when you consider the seriousness of what was happening. Martin McCormick [Moderator's Note: That was pretty cheap. Illinois Bell offered a lot more than that to an official in the Chicago Department of Aviation for the right to a 'no-bid' contract on the payphone business at Ohare Airport a few years ago. And he didn't turn them in, either, but took the money and kept quiet about it. And when the {Chicago Tribune} got sore about something with this fellow and ran a story about the bribe money (they had known about it earlier, but like the FBI they sit on things until it best suits their needs to say something or in the case of a big advertiser like IBT, the Tribune will keep quiet until they can't avoid the stink any longer), all the aldermen in Chicago started squalling and squealing like pigs on the way to market. About the bribe? Yeah ... they wanted to know why IBT had not offered them bribe money also/instead. :) PAT] ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V13 #400 ******************************