HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Date: 8 Nov 92 17:18:19 GMT
From: briang@Sun.COM (Brian Gordon)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Computerized Sales Call "Locked" My Line
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 832, Message 12 of 12

Commenting on a message from birmingh@fnalf.fnal.gov, PAT said:

>>  [Moderator's Note: Do it! Start calling the president of the company at
>>  home during his dinner. If he has the nerve to object, then tell him you
>>  are going to sue him if his machines ever call you again for any reason.
>>  Don't forget to dial *67 before calling him.
>>  It is none of Mister Hotshot's business what your home phone number is.

> Logic error here, I'm afraid.  If he doesn't know what your home phone
> number is, just how is he to make sure that his machines never call it?

> [Moderator's Note: Good point.  PAT]

Gee, I thought that _was_ the point.  The only way to keep from being
harassed (by you) would be for him (i.e. his company) to stop harassing
 _everyone_.


Brian G. Gordon	briang@Sun.COM    	briang@netcom.COM 
B.GORDON2 on GENie	70243,3012 on CompuServe  BGordon on AOL
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 92 12:04:11 CST
From: Ron <acct069@carroll1.cc.edu>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: NT Meridian Key System For Sale
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 828, Message 4 of 7

I've got a Northern Telecom "meridian" Key Telephone System for sale.

It's a box about 15" x 24" x 3.5".

It's got a software cartridge that allows a capacity of 6x16 lines.  6
in, and 16 out.

The warranty expired in Jan of 1991.  As far as I know it's functional.

This is just the Key System Unit.  No stations or other software is
available.  The unit is also missing documentation.

I'm unsure of the unit's worth, so I'll accept the best offer over what I
paid for it that I receive via e-mail by Nov. 20th, and work out the
details from there.


Ron                      | Lightning Systems, INC.
acct069@carroll1.cc.edu  | (414) 363-4282  62megs
                         | 14.4k HST/V.32bis
From: jasko@park.bu.edu (John V. Jaskolski)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Question Regarding Telephone PARTY LINES
Date: 8 Nov 92 15:39:55 GMT
Reply-To: John_Jaskolski@park.bu.edu
Organization: Boston University Dept. of Cognitive and Neural Systems
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 827, Message 3 of 4

I am interested in building or acquiring telephone bridges for party
lines.  This would be a device that allows multiple callers to call in
and be "bridged" together so as to be able to all talk together at the
same time.  Ideally, the system would have several numbers with any
number of lines able to be dynamically allocated to a given party line
number.  For example, five people might call in on line one (and be
talking together), seven people might be talking on line two, etc.  At
another time 50 people might be on line one with the teleconferencing
system dynamically allocating the lines to each number as needed.
What I am looking for is ANY INFORMATION WHATSOEVER: chips that might
be used, schematics, textbooks, vendors, whatever.  These systems are
also called Group Bridging Service (GBS) systems and if purchased
comercially they are expensive.  Information regarding vendors will
also be greatly appreciated.


Thank you very much,

John V. Jaskolski, IMC                            Internet: jasko@cns.bu.edu
International Marketing Corp.                Bitnet: jasko%kenmore AT BUACCA
IMC of America                     UUCP: {harvard,uunet}!bu.edu!bucasb!jasko
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 92 09:09:29 EDT
From: Jerry Leichter <leichter@lrw.com>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Cellular Advice Sought
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 824, Message 2 of 9

My sister is a surgery resident in San Francisco (and with the kind of
work she does -- heart surgery, trauma unit, etc. -- I sincerely hope
none of you meet her on the job).  These days, she's essentially on
beeper call 24 hours a day, seven days a week -- the beeper is forever
at her side, and at all hours of the night and day she has to be able
to reach a phone quickly.  So ... a cellular phone seems like the
answer.

Overall picture of usage:

- A couple of outgoing calls a day, mainly fairly short, but some
might be long.

- Few if any incoming calls.  (She'll keep the beeper -- the doctors
have developed a simple code they pass in the beeper message to
indicate just how urgent a particular call is.)

- Excellent coverage all over the Bay Area a must.

- She jogs, so wants something she can carry with her, the smaller and
lighter the better.

I'm seeking recommendations (and warnings) about the best choice of
carrier, phones, and the best place to find a recommended phone at a
decent price.  (She's been wondering why the newspaper ads in the New
York Times list phones at prices that are hundreds of dollars better
than what's being offered in her area.  I explained the California
policy on service contract tie-ins.)

Question: She can't be the only one who wants to keep her beeper along
with her cellphone.  Does anyone make a combined beeper/cellphone?
Seems like an obvious product ...


Jerry
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 92 01:21:12 GMT
From: brayl@nyx.cs.du.edu (Bill Rayl)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Writers Wanted For Telecomm Magazine
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 830, Message 8 of 9

Have you ever read a computer columnist's article and thought you
could do as good or better a job of writing?  Well, here's your
chance!

Pegasus Press of Ann Arbor, MI is looking for columnists and reviewers
for CONNECT magazine.  Covering the major commercial online services,
Internet/Usenet and smaller Bulletin Board System networks, CONNECT
focuses on telecommunications from a user-oriented perspective.

User-oriented means that people who know how to get a modem connected
to their personal computer should be able to understand and follow
every article in the magazine.  CONNECT will show them month after
month how to get the most from the pay services they're using.  These
include CompuServe, Delphi, America Online, Prodigy and GEnie.
CONNECT may also introduce them to "free" networks like FidoNet.

CONNECT will also review new telecommunications products, and deal
with complicated subjects in a clear, easy-to-undersand manner.  If
you like getting into the guts of products, and can talk about them in
a manner that doesn't put all your non-tech friends to sleep, then
this could be for you!

So, if you've ever wanted to see your name in print, please request a
Writer's Guide for CONNECT magazine by emailing Patricia Snyder-Rayl
at 70007,4640 on CIS, or UNICORNPUB on GEnie and Delphi, and at
brayl@nyx.du.edu on Internet.  Or, via US mail, contact Pegasus Press
at 3487 Braeburn Circle, Ann Arbor, MI 48108 or call (313) 973-8825
(voice) or (313) 973-9137 (24hr BBS).
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1992 11:35:38 GMT
From: morris@grian.cps.altadena.ca.us (Mike Morris)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Armored Phone
Organization: College Park Software, Altadena, CA
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 833, Message 5 of 9

amb@cs.columbia.edu (andrew m. boardman) writes:

> I need a wall-mountable telephone for indoors use that's fairly theft-
> and vandalism-proof.  Who sells this kind of stuff?

I am posting this rather than replying thru email as others may be
interested in what I found today.

Allen Tel sells armored phones.  Their products are available through
Greybar Electric who has outlets in several major cities.  Ask for
"Freeway Phones".

If you need some, and don't mind spending more money that they are
worth, The local freeway authorities just swapped out > 2000 freeway
phones for solar-powered cellphones.  A local surplus outlet is
selling off the old ones for $65 or so.  They are basically a bright
yellow alluminum housed 500 phone that does not have a dial (blank
panel) or a bell.  Adding a bell is no problem, but adding a dial will
require metal work (or ordering out a new front panel from Allen Tel).

Today I discovered that an acquaintance has a dozen old grey WeCo
rotary units which will probably go much cheaper ... if you are
interested email me for more info.


Mike Morris   WA6ILQ  
PO Box 1130           
Arcadia, CA. 91077     | All opinions must be my own since nobody pays
818-447-7052 evenings  | me enough to be their mouthpiece...
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1992 19:33:30 GMT
From: tcubed@ddsw1.mcs.com (James Hanlon)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: ISDN and Stuff
Organization: ddsw1.MCS.COM Contributor, Chicago, IL
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 831, Message 3 of 13

mmt@redbrick.com (Maxime Taksar KC6ZPS) writes:

> In article <telecom12.814.1@eecs.nwu.edu>, root@sanger.chem.nd.edu
> (Doctor Math) writes:

>> Question: Why are things this way? When current modem technology
>> approaches the speed of one ISDN B-channel over an unmeasured dial-up
>> line for one-fourth the CPE cost and less than half the base monthly
>> charge, why would I want ISDN? 

A classic question.

> Modem technology will never get near the speed of an ISDN B channel.
> I think that the theortical limit for a modem over a POTS line is
> somewhere in the 25-30Kbps range (someone please remind me how fast a
> Shannon modem is).  This isn't even half of what an ISDN B channel is.

> Why would you want ISDN?  Because, theoretically, many people and
> businesses will eventually have it.  I'll venture to suggest the Fax
> machine analogy.  A Fax is to SnailMail as ISDN is to POTS.  If ISDN
> does become as popular as it's supposed to, ISDN CPE will cost *much*
> less, just as most technologies go down in cost as market and
> competition for it increase.

The gentleman's problem is not if, when, and will; it's here and now,
he has what he wants, good enough is good enough, and at a fraction of
the cost to boot. He'd be well advised to hang on to his POTS
lifeline. 10kbps is fine for character i/o, and is available for $100
US for DOS boxes. B-channel won't be 100 bucks for years. Why wait?
There is a chicken-and-egg aspect to market predictions -- the fiber
guys have been predicting the end of copper for years.


Jim Hanlon   tcubed@ddsw1.mcs.com
Date: 9 Nov 92 19:13:35 GMT
From: clifto@indep1.UUCP (Cliff Sharp)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Computerized Sales Call "Locked" My Line
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 837, Message 6 of 11

>> [Moderator's Note: Well you are right of course that 20-30 seconds
>> can mean life or death under some conditions. But the current telco
>> technology is such that if the man wants his phone line back (more or
>> less) immediatly, he will need to disconnect and wait about that
>> period of time for the CO to get rid of the other party who is hanging
>> on the line.  PAT]

   I've found that (at least locally) I can get those calls off the
line by shorting tip to ring.  Not a _nice_ thing to do, but very
effective.  I figure the total impedance in the runs from the CO to
the house should very effectively prevent any real burnout, and so far
I've been right (or lucky) about that.  Don't know _why_ it works, but
it does.

   Fortunately, I haven't had any such calls in a good long time; it
also seems that the local CO shuts those things off no matter what.
(My sister had a habit of calling me and going to sleep on the phone,
and we were effectively out of service until someone found the phone
and replaced the handset; that's what initially led me to experiment.)


Cliff Sharp   clifto@indep1.chi.il.us   OR  clifto@indep1.uucp
WA9PDM                    Use whichever one works
From: 1012breuckma@vmsf.csd.mu.edu
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Cellular Advice Sought
Date: 9 Nov 92 01:51:05 GMT
Reply-To: 1012breuckma@vmsf.csd.mu.edu
Organization: Marquette University - Computer Services
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 836, Message 3 of 13

In article <telecom12.824.2@eecs.nwu.edu>, Jerry Leichter <leichter@
lrw.com> writes:

> Question: She can't be the only one who wants to keep her beeper along
> with her cellphone.  Does anyone make a combined beeper/cellphone?

I understand there are cellphones now that will, if you desire, answer
a call by themselves and accept a touchtone message that you can
retrieve later.  You do, then, get charged for one minute of airtime.
Date: 8 Nov 92 22:31:50 EDT
From: Barton F. Bruce <Barton.Bruce@camb.com>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: ISDN and Stuff
Organization: Cambridge Computer Associates, Inc.
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 831, Message 2 of 13

In article <telecom12.814.1@eecs.nwu.edu>, root@sanger.chem.nd.edu
(Doctor Math) writes:

> Since ISDN service IS measured,  try to use it as little as possible.

Is it measured for voice as well as data calls? Not that the phone
company should be allowed to care, but they do try to rip you off for
data.

If voice is free, many products will still let you send data in voice
mode but only using 56kb rather than 64kb. Check out the Digiboard mac
layer ethernet bridges. One at the central site can support two (or
when they activate that second BRI port four) remote similar bridges.

> Question: Why are things this way? When current modem technology

The simple answer is that the telcos want dollars and YOU probably
didn't show up and testify at utility commission hearings when telco
was slipping through their latest tricks.
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 92 13:23:23 EST
From: bernhold@qtp.ufl.edu
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Questions About Personal 800 Numbers and Cheap Long Distance
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 830, Message 3 of 9

It looks increasingly like my wife and I will be taking jobs at
different ends of the continent for a while (the well known two-body
problem in science these days).  Consequently, I'd like to ask a few
questions about LD telephone service, which we'll be using a lot of ...

Is there any type of LD service that is likely to be cheaper than AT&T
Reach Out America or the equivalent from other carriers?  I know I can
compare among the different carrier's ROA-like plans, but I want to
know if there might be something better which I hadn't heard of.

One or both of us were to get 800 numbers, is this likely to be
cheaper than somthing like ROA, or is it just a way of changing who
pays for the call?

Also for 800 numbers, does the cost vary with time of day, as it does
for standard LD service?  If so, is the time of the call determined in
the originator's time zone or the recipient's?  (If I live in WA and
she lives in NY and she calls my 800 number at midnight (9pm my time)
would it be "night" or "evening" rate?)

Finally, who offers good personal-800 service? Washington (state) and
New York (state) are likely to be the two endpoints, if that matters.

If you reply by email, I will summarize for the group.  Thanks in
advance.


David Bernholdt		bernhold@qtp.ufl.edu
Quantum Theory Project	bernhold@ufpine.bitnet
University of Florida   Gainesville, FL  32611	 904/392 6365
Date: 09 NOV 92 10:41   
From: DNA15A!DLAPIN@TRENGA.tredydev.unisys.com
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Odd Survey
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 836, Message 10 of 13

Rob Knauerhase asks:

> This afternoon, I got a call from an overly-friendly man named John
> something, who worked for Chilton Research.  He asked if I'd take part

 .....

> Has anyone heard of this company, or heard of this type of survey?

Chilton Research is a part of the Chilton Press outfit (those people
who bring you the many auto repair books) that does various surveys.
One of the many that you might have seen recently was on Tuesday,
November 3 for either ABC or CBS, predicting election results.

Chilton Research (at least the part doing the election returns) is
located in one of the Philadelphia suburbs (Radnor, PA).


Dave Lapin ASN/ECDC (215)648-3508 (net**2 385-3508)
internet:  dlapin%dna15a@trenga.tredydev.unisys.com


[Moderator's Note: I think they are part of the empire in Radnor, PA
known as {TV Guide}.  PAT]
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1992 18:26:42 GMT
From: andy@homebase.vistachrome.com (Andy Finkenstadt)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: AT&T to Eliminate Holiday Rates
Reply-To: andy@homebase.vistachrome.com
Organization: Vista-Chrome Incorporated
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 831, Message 5 of 13

According to an AT&T 800-222-0300 supervisor this has nothing to do
with holiday rates.  It has to do with special deals that AT&T set up
previously for "Call home for less today" for a geographic area or
nationwide.  AT&T had a Florida day recently, for example.

The Tele-Sales Rep I talked with expressed the concern that AT&T has,
since the advertisement should not have been released, was not created
by AT&T, and was in fact "just" a news article.  She said that it had
shown up in both the {Washington Post} and the {Chicago Tribune} and
that the phones were ringing off the hooks by concerned consumers.

She encouraged me to get the word out and then asked if all my long
distance needs were serviced by AT&T.  I told her yes.  (And indeed,
they are.)


Andrew Finkenstadt, Vista-Chrome, Inc., Homes & Land Publishing Corporation
GEnie Unix RoundTable Manager, andy@vistachrome.com, andy@genie.geis.com.
Send mail to ora-request@vistachrome.com to join Unix, CASE, and 
Desktop Oracle RDBMS Database discussions.
From: bharrell@garfield.catt.ncsu.edu (Ben Harrell)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Northern Telecomm
Date: 9 Nov 92 14:10:26 GMT
Reply-To: cmebh01@nt.com (Ben Harrell)
Organization: Computers and Technologies Theme Program-NCSU-NC
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 835, Message 3 of 11

hsm@sei.cmu.edu (Scott Matthews) writes:

> Does anybody have any internet hosts (email addresses) for Northern
> Telecom?

To my knowledge, all of our hosts are secure.  Without an ID and
password, you would not be able to log on to one of them.


Ben Harrell    cmebh01@nt.com   or bharrell@catt.ncsu.edu
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1992 19:09:54 GMT
From: kenny@osf.org (Kenneth Crudup)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Airfone -- Phooey
Organization: Open Software Foundation
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 826, Message 13 of 14

rees@pisa.citi.umich.edu (Jim Rees) wrote:

> Last night I was actually on a plane that had Airfones and I needed
> to make a call.  The stupid thing just sat there emiting DTMF tones
> and never gave me a dial tone.  And why is there no RJ-11 jack on it?
> Where am I supposed to plug in my modem?  I'm not impressed.

In article <telecom12.820.4@eecs.nwu.edu> henry@ads.com writes:

> Is anyone happy with these things?  I've never gotten one to work to
> my satisfaction ...

You guys are joking, (esp. Rees), right?

"No dial tone"? Didja read the instructions? You get no call
completion 'till the phone knows whom to charge. (Cell phones don't
have dial tone either).

"No RJ11 jack (for modem)" - the bandwith ain't good enough to let you
use one, from the specs I've read here. Besides, I used one to arrange
a way from the airport a couple of months ago. You *don't* want to get
chatty unless you are say, Bill Gates plotting the destruction of a
competitor (or having someone else pay for it). 10 minutes = $2 setup
charge + 10 * $2/min = $22 ... imagine reading mail for a half hour or
so.

I've got no connection with Airphone, just that I found the service
workable, if expensive, and actally better than expected.


Kenny Crudup, Contractor, OSF DCE QA
OSF, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142	+1 617 621 7306
kenny@osf.osf.org	OSF has nothing to do with this post.
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 22:48:50 GMT
From: stevef@wrq.com (Steve Forrette)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: The Worst Phone Lines in the US?
Organization: Walker Richer & Quinn, Inc., Seattle, WA
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 837, Message 8 of 11

In article <telecom12.832.3@eecs.nwu.edu> gstovall@bnr.ca (G.T.)
writes:

> Dallas is served by Southwestern Bell.  Some of the outlying areas
> (like Plano, etc.) are served by GTE.  

I seem to remember a story that appeared in the TELECOM Digest several
years ago about the SWB-GTE situation in Texas.  There was a large
company, Atlantic Richfield I think, that moved a large complex from
an area served by SWB to one served by GTE.  The GTE service was so
inadequate that they had all of their local lines terminate in SWB
territory, then piped them into their office in GTE territory via
private microwave.  GTE got upset about this and sued.  The
precedent-setting ruling was that this was okay, since the company in
question was legitimately paying for the SWB lines in SWB territory,
and what they did with them on their side of the demarc (in whatever
small space they rented in SWB territory) was their business.


Steve Forrette, stevef@wrq.com