HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: edp@math.zko.dec.com (Eric Postpischil)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,alt.privacy
Subject: Re: capturing caller id data
Date: 7 Apr 92 20:58:18 GMT
Reply-To: edp@math.zko.dec.com (Eric Postpischil)
Followup-To: misc.consumers
Distribution: usa
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation

In article <1992Apr7.172401.10710@mdd.comm.mot.com>,
gilbert@mdd.comm.mot.com (John Gilbert) writes:

>Tell you what, why not take a moment and describe HOW you will use CLID to
>get what you want.  Be sure to include calls from people you did not
>anticipate, and ones from people you know, but are not at a number you
>would expect them to be at.  Let's say the call is somewhat urgent...

All calls from unrecognized numbers are left for my answering machine to
deal with.  Calls from recognized numbers I will answer immediately. 
This algorithm has the following features:

Unanticipated or other-than-usual-number calls go to the answering
machine and get answered after the person has identified themself.  This
is a small inconvenience.  However, for people at other-numbers, it is
not much more of an inconvenience than dialing a special code as you
suggested, especially since they only have to talk to the machine when
at an unusual number rather than dialing an extra code all the time. 
Further, this scheme gets unanticipated calls all the time, a capability
that might not exist on the equipment that rejects calls from people
without a code.

It allows me to selectively decide who I want to answer calls from. 
E.g., always answer friends and family, answer calls from the office if
I'm in the mood, answer a call from a business only if I am expecting
them to get back to me on something.  This capability would not be
available with the machine you suggest; once a person had a special
code, it would be difficult to turn their code on and off, even if every
caller were given a different code.

Further, no call, no matter how urgent, can depend on me even being HOME
to answer the phone, let alone willing to answer, so there's a limit on
how important it is to handle "urgent" calls.  In a real emergency, call
911, not me.


                                -- edp (Eric Postpischil)
                                "Always mount a scratch monkey."
                                edp@alien.enet.dec.com
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:10517 rec.autos:11451
From: reb@amc.com (Bob Brunjes)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.autos
Subject: Re: Intermittent problem with '90 Integra brakes
Date: 15 Apr 92 14:41:26 GMT
Organization: Applied Microsystems, Redmond, WA

In article <1992Apr10.130649.24398@walter.bellcore.com> mma@thumper.bellcore.com (Mary Ma) writes:
>
>Problem:
>	I have a '90 Integra which seems to have an intermittent braking
>problem.  The car has about 43K miles on it and never had any brake work
>done on it.  I am the first owner and have taken the car back to the 
>dealer 5 TIMES (last time was yesterday) to have them check the brake.
>Each time, they assure me that there's nothing wrong.  The brakes feels 
>very spongy at times (almost like there's nothing there). It has gotten
>to the point where I don't feel comfortable driving it ('can't quite afford
>to trade it in yet..)
>
>Question:
>	Should I stop taking it back to the dealer and find a 'reputable'
>brake specialist?  (Is there such a person who would know an Integra better
>than the dealer)  I don't have another Acura dealer closeby.
>Has anyone else (regardless of the make of car) have a
>similiar problem with their brakes?  How does one track down an intermittent
>problem like this?  I don't want to spend the $$$ to replace all the parts
>when I am not sure that it is going to give me a peace of mind.

Call the "Car Guys", the automotive talk show on National Public Radio.  I'm
dead serious about this.  Although they appear to be wise-assed clowns, they
are _very_ knowledgeable.  They also hate to see people get hosed by 
grab-the-money-and-run dealers, so they're _very_ supportive in cases like
yours.  I suspect no dealer likes to have his name dragged through the mud
on national radio.

Our local NPR affiliates run their program a couple of times every weekend,
and if you're interested, I'll get their 800 number.  In addition, I'm told
they do a newspaper column.

Consider this seriously.  These guys are very, very helpful, just very, very
silly.
>
>'should have kept my Nissan Sentra.....
>-Mary Lau
> mma@aries.bellcore.com


Bob Brunjes		Applied Microsystems Corp
			Redmond, WA
			reb@amc.com
From: mlowery@npg-sd.SanDiegoCA.NCR.COM (Mike Lowery)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: REAL shaving soap
Date: 8 Apr 92 15:19:14 GMT
Organization: NCR Corp., Network Products - San Diego

In <92097.120609TACON019@ysub.ysu.edu> TACON019@ysub.ysu.edu (Fred Ullom) writes:

>Am I the only one left in the world that shaves with a shaving mug and a
>brush? I can't find OLD SPICE cake soap any more. Does anybody know if they
>have discontinued it? I can get one made by Williamson but the cake is
>smaller and doesn't fit right in my Old Spice shaving mug.

>I'd be willing to pay if someone could find me a dozen:-)
>Thanks,
>-Fred
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Fred S. Ullom
>tacon019@ysub.ysu.edu
>Youngstown State University
>------------------------------------------------------------------------

I began shaving with a mug and soap about six months ago.  I did it 
right after reading the book "50 Ways to Save The Planet."  I felt 
guilty pumping out those flourocarbons into the atmosphere just so
I could have shave cream effortlessly.  I had to go back to canned
cream on a business trip recently and I truly missed the mug!

Anyway, I have seen the Old Spice shaving soap in some of the local,
but chain operated, drug stores.  I don't know if the names will help,
but they were Longs, Sav-On, and Thirfty.  Try your local drug store's
shaving stuff aisle, but look where that aisle becomes the cosmetics.

Good luck.

Mike Lowery

Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: kali@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu (Cal Pomes)
Subject: Re: Complaining about a hospital billMy son recently had some very minor surgery, he was a little tongue tied
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 14:48:42 GMT

turnera@hubcap.clemson.edu (Allen Turner) writes:

[hospital billing story deleted]

>The long and the short of it all is the hospital was willing to accept
>roughly 60% of their usual billing rate because my insurance had prenegotiated
>costs with them.  

Our insurance co. gets a 25% cut from a local hospital. We found this
out after an emergency-room trip. The medical side of the trip only took
24 hours to resolve, the bills nearly six months. The hospital demanded
$US 1200 from us, accepted $US 900 from our insurer.

Cal Pomes
-- 
" . . . this is *not* a free country, and it will be an evil day for the
legal profession when it is."  --A.P. Herbert
UUCP:     uunet!uiucuxc!kali
Internet: kali@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: hubcap@hubcap.clemson.edu (System Janitor)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.autos
Subject: Re: Different expectations
Date: 9 Apr 92 16:24:10 GMT
Organization: Clemson University

kenny@world.std.com (Kenneth R Crudup) writes:

>> * only if you buy garbage. I buy quality VCRs that cost more than the
>> * typical refrigerator.

>In article <1992Mar31.164015.28969@hubcap.clemson.edu>
>hubcap@hubcap.clemson.edu (System Janitor) says:
>>A fool and his money are soon parted, as they say...

>Look people, if things like cars, TVs, VCRs etc. are just appliances to
>you, then just go buy a used Honda, or a $250 GoldStar, and be happy.

Both the original poster (who flamed me straight to hell in email) and kenny
assume that I have a ``$200 piece-of-s**t goldstar'' sitting in my
living room. I don't, I have a nice four-head sony, and it is probably as
functional as either of theirs, even though it didn't cost more than a 
refrigerator.  Hence, ``a fool...''. 

I now think I know what is going on.  These guys must have plastic K-mart 
fridges with wire shelves and think that everyone else does too. My apologies 
for the confusion :-).

-Mike (aka - abc123@spooge.com)
From: klf@druwa.ATT.COM (FranklinKL)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: goodbye Heathkits
Keywords: Used to be cheaper.
Date: 6 Apr 92 17:41:07 GMT
Distribution: misc


In article <1992Apr1.224538.8117@den.mmc.com>, pschauer@den.mmc.com (Paul Schauer 1-1090) writes...
>$ sign. If you look at any Heathkit, you know very well that the prices have
				      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>always been high. There is nothing more satisfying than saying "I did it
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Untrue!  Back in the '60s and early '70s, Heathkits were easily competitive, 
and usually beat (both in price and quality) commercially available gear.
I began building kits in the early '60s when I was in college.  Over the
years I built a variety of stereo equipment and Ham radio gear, a color
TV, and a kitted version of a Thomas organ.  Nearly all worked with no
problem and gave good service, PLUS, I new how to fix them when they broke.
In addition, Heath TV's offered an important plus.  In the days before the
modern in-line color TV picture tubes, the color gun adjustments and gun
convergence, had to be performed on a fairly routine basis.  A ROYAL pain
in the butt, requiring external test equipment on a commercial TV.  Heathkit
TV's, however, had the test equipment built in and readily accessible by the
mere flip of a switch.  My Heath set ALWAYS had a better picture than the
commercial color sets of the day, simply because I could easily keep it
properly aligned.  It should also be noted that Heath was the first TV
to offer outputs to pipe TV sound into a Hi-Fi system.  As to cost, you could
sometimes save BIG with Heathkits.  The organ I built in about 1970 cost me
$1250 for the kit.  The equivelant, assembled version under the Thomas name
went for well over $2000.  Granted, in later years, Heathkits ceased to become
cost competitive.  While on the subject of kits, let's not forget Dynakit
(VERY high quality hi-fi/stereo equipment) and Knight Kits (put out by
Allied Radio, the forerunner of Radio Shack).  Heathkit outlasted both of
these by a considerable amount of time.  

How about a trivia question ---- What was the very FIRST kit offered by
Heathkit?

--
Ken Franklin 		AT&T Bell Labs			klf@druwa.att.com
AMA #553197		11900 North Pecos		'81 Virago (RLARA)
DoD #0126		Denver, CO 80234
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:10569 alt.privacy:1060
From: edp@math.zko.dec.com (Eric Postpischil)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,alt.privacy
Subject: Re: capturing caller id data
Date: 17 Apr 92 11:57:10 GMT
Reply-To: edp@math.zko.dec.com (Eric Postpischil)
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation

In article <1992Apr16.161203.27991@mdd.comm.mot.com>,
gilbert@mdd.comm.mot.com (John Gilbert) writes:

>I still haven't seen anything that seems to demonstrate much value in
>CLID.

I gave specific, substantive examples of how calling line identification
will help me.  I answered your questions in particular, specifying what
calls I would answer and what calls I would leave for the answering
machine.  I stated how this would affect friends, whether calling from
their usual number or elsewhere.  Further, I pointed out advantages of
calling-line identification over the code boxes you have suggested.  In
a later posting, I pointed out how I have concrete knowledge that
calling line identification would be useful based on my experience with
RingMate.

>Fraud?  Interesting way of putting it.  Is that like...  I say something,
>and you disagree so it is fraud...

No, that's not fraud.  Fraud is not when you disagree but rather when
you lie or so blatantly ignore what has been put before you and then
state that you have not seen it.  Your questions were answered with
concrete information, yet you continue to ignore that.


                                -- edp (Eric Postpischil)
                                "Always mount a scratch monkey."
                                edp@alien.enet.dec.com
From: niebuhr@bnlux1.bnl.gov (david niebuhr)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Speaking of Insurance and Tickets...
Date: 13 Apr 92 13:58:36 GMT
Organization: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973

In article <1992Apr10.165104.15330@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> tmkk@uiuc.edu (K. Khan) writes:
>What sorts of violations will cause your insurance rates to go up?
>Clearly a claimiable accident will raise your rates, but what about
>things like speeding tickets and other "victimless" moving violations?
>What's your experience?
>

In NY, all moving violations can cause your rates to go up; so can not
having a valid registration/liscense/proof of inspection/proof of
insurance.  In some (albeit rare) instances, speeding tickets under
so many miles over the limit won't.

About the only ticket that doesn't count is a parking ticket since it's
not a moving violation.

Dave

-- 

Dave Niebuhr      Internet: niebuhr@bnl.gov / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: musick@sanquentin.berkeley.edu (Ron Musick)
Subject: Re: MCI and AT&T    
Organization: University of California at Berkeley
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1992 22:31:19 GMT

I once compared the telephone costs of AT&T and MCI.  As far as the
cost of calls goes, they have almost identical costs (all in
cents/minute).  However, the AT&T person would round the cost
correctly, while the MCI person tried to round down the number to make
their costs seem like less (i.e., if the cost of a coast-to-coast call is
.1495 per minute: the AT&T person would say the cost is "around 15
cents/minute" while the MCI person would try to say that the cost is
"around 14 cents/minute").

Given that the normal telephone rates are the same, which they are
(Sprint seems to be more that MCI & AT&T, when I checked, so I bounced
them out right away), the 20% Friends and Family discount will makes
MCI cheaper.  ALSO, MCI has a special 40%-OFF for F&F during the month
of May.

The initial reason I chose MCI was because their "Primetime" Plan
(where it's a flat fee for the 1st hour (whether you use the hour or
not), and then a prorated, cheaper fee for each additional minute
after that) allowed you to make Plan calls starting from 5pm to 8am;
the similar AT&T program only has hours of 11pm to 8am.  For me (on
the west coast calling to the east coast), AT&T was not even an
option.

Since I started, MCI's Primetime Plan has increased in cost (for the
flat fee) from $7.50 to $7.95 (with no mention of the increase in
cost; I knew only because I noticed it on my bill and called to ask
about it).  If you call > 2 hours/month during the Plan hours, then
the Primetime Plan would still be a good deal ***Especially since you
STILL get the 20% off your Primetime Plan rates for F&F***.  AT&T just
can't match that in terms of price, not matter what their ads say.
In addition, you can get frequent flier mileage credit (on Northwest
or American) for MCI calls (5 miles per dollar spent on long
distance).
From: weaver@altair.cs.unc.edu (Laura Weaver)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: minivan reliablilty
Keywords: experiences with minivans
Date: 10 Apr 92 20:20:16 GMT


I am interested in purchasing a mini-van and would like to know other people's
experiences with these models in terms of reliability:

Chevy Astro
Dodge Caravan/Plymouth Voyager
Ford Aerostar
Mazda MPV


We are looking into getting a used, V6 model, approximately 89-91 model year.

Please respond via email as I rarely read this newsgroup. Thanks in advance!


Laura Weaver
Computer Science Dept.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
weaver@cs.unc.edu
From: pankaj@albatross.synopsys.com (Pankaj Mayor)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: TRW Toll-free Number
Date: 8 Apr 92 22:18:22 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Synopsys Inc.
Originator: pankaj@albatross

TRW was supposed to make available free credit reports for 
a consumer once a year starting April 1st. They were also 
supposed to provide a toll-free number by that date.

If anyone knows the number, could that person email it to me.

Thanks
-Pankaj
pankaj@synopsys.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,alt.privacy
From: swarup@linus.mitre.org (Vipin Swarup)
Subject: Re: capturing caller id data
Reply-To: swarup@mitre.org
Organization: Research Computer Facility, MITRE Corporation, Bedford, MA
	<1992Apr7.172401.10710@mdd.comm.mot.com>
	<8bYf02a7c0uY00@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com>
	<1992Apr9.003049.10833@mdd.comm.mot.com>
	<1992Apr09.204424.26503@clarinet.com>
	<SWARUP.92Apr10121443@hrothgar.linus.mitre.org>
	<1992Apr12.232537.5638@clarinet.com>
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1992 19:03:52 GMT


In article <1992Apr12.232537.5638@clarinet.com> brad@clarinet.com (Brad Templeton) writes:
> Such a system sounds good to me, but there is a chicken and egg problem.
> 
> You can't start refusing anonymous calls until almost everybody has the
> equipment to make non-anonymous calls.

The system only requires you (the callee) to have special equipment
(caller-ID requires this too).  Callers can use their normal
touch-tone phone to get past your call screener. You could use the
system meaningfully from day one.


> And it eliminates the security aspect of caller-ID, which
> would be usable to replace the "callback" feature many dialins use.

If your phone blocks all calls except those with appropriate ID, you
automatically have all the information caller-ID gives you. What
additional "security aspect" are you talking about?

Vipin.

-----
Vipin Swarup, 
The MITRE Corporation,
Bedford, MA 01730.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,alt.privacy
From: gilbert@mdd.comm.mot.com (John Gilbert)
Subject: Re: capturing caller id data
Organization: Motorola, Mobile Data Division - Seattle, WA
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 16:12:03 GMT

>>> By the way, you asked for explanation of how calling-line identification
>>> would be used, and I explained clearly the advantages it would provide
>>> to me.  You have not responded.
>>
>>Is he supposed to?  We already have enough people who are proud
>>graduates of the "he who posts last wins" school of USENET writing.  If
>>he asks a question, and you answer it, why is it a *bad thing* for the
>>exchange to stop there?
>
>Because he keeps going on with other people about how useless calling
>line identification is, giving the appearance nobody's come up with
>anything useful about it.

I still haven't seen anything that seems to demonstrate much value in
CLID.  This is, as I have stated in the past, a subjective issue.
But subjective issues still deserve to have the major points discussed.

>             I intend to prevent that fraud from
>occurring.

Fraud?  Interesting way of putting it.  Is that like...  I say something,
and you disagree so it is fraud...

>      What is "mdd.comm.mot" anyway; is this guy paid by one of
>the phone companies?

I currently work for Motorola's Mobile Data division.  I am not
in the telecommunications sector at all.  I assure you that all thoughts
I expressed are my own, completely uninfluenced by my employer,
and make good sense to me.  By the way, my employer should be fully
represented under the Organization: header line in my posts... it was
never intended to be a mystery.  And besides, do you think one of the
phone companies would PAY me to say these things???

John
-- 
John Gilbert
gilbert@mdd.comm.mot.com
..!uunet!mdisea!gilbert
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: niebuhr@bnlux1.bnl.gov (david niebuhr)
Subject: Re: goodbye Heathkits
Keywords: Used to be cheaper.
Organization: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973
Distribution: misc
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 17:10:55 GMT

In article <15121@drutx.ATT.COM> klf@druwa.ATT.COM (FranklinKL) writes:
>
>In article <1992Apr1.224538.8117@den.mmc.com>, pschauer@den.mmc.com (Paul Schauer 1-1090) writes...
>>$ sign. If you look at any Heathkit, you know very well that the prices have
>				      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>always been high. There is nothing more satisfying than saying "I did it
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
>Untrue!  Back in the '60s and early '70s, Heathkits were easily competitive, 
>and usually beat (both in price and quality) commercially available gear.
>I began building kits in the early '60s when I was in college.  Over the
>years I built a variety of stereo equipment and Ham radio gear, a color
>TV, and a kitted version of a Thomas organ.  Nearly all worked with no
>problem and gave good service, PLUS, I new how to fix them when they broke.
>In addition, Heath TV's offered an important plus.  In the days before the
>modern in-line color TV picture tubes, the color gun adjustments and gun
>convergence, had to be performed on a fairly routine basis.  A ROYAL pain
>in the butt, requiring external test equipment on a commercial TV.  Heathkit
>TV's, however, had the test equipment built in and readily accessible by the
>mere flip of a switch.  My Heath set ALWAYS had a better picture than the
                                      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                      absolutely

>commercial color sets of the day, simply because I could easily keep it
>properly aligned.  It should also be noted that Heath was the first TV
>to offer outputs to pipe TV sound into a Hi-Fi system.  As to cost, you could
>sometimes save BIG with Heathkits.  The organ I built in about 1970 cost me
>$1250 for the kit.  The equivelant, assembled version under the Thomas name
>went for well over $2000.  Granted, in later years, Heathkits ceased to become
>cost competitive.  While on the subject of kits, let's not forget Dynakit
>(VERY high quality hi-fi/stereo equipment) and Knight Kits (put out by
>Allied Radio, the forerunner of Radio Shack).  Heathkit outlasted both of
>these by a considerable amount of time.  
>
>How about a trivia question ---- What was the very FIRST kit offered by
>Heathkit?
>
An airplane or a sailplane.

Dave


-- 

Dave Niebuhr      Internet: niebuhr@bnl.gov / Bitnet: niebuhr@bnl
Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY 11973  (516)-282-3093
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Outrageous telephone rate for local calls..
From: jordan@MooreNet.COM (Jordan Hayes)
Date: 14 Apr 92 17:04:32 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Moore Capital Management, Inc. NYC

Sheila <shiela@goliath.Stanford.EDU> writes:

	What is a reasonable rate for local phone calls?

Be glad you don't live in NYC, where there is no such thing as
"unlimited local calling" ... all local calls cost $0.104 (with no time
limit).

/jordan
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:10313 rec.autos:11091
From: alan@lancaster.nsc.com (The Hepburn)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.autos
Subject: Re: Attempted cheating by Sears Auto
Date: 9 Apr 92 16:15:22 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: National Semiconductor Corporation

In article <1992Apr7.162109.10638@cabot.balltown.cma.COM>, welty@cabot.balltown.cma.COM
 (richard welty) writes:
|> 
|> 
|> the trade off ends up being whether you want a socket that you can return
|> when you break it (say, break it at 1am when you're trying to get your car
|> back together to go to work the next morning) vs. a socket that won't
|> break.  sears craftsman hand tools are still guaranteed, but they aren't
|> as good as they were a few years back.  my tool box has increasing
|> numbers of S-K and Snap-On hand tools in it.  if you don't want to
|> pay the Snap-On premium (i can understand that point of view), then S-K
|> represents excellent value for the dollar, certainly better than current
|> Sears Craftsman tools.
|> 
|>

This sounds to me like you are trying to say the Craftsman tools are no longer made
by S&K.  Is that true?  If so, who makes them now?


-- 
Alan Hepburn           "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain
National Semiconductor       a little temporary safety deserve neither
Santa Clara, Ca              liberty nor safety."
alan@berlioz.nsc.com                              Benjamin Franklin