This is true. I work for a telco, and I have received calls from FBI personnel stating that they need an entire switch tapped when entities like the President and VP are in the area. Most recently was Dick Cheney's visit to the Las Vegas area.
I use Vonage, and I have 911 service], it's just ghettolized in that it's not "E-911", but if I dial 911, they will have my address and come out - it took less than a day for my information to be accepted and 911 activated on my account:
"We have completed your activation request for 911 Dialing. You may now
dial 911 from your Vonage DigitalVoice(tm) line. PLEASE DO NOT TEST THE
911 DIALING SERVICE.
When you dial 911, Vonage DigitalVoice(tm) will route your call to the
nearest Public Service Answering Point (PSAP) responsible for effecting
emergency response services in your area, based on the following
address:" (address follows)
Sorry, but 911 wouldn't be enough to keep VoIP from becoming the voice service of the future, although as you can clearly see, it is already pretty standard with most large VoIP providers. What exactly is the problem here?
60 cent pop (up from 50 cents a couple of years ago), and the free coffee was taken away for about a month, until the execs figured out that the small amount of money they saved not buying grounds and stuff didn't equal up to the employee anger surrounding their idiocy.
I don't bother asking questions at Best Buy anymore. The last time I did, I had a "sales associate" tell me that I needed a "special cable" to run Dolby Digital between my DVD player and my receiver. It's an RCA coax. He didn't let up until I put a "special" one in the cart, so I ditched it at the CD aisles.
The last time I went, I bought a CD there because I couldn't find it anywhere else. When I tried to check out, the register clerk regally violated me:
Clerk: "Do you want to sign up for AOL? You can get 900 free minutes to use right now!"
Busy customer: "No thanks."
Clerk: "Are you interested in 5 free music downloads from Sony?"
Slightly annoyed customer: "No."
Clerk: "Would you like to sign up for a Best Buy card? You can charge today's purchase if you're approved!"
Pissed customer: "No, no."
Clerk: (finally begins checking me out) "What is your phone number?"
Violated customer: "Why do you need my phone number? I just want to buy this CD!"
Clerk: "Uhmm...I'll be right back"
Clerk walks over to the ass. manager standing against the wall behind them. I assume their conversation went something like, "He's refusing all the offers, and won't give us a number. Should we check with headquarters?! I'm confused!"
Anyway, I am completely turned off from Shitty Buy at this point. If you aren't probed by a salesperson, fed a guilt trip about the service plan, or being interrogated for demographic/ad data, the exit door receipt checker is enough to make me feel like I've stepped into Little Red China for an afternoon trial.
My mom and stepfather bought my sister an eMachine for Christmas with XP on it. They live 2000 miles from me, so when I talked to them this Christmas morning, I immediately told them not to plug in the RJ45 until they read the guide I was emailing them (this one). Another shitty proprietary machine saved from becoming an RPC-infected netizen!
The RIAA also claims that its tactics are actually working -- to increase awareness and reduce online piracy.
I think rather what has happened is iTunes, the new Napster, BuyMusic.com, and others are taking care of what the RIAA should have started working on right when the original Napster became available.
I really hate getting search results from other shitty search engines that populate with spammish links to companies who sell anything that could possibly have been a result of your search term.
When people do fiber audits on carrier networks on large cables, they macrobend fiber and watch an OTDR to see where it's bent. This is nothing new, but I will say that I've seen fiber bent worse than this that has been carrying carrier-grade equipment light for years.
I punish myself for being distracted, personally. For instance, when I was in college, I would sit in a remote area of the math lab and not leave until I figured something out. Knowing that you have no way out but to do what you need to do is a good motivator. At the same time, it makes life really shitty. YMMV.
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They've been doing this for a long time now. Any conspiracy theories you might have will take a while to come to fruition.
This is true. I work for a telco, and I have received calls from FBI personnel stating that they need an entire switch tapped when entities like the President and VP are in the area. Most recently was Dick Cheney's visit to the Las Vegas area.
Overland Park, KS?
MCI's HQ is in Ashburn, VA now.
I'm excited about this because I'm in a Sprint wireless contract for 2 years.
critical routers supporting the internet
Phew, good thing those are made by Juniper.
I thought they were talking about The Planet.
Kind of like how we can put our PURCHASED, DRM-packaged music on all our computers and mobile devices for listening to?
"Damn...I moved mine to a USB drive and now I can't transfer again to get it to my mobile player!"
This is why I buy CDs or make friends with an IRC bot.
John Titter is a porn star, now John Titor on the other hand...
How do you know that bot you downloaded from isn't run by the assholes?
I use Vonage, and I have 911 service], it's just ghettolized in that it's not "E-911", but if I dial 911, they will have my address and come out - it took less than a day for my information to be accepted and 911 activated on my account:
"We have completed your activation request for 911 Dialing. You may now dial 911 from your Vonage DigitalVoice(tm) line. PLEASE DO NOT TEST THE 911 DIALING SERVICE.
When you dial 911, Vonage DigitalVoice(tm) will route your call to the nearest Public Service Answering Point (PSAP) responsible for effecting emergency response services in your area, based on the following address:" (address follows)
Packet8 has real E-911 according to their FAQ:
"Great options for a small monthly fee
* Virtual Phone Numbers
* Enhanced 911
* Toll Free Services
* VideoPhone
* Virtual Office"
Sorry, but 911 wouldn't be enough to keep VoIP from becoming the voice service of the future, although as you can clearly see, it is already pretty standard with most large VoIP providers. What exactly is the problem here?
Better than where I work.
60 cent pop (up from 50 cents a couple of years ago), and the free coffee was taken away for about a month, until the execs figured out that the small amount of money they saved not buying grounds and stuff didn't equal up to the employee anger surrounding their idiocy.
I don't bother asking questions at Best Buy anymore. The last time I did, I had a "sales associate" tell me that I needed a "special cable" to run Dolby Digital between my DVD player and my receiver. It's an RCA coax. He didn't let up until I put a "special" one in the cart, so I ditched it at the CD aisles.
The last time I went, I bought a CD there because I couldn't find it anywhere else. When I tried to check out, the register clerk regally violated me:
Clerk: "Do you want to sign up for AOL? You can get 900 free minutes to use right now!"
Busy customer: "No thanks."
Clerk: "Are you interested in 5 free music downloads from Sony?"
Slightly annoyed customer: "No."
Clerk: "Would you like to sign up for a Best Buy card? You can charge today's purchase if you're approved!"
Pissed customer: "No, no."
Clerk: (finally begins checking me out) "What is your phone number?"
Violated customer: "Why do you need my phone number? I just want to buy this CD!"
Clerk: "Uhmm...I'll be right back"
Clerk walks over to the ass. manager standing against the wall behind them. I assume their conversation went something like, "He's refusing all the offers, and won't give us a number. Should we check with headquarters?! I'm confused!"
Anyway, I am completely turned off from Shitty Buy at this point. If you aren't probed by a salesperson, fed a guilt trip about the service plan, or being interrogated for demographic/ad data, the exit door receipt checker is enough to make me feel like I've stepped into Little Red China for an afternoon trial.
Screw you, Best Buy.
DSLR speed test (NAC.NET): 17539 down/8468 up (mbps)
/.'ing, how are they going to maintain it to hundreds of thousands of people?
Starz!/RP "speed" test: 463kbps
If they can't even maintain enough bandwidth for a
Disney tried something similar with Movielink, but it was expensive and only served up Blockbuster-rentable movies.
I don't see this little partnership taking off.
IDE cables were difficult to maneuver?
My mom and stepfather bought my sister an eMachine for Christmas with XP on it. They live 2000 miles from me, so when I talked to them this Christmas morning, I immediately told them not to plug in the RJ45 until they read the guide I was emailing them (this one). Another shitty proprietary machine saved from becoming an RPC-infected netizen!
this is a fire hazard, not a friendly holiday decoration.
I really hate getting search results from other shitty search engines that populate with spammish links to companies who sell anything that could possibly have been a result of your search term.
GOOD FOR GOOGLE.
When people do fiber audits on carrier networks on large cables, they macrobend fiber and watch an OTDR to see where it's bent. This is nothing new, but I will say that I've seen fiber bent worse than this that has been carrying carrier-grade equipment light for years.
I punish myself for being distracted, personally. For instance, when I was in college, I would sit in a remote area of the math lab and not leave until I figured something out. Knowing that you have no way out but to do what you need to do is a good motivator. At the same time, it makes life really shitty. YMMV.