I'm so happy I live in RI. Here, the state and it's citizens own the E-911 system. We only get the intrado db lookup from Verizon. So it's no problem to get VoIP to work with our E-911 system.
But at&t is blowing smoke up peoples asses and they should know it. They OWN the damned E-911 systems and could easily interconnect it. But they won't because they're trying to prop up dying copper pair.
Coax and fiber are the future, not copper pair, at least not for OSP. As it is right now, the regional operators (All three of them!) have pretty much no idea what they have for OSP when it comes to copper. Let me qualify that a little, in the corridors between Boston and New York, then Chicago, etc, cities, they have no clue.
The nice thing about coax or fiber is that it has broadband characteristics, so provisioning is done at the terminal ends, not the OSP side.
Intermediate encryption is relatively cheap. But since card services and banks are all about profit, they don't see the need to upgrade any of the gear.
Then of course there's security in the stores themselves. We recently had a breach of the POS credit card terminals at Stop & Shop in RI and MA. In essence the perps replaced the terminals. If encryption were used, the probability of success would be much lower.
I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt both the big card processors and many banks knew what was going on. But they were loathe to admit it because to do so would be to admit the gaping holes in bank security. It's all based on the demand draft principle. In essence, if I knew your account number I could write it on a napkin and the bank is pretty much honor bound to cash it. Same is true for credit and debit cards except in those cases, no tangible evidence is required since it's purely electronic.
This paragraph really got me:
They were so confident of being undetected that they left encrypted messages to each other on the company's network, to tell one another which files had already been copied and avoid duplicating work. The company says the hackers may even have lifted bank-card information as customers making purchases waited for their transactions to be approved. TJX transmitted that data to banks "without encryption," it acknowledged in an SEC filing. That violates credit-card company guidelines, experts say.
So in other words, the card processor didn't care that the incoming stream wasn't encrypted? Had to be First Data or whatever they call themselves now.
True, it's an interface card to the switching fabric. But still, there's lots of underutilized switching fabric out there and that is what VoIP took advantage of.
I have to admit something here. Even though I do crack on lawyers I do consulting work for quite a few of them. They pay nicely and I'm not about to put them down completely.
I'm a happy Vonage subscriber and was thrilled when the USSC essentially gutted patent law as it exists.
Not only do I think Vonage will prevail in this case, I also think they should pursue a case against Verizon for anti-trust.
And in other news, Verizon RI lost $9.7 million last year. I had long thought they'd lost at a maximum a third their business but it gets better, 43% of land lines in RI aren't Verizon land lines any longer. So what does Verizon do to counter the loss? They hike rates.
A good anti-trust action would be the kick needed to fracture Verizon into a million little pieces. Then the new at&t had better watch out.
Lets face it, VoIP was and is known as a disruptive technology. Brilliant little idea, use the IP capability built into most telephone switches to take advantage of excess switching capacity. And in the end, disruptive technologies almost ALWAYS win.
Law enforcement has had the ability to tap in and monitor cellular communications.
In the days of AMPS and NAMPS it was a piece of cake. Friend of mine worked in IT for the local PD and was able to get a scanner that wasn't 800-900 blocked, and a little card and software for the computer that allowed us to follow calls as they went from cell to cell.
The problem I have with nuclear power is that it is woefully inefficient. Using nuclear fission to generate steam that drives a turbine to produce electricity seems wasteful to me.
As our understanding of the physical world increases, it should be possible to extract electrons directly from the items undergoing fission. Then I'd consider it efficient use.
Indeed - I picked up a client because their Access database was banging against the wall. I wouldn't recommend Jet for much of anything these days, not with the plethora of open source relational database products out there today.
I too hope Vonage triumphs. After all, the patents in question have already been clearly shown to be patents of existing art that was in the public domain.
Lets go one further. If Vonage wins I say they should file an anti-trust suit against Verizon. Verizon is only going after Vonage because Verizon has lost 1/3 of their local loop business. Curiously they didn't go after the cable companies, or the other VoIP carriers. That makes it clear that they're trying to send a message.
The worst part is, Verizon isn't really regulated anymore. They could do their own VoIP and they have, but the pricing is way out of line with what Vonage among others charges.
The judge in the case could vacate the judgment, or an appeals court could do the same base on prior art.
Then Vonage could make their case about prior art to the USPTO and hopefully nullify the Verizon patents.
It'll be expensive but then Vonage should turn around and file suit against Verizon for the harrasment. Oh, and don't for a moment think Verizon isn't engaging in anti-competitive behavior here, they are.
For a number of years the Retro Computing Society of Rhode Island was building a nice collection of old iron.
It was very DEC centric in some respects, but had other oddities like a Packard-Bell 250 that used acoustic delay lines for registers. The KL-10 was a beautiful beast too, it's ancestry included belonging to Sikorsky for some time.
But gentrification had its way with the society. The web site is gone and the collection had to be moved at least once because of rehabilitation of the building that I'd predicted a number of years earlier. Now I have no idea where it is.
But I did get to play on a PDP-12, and my find was a Honeywell-6 micro.
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I'm so happy I live in RI. Here, the state and it's citizens own the E-911 system. We only get the intrado db lookup from Verizon. So it's no problem to get VoIP to work with our E-911 system.
But at&t is blowing smoke up peoples asses and they should know it. They OWN the damned E-911 systems and could easily interconnect it. But they won't because they're trying to prop up dying copper pair.
Coax and fiber are the future, not copper pair, at least not for OSP. As it is right now, the regional operators (All three of them!) have pretty much no idea what they have for OSP when it comes to copper. Let me qualify that a little, in the corridors between Boston and New York, then Chicago, etc, cities, they have no clue.
The nice thing about coax or fiber is that it has broadband characteristics, so provisioning is done at the terminal ends, not the OSP side.
Add a rubber band and a little improbability and well, you know the rest.
Intermediate encryption is relatively cheap. But since card services and banks are all about profit, they don't see the need to upgrade any of the gear.
Then of course there's security in the stores themselves. We recently had a breach of the POS credit card terminals at Stop & Shop in RI and MA. In essence the perps replaced the terminals. If encryption were used, the probability of success would be much lower.
I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt both the big card processors and many banks knew what was going on. But they were loathe to admit it because to do so would be to admit the gaping holes in bank security. It's all based on the demand draft principle. In essence, if I knew your account number I could write it on a napkin and the bank is pretty much honor bound to cash it. Same is true for credit and debit cards except in those cases, no tangible evidence is required since it's purely electronic.
This paragraph really got me:
They were so confident of being undetected that they left encrypted messages to each other on the company's network, to tell one another which files had already been copied and avoid duplicating work. The company says the hackers may even have lifted bank-card information as customers making purchases waited for their transactions to be approved. TJX transmitted that data to banks "without encryption," it acknowledged in an SEC filing. That violates credit-card company guidelines, experts say.
So in other words, the card processor didn't care that the incoming stream wasn't encrypted? Had to be First Data or whatever they call themselves now.
True, it's an interface card to the switching fabric. But still, there's lots of underutilized switching fabric out there and that is what VoIP took advantage of.
It'll be nice to know that beer is saving the planet!
I have to admit something here. Even though I do crack on lawyers I do consulting work for quite a few of them. They pay nicely and I'm not about to put them down completely.
What do you call a bus load of lawyers going off a cliff?
A Shame.
What do you call the same bus with two seat empty?
A Crying Shame.
It isn't so common in the judicial system. USSC does just fine as it expands to United States Supreme Court.
I'm a happy Vonage subscriber and was thrilled when the USSC essentially gutted patent law as it exists.
Not only do I think Vonage will prevail in this case, I also think they should pursue a case against Verizon for anti-trust.
And in other news, Verizon RI lost $9.7 million last year. I had long thought they'd lost at a maximum a third their business but it gets better, 43% of land lines in RI aren't Verizon land lines any longer. So what does Verizon do to counter the loss? They hike rates.
A good anti-trust action would be the kick needed to fracture Verizon into a million little pieces. Then the new at&t had better watch out.
Lets face it, VoIP was and is known as a disruptive technology. Brilliant little idea, use the IP capability built into most telephone switches to take advantage of excess switching capacity. And in the end, disruptive technologies almost ALWAYS win.
Law enforcement has had the ability to tap in and monitor cellular communications.
In the days of AMPS and NAMPS it was a piece of cake. Friend of mine worked in IT for the local PD and was able to get a scanner that wasn't 800-900 blocked, and a little card and software for the computer that allowed us to follow calls as they went from cell to cell.
CDMA and GSM just throw a little wrinkle in.
I fondly recall APRS and phone patches. This is really going to hurt patent holders but rightfully so since lots of it is just patenting prior art.
I would think Vonage has a shot at overturning the verdict against them now. Good, and hopefully they'll file anti-trust against Verizon.
I know it's about moving electrons. What I'm saying is that if you added electrons to the mix there'd be a push.
The RICO statutes are overly broad in reach. Sound familiar?
All that you need is a whif of conspiracy to bring down an empire.
Just ask all the politicians that have been nabbed by it.
The problem I have with nuclear power is that it is woefully inefficient. Using nuclear fission to generate steam that drives a turbine to produce electricity seems wasteful to me.
As our understanding of the physical world increases, it should be possible to extract electrons directly from the items undergoing fission. Then I'd consider it efficient use.
Indeed - I picked up a client because their Access database was banging against the wall. I wouldn't recommend Jet for much of anything these days, not with the plethora of open source relational database products out there today.
Here's the thing, an inward bound DID delived on PRI is $200 a month. At least that's the contract Verizon has with the state of RI.
A data T1 (Which is delivered PRI) is $700. And PRI is ISDN for anyone who really cares.
I too hope Vonage triumphs. After all, the patents in question have already been clearly shown to be patents of existing art that was in the public domain. Lets go one further. If Vonage wins I say they should file an anti-trust suit against Verizon. Verizon is only going after Vonage because Verizon has lost 1/3 of their local loop business. Curiously they didn't go after the cable companies, or the other VoIP carriers. That makes it clear that they're trying to send a message. The worst part is, Verizon isn't really regulated anymore. They could do their own VoIP and they have, but the pricing is way out of line with what Vonage among others charges.
Damned Lexmark, they got the camels nose into the tent. Now even Epson will start making it so you can't use 3rd party cartridges in your printer.
And in Australia HP is selling high end inkjets that you can't buy. Instead you pay as you go.
The judge in the case could vacate the judgment, or an appeals court could do the same base on prior art.
Then Vonage could make their case about prior art to the USPTO and hopefully nullify the Verizon patents.
It'll be expensive but then Vonage should turn around and file suit against Verizon for the harrasment. Oh, and don't for a moment think Verizon isn't engaging in anti-competitive behavior here, they are.
Does anyone else want to start an anti-trust case against Verizon? I'd be willing to kick the ball off.
For a number of years the Retro Computing Society of Rhode Island was building a nice collection of old iron.
It was very DEC centric in some respects, but had other oddities like a Packard-Bell 250 that used acoustic delay lines for registers. The KL-10 was a beautiful beast too, it's ancestry included belonging to Sikorsky for some time.
But gentrification had its way with the society. The web site is gone and the collection had to be moved at least once because of rehabilitation of the building that I'd predicted a number of years earlier. Now I have no idea where it is.
But I did get to play on a PDP-12, and my find was a Honeywell-6 micro.
So I followed the link to the hard drives. And IBM 3340 cost $7.81 per meg.
The 2GB of RAM in my computer only cost 6 cents per meg. And the hard drives, well lets look at that.
You can score a 500GB SATA drive for about $100 now. If my math is right, that's less than a penny per meg.
And we're seeing the price of static RAM drop like a rock too. You've already got 320GB SSD's out there.
Oops, damned shift key. MW not mW.