In Canada, it is now illegal to do "automatic telemarketing", that is it has to be a real person calling. That decreases a lot the amount of telemarketing calls we have.
Yes, it is also illegal in the U.S., but that doesn't stop it from happening. Visit the FCC's web site and read about the Telephone Consumer Privacy Act (TCPA). It forbids automated calls to your home, among other atrocities.
I still get these calls, but I managed to call the number that the recording gave and got the company's address. I used this information to report the violation to the FCC and I recently got a snailmail stating the matter is under investigation. The FCC has fined companies for violating the TCPA. Next time it happens to you, file a complaint and you may get the satisfaction of costing a telemarketer a lot of money.
I've been thinking for a long time that a simple menu driven voice system, similar to those encountered when calling most companies, could stop telemarketers completely. Here's my scenario:
[phone rings]
machine: "Hi, this is [me], if you're a telemarketer, please add this number to your do not call list and hang up now. If you are not a telemarketer, please press 1 and you will be connected to [me].
My home phone will ring only if the user presses 1, and if I don't answer they can leave a message.
Voila, nobody can get through or even leave a message unless they are legit, and you won't even get any annoying recorded ads on your mailbox since the autodialers aren't smart enough to know they have to press 1 to connect or leave a message.
The problem is, I haven't been able to find such a system for sale to consumers. All of the digital consumer answering machines that have mail boxes will default to storing a message in mailbox 0 if the caller just waits long enough. This defeats the purpose because I have to listen to all of those messages in case some braindead important person calls and can't figure out they need to press 1.
My question is, are there any programmable, menu driven voicemail systems available for regular consumers? I saw something a long time ago about how to set something up with vgetty and a voice modem under linux, but it doesn't sound like it has the flexibility I need.
I saw this notebook at Fry's the other day. It's got a 600 mHz Transmeta Crusoe processor, a decent sized hard drive, networking, and the battery life it up to 7.5 hours. It comes installed with Windows 2k, and I assume it's possible to put Linux on it, since Linus works for the company that developed the CPU (transmeta).
You will not find a fully functional laptop with better battery life. It is a bit on the small side, though.
It was priced around US$2000.
[Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with NEC, transmeta, Fry's, or Linus Torvalds]
You have apparently never built a credit card processing app.
All you need to charge someones credit card is the number. There is no verification of the exp date, name, street address, etc.
Actually, I have. Also, I know for a fact that Egghead required the expiration date AND the billing address in order to complete the transaction. That is how they were able to notify me that the thieves had attempted to use my card, since the shipping address did not match my billing address.
There are 16 digits in your average Mastercard. (More in Amex, less in Visa). With 16 digits, there are 1,000,000,000,000,000 possible different numbers (give or take an order of magnitude).
There are 100,000,000 people in the USA (again, give or take an order of magnitude).
What are the odds that a randomly generated number is a real one?
You have apparently never purchased anything over the phone. In addition to the credit card number, you must also supply an expiration date and at least a billing address zip code (sometimes street address).
Let's see:
(1^15 credit card numbers) * (1^5 zip codes) * (roughly 48 expiration dates over a 4 year card life) = NO CHANCE IN HELL OF GUESSING IT RANDOMLY
My personal info was stolen some time back and was used fraudulently to purchase some items at egghead.com
I tried the link to opt out, but you have to have a user id and password to do this! I don't have them because the criminal who stole my CC created them.
As a result, there is no way for me to get them to remove my personal info, which wasn't supposed to be in their database in the first place!
Egghead.com was also cracked about a year or so ago. They have a very poor track record of safeguarding their customers' information.
Things like this make me want stricter privacy controls for personal information.
The net result of this insecurity will likely not be better security protocols, but rather another inane law restricting the right of people to use wireless devices.
It happened with cellphones in the 90's, that's why it's now illegal to listen to cellular frequencies in the US.
So can I go download a Caldera Unix 8 iso image? I couldn't find one on their site. If I'm not mistaken, they still have to make the GNU tools they use available in source form, right?
Has anyone found a place where you can d/l this release, or is it only available for purchase?
I don't even have a DVD player, but that hasn't change the current state of affairs any.
Nor do I, and I don't expect things to get better for a long time, but at least the RIAA/MPAA cannot use my money to sue people whom I believe are doing nothing wrong.
I applaud your individualism in not buying DVD's. Perhaps you don't agree with my point, however, and that's fine. I can certainly respect your views. If you do agree with me, I'd urge you to take it a step further and not pay to see movies in the theater or by rental. I know it's hard not to pick up a video on a Saturday evening to watch with your significant other/spouse/kids, but you could try other ways of entertaining them, such as cooking a nice dinner, or even conversation. These are the things you will remember, not how many camera angles The Matrix DVD had.
I've got to say that the way a company handles problems with its service is the most important thing to me, secondary to both speed and price.
I have AT&T @Home Cable and Verizon DSL. The DSL usually gets me about 750/100 Kbits. With cable I sometimes get over 3 MEGA bits per second. However, given a choice I'd ditch the cable before DSL. Here's why: In two months of service I have had two extended outages with AT&T. Both have been the result of AT&T Cable's stupidity. When the TV cable folks come by every month or so to do an audit, they invariably disconnect my internet connection because I'm not also a Cable TV subscriber.
This means I have to call AT&T @home, who have to schedule a service call, usually more than a week later, and I have to be at home ALL FREAKING DAY waiting for the tech to arrive. I'm serious. The hours they gave me were "sometime between 8AM and 6PM." It means I have to take an entire day off work just to get my service reconnected when the imbecils should not have even disconnected it in the first place! It's a case of AT&T's right hand not knowing what the left one is doing.
Say what you want about Verizon. I'll admit that their DSL speed sucks compared to cable, but I'd much rather have a crappy connection that WORKS, even if I have to pay $80 a month for mediocre DSL, which is what I pay now through Verizon. I'm considering complaining to the Public Utilities Commission about AT&T.
That's why I say that the technology does not matter, as long as they can deliver the service and treat their customers decently.
All I can say to everyone complaining about the whole DeCSS affair is: DON'T BUY ANY MORE DVD'S. Send money to the Electronic Fronteir Foundation (www.eff.org). Voting with your wallet is the most effective thing you can do, aside from being the subject of one of these lawsuits, which most of us do not have the $$ to do.
This is perhaps the best idea I've heard on/. all day. I guess the only problem would be that by agreeing to allow port 80 traffic to your machine, AT&T would be explicitly allowing you to run a web server, and this would cause them problems later if they wanted to deny port 80 traffic. It's a position they are not likely to put themselves in.
However, I strongly encourage everyone affected by this to call and complain to AT&T. Threaten to switch to another provider, or even go back to dialup.
That's not really an issue anyway due to this decision by the International Olympic Committee, banning any coverage of the Olympics on the Internet for 10 years.
I agree with you, in that the Olympics should not be considered pro human rights. The IOC is a private, elitist group that is looking out solely for its bottom line. As such, it should be treated like any other corporation.
The Olympics receives more attention than it deserves, and if I still watched television (which I do not), I would watch something else.
While it's true that they should not care what you do with the X terminal sofware, I doubt they are going to let anyone redistribute it for free. Sun is in the hardware business, and every piece of legacy hardware out there that remains usable is cutting into potential sales for new hardware.
It's sort of the same reason why Microsoft discontinues support for their older operating systems. Software/hardware that you already own isn't making them any money, so there is little motivation for them to help you out, unless of course you have some sort of support contract with them.
It seems to me that we should be focusing on deployment of a true wireless network -- not just for PDA's, but for all devices needing connection to the Internet.
The same technology that will deliver wireless to your PDA could just as easily deliver broadband to your home PC.
With reliable broadband being hideosly difficult to get, there needs to be a way to centralize the way it is provided. DSL is not a viable solution for the long term, nor is cable. Right now, it's almost impossible to know if with any certainty that you can even get them in an area until they are actually set up and working.
Here's an interesting story: while looking for apartments with broadband access, I happend upon one complex which advertised that it could get dsl through Verizon. I called Verizon, and they confirmed this. I even checked dslreports.com. After signing a lease and setting up my phone number, I unfortunately found out that the second floor was connected to a different Central Office (CO) than the first floor, and was thus over the maximum distance that Verizon provided dsl (16,200 ft). My apartment was on the second floor, so I was SOL. Just goes to show you that you don't know if you can get broadband until you actually get it.
The point is that DSL and Cable require costly equipment installations in multiple locations (COs). This contrasts with the idea of setting up a few wireless towers throughout a city to serve everyone. Unless you live behind a mountain, you'll probably be covered. Plus, when it comes time to upgrade, all the wireless provider has to do is upgrade some tower locations and maybe its own office. No local phone companies or obsolete cable equipment to deal with.
If anyone with $$ out there is listening and can do this, I know lots of people who would pay lots of money if they could get reliable, fast broadband at home.
P.S -- if anyone can recommend good broadband capable apts in North Dallas, please let me know:)
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Did anyone else have absolutely no clue what this topic was about until reading the article?
I would concur with all of these. I would also add one other: make sure you don't wake up starving. I find that if I eat a filling meal or a snack right before I go to bed that I don't wake up prematurely with that "empty stomach" feeling.
Also, I find that I wake up earlier if I drink milk or eat dairy products before going to bed. I try and stay away from them at night, and this helps me sleep later.
The savings will add up -- and will be less than $20 per user per month assuming 0 negative impact for making the choice. Any negative impact at all from the choice can easily cost millions of dollars (10's of millions of pesos).
Can you give us some concrete examples of these negative impacts? I'm not saying they don't exist, but I think we need more than just speculation that "it might cost more to switch to Linux".
Here are some costs Mexico City will almost certainly incur by staying with MS:
License management costs. This is a major cost element for running aggressively proprietary systems. Do you know how difficult it really is to keep track of thousands of machines, which OS's they are running, and where the license information is? Every time you upgrade, reinstall, or get new machines, you must register this information. For a city the size of Mexico DF, I would wager you would need at least several individuals whose sole purpose was to ensure every machine had the appropriate license. The cost of doing this, which includes those persons salaries, extra equipment, and lost productivity of everyone involved could easily reach into the millions you refer to. Even then, some machines will slip through the cracks. No problem, just a few more grand in fines to MS, or the Mexican equivalent of the BSA. Want to transfer that OEM copy of Win98 to another box? Sorry, you gotta pay for it. You begin to see that this is a costly, artificial problem which need not exist at all.
Forced Upgrades. MS refuses to support older OS's like Win95. That means you have to upgrade whenever they want you to. There's another $XXX per user with no ROI.
Downtime losses. Yes, we all know Win2k is more stable than previous MS software, but it costs significantly more than the $20/user you refer to.
New Hardware. Think you can run Win2k on that Pentium 133? Remember, you can't run Win95 anymore b/c it is sadly, no longer supported.
Perhaps you should take a look at this slashdot story. It's about a MS audit of the city of Virginia Beach, VA. The city was made to pay US$129,000 in licensing fees after the audit. This is just for the 37th largest US city.
How big is Mexico City? Try the 3rd largest city in the WORLD, with 18 million people, and you begin to see where the savings could add up.
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This sounds like exactly what I've been looking for. Do you have more information on what it is and where to get it?
Yes, it is also illegal in the U.S., but that doesn't stop it from happening. Visit the FCC's web site and read about the Telephone Consumer Privacy Act (TCPA). It forbids automated calls to your home, among other atrocities.
I still get these calls, but I managed to call the number that the recording gave and got the company's address. I used this information to report the violation to the FCC and I recently got a snailmail stating the matter is under investigation. The FCC has fined companies for violating the TCPA. Next time it happens to you, file a complaint and you may get the satisfaction of costing a telemarketer a lot of money.
[phone rings] machine: "Hi, this is [me], if you're a telemarketer, please add this number to your do not call list and hang up now. If you are not a telemarketer, please press 1 and you will be connected to [me].
My home phone will ring only if the user presses 1, and if I don't answer they can leave a message.
Voila, nobody can get through or even leave a message unless they are legit, and you won't even get any annoying recorded ads on your mailbox since the autodialers aren't smart enough to know they have to press 1 to connect or leave a message.
The problem is, I haven't been able to find such a system for sale to consumers. All of the digital consumer answering machines that have mail boxes will default to storing a message in mailbox 0 if the caller just waits long enough. This defeats the purpose because I have to listen to all of those messages in case some braindead important person calls and can't figure out they need to press 1.
My question is, are there any programmable, menu driven voicemail systems available for regular consumers? I saw something a long time ago about how to set something up with vgetty and a voice modem under linux, but it doesn't sound like it has the flexibility I need.
I would appreciate any help.
You will not find a fully functional laptop with better battery life. It is a bit on the small side, though.
It was priced around US$2000. [Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with NEC, transmeta, Fry's, or Linus Torvalds]
That's ridiculous. My connection is working just fi&&$^*^(&)#
Let's see:
(1^15 credit card numbers) * (1^5 zip codes) * (roughly 48 expiration dates over a 4 year card life) = NO CHANCE IN HELL OF GUESSING IT RANDOMLY
My personal info was stolen some time back and was used fraudulently to purchase some items at egghead.com
I tried the link to opt out, but you have to have a user id and password to do this! I don't have them because the criminal who stole my CC created them.
As a result, there is no way for me to get them to remove my personal info, which wasn't supposed to be in their database in the first place!
Egghead.com was also cracked about a year or so ago. They have a very poor track record of safeguarding their customers' information.
Things like this make me want stricter privacy controls for personal information.
The net result of this insecurity will likely not be better security protocols, but rather another inane law restricting the right of people to use wireless devices.
It happened with cellphones in the 90's, that's why it's now illegal to listen to cellular frequencies in the US.
Just wait, it will happen.
So can I go download a Caldera Unix 8 iso image? I couldn't find one on their site. If I'm not mistaken, they still have to make the GNU tools they use available in source form, right?
Has anyone found a place where you can d/l this release, or is it only available for purchase?
Nor do I, and I don't expect things to get better for a long time, but at least the RIAA/MPAA cannot use my money to sue people whom I believe are doing nothing wrong.
I applaud your individualism in not buying DVD's. Perhaps you don't agree with my point, however, and that's fine. I can certainly respect your views. If you do agree with me, I'd urge you to take it a step further and not pay to see movies in the theater or by rental. I know it's hard not to pick up a video on a Saturday evening to watch with your significant other/spouse/kids, but you could try other ways of entertaining them, such as cooking a nice dinner, or even conversation. These are the things you will remember, not how many camera angles The Matrix DVD had.
I've got to say that the way a company handles problems with its service is the most important thing to me, secondary to both speed and price.
I have AT&T @Home Cable and Verizon DSL. The DSL usually gets me about 750/100 Kbits. With cable I sometimes get over 3 MEGA bits per second. However, given a choice I'd ditch the cable before DSL. Here's why: In two months of service I have had two extended outages with AT&T. Both have been the result of AT&T Cable's stupidity. When the TV cable folks come by every month or so to do an audit, they invariably disconnect my internet connection because I'm not also a Cable TV subscriber.
This means I have to call AT&T @home, who have to schedule a service call, usually more than a week later, and I have to be at home ALL FREAKING DAY waiting for the tech to arrive. I'm serious. The hours they gave me were "sometime between 8AM and 6PM." It means I have to take an entire day off work just to get my service reconnected when the imbecils should not have even disconnected it in the first place! It's a case of AT&T's right hand not knowing what the left one is doing.
Say what you want about Verizon. I'll admit that their DSL speed sucks compared to cable, but I'd much rather have a crappy connection that WORKS, even if I have to pay $80 a month for mediocre DSL, which is what I pay now through Verizon. I'm considering complaining to the Public Utilities Commission about AT&T.
That's why I say that the technology does not matter, as long as they can deliver the service and treat their customers decently.
All I can say to everyone complaining about the whole DeCSS affair is: DON'T BUY ANY MORE DVD'S. Send money to the Electronic Fronteir Foundation (www.eff.org). Voting with your wallet is the most effective thing you can do, aside from being the subject of one of these lawsuits, which most of us do not have the $$ to do.
This is perhaps the best idea I've heard on /. all day. I guess the only problem would be that by agreeing to allow port 80 traffic to your machine, AT&T would be explicitly allowing you to run a web server, and this would cause them problems later if they wanted to deny port 80 traffic. It's a position they are not likely to put themselves in.
However, I strongly encourage everyone affected by this to call and complain to AT&T. Threaten to switch to another provider, or even go back to dialup.
Their number is: 1-888-824-8152
I agree with you, in that the Olympics should not be considered pro human rights. The IOC is a private, elitist group that is looking out solely for its bottom line. As such, it should be treated like any other corporation.
The Olympics receives more attention than it deserves, and if I still watched television (which I do not), I would watch something else.
The next time you sit down to your Windows PC at work, remember that these sorts of licensing fiascos cost your company real cash.
The company has to make up for the increase in expenses somehow, and we all know how most companies are doing that these days.
It's sort of the same reason why Microsoft discontinues support for their older operating systems. Software/hardware that you already own isn't making them any money, so there is little motivation for them to help you out, unless of course you have some sort of support contract with them.
The same technology that will deliver wireless to your PDA could just as easily deliver broadband to your home PC.
With reliable broadband being hideosly difficult to get, there needs to be a way to centralize the way it is provided. DSL is not a viable solution for the long term, nor is cable. Right now, it's almost impossible to know if with any certainty that you can even get them in an area until they are actually set up and working.
Here's an interesting story: while looking for apartments with broadband access, I happend upon one complex which advertised that it could get dsl through Verizon. I called Verizon, and they confirmed this. I even checked dslreports.com. After signing a lease and setting up my phone number, I unfortunately found out that the second floor was connected to a different Central Office (CO) than the first floor, and was thus over the maximum distance that Verizon provided dsl (16,200 ft). My apartment was on the second floor, so I was SOL. Just goes to show you that you don't know if you can get broadband until you actually get it.
The point is that DSL and Cable require costly equipment installations in multiple locations (COs). This contrasts with the idea of setting up a few wireless towers throughout a city to serve everyone. Unless you live behind a mountain, you'll probably be covered. Plus, when it comes time to upgrade, all the wireless provider has to do is upgrade some tower locations and maybe its own office. No local phone companies or obsolete cable equipment to deal with.
If anyone with $$ out there is listening and can do this, I know lots of people who would pay lots of money if they could get reliable, fast broadband at home.
P.S -- if anyone can recommend good broadband capable apts in North Dallas, please let me know :)
Did anyone else have absolutely no clue what this topic was about until reading the article?
I would concur with all of these. I would also add one other: make sure you don't wake up starving. I find that if I eat a filling meal or a snack right before I go to bed that I don't wake up prematurely with that "empty stomach" feeling.
Also, I find that I wake up earlier if I drink milk or eat dairy products before going to bed. I try and stay away from them at night, and this helps me sleep later.
Can you give us some concrete examples of these negative impacts? I'm not saying they don't exist, but I think we need more than just speculation that "it might cost more to switch to Linux".
Here are some costs Mexico City will almost certainly incur by staying with MS:
How big is Mexico City? Try the 3rd largest city in the WORLD, with 18 million people, and you begin to see where the savings could add up.
From the article:
Try out the Pi Reciter!
Call 1-800-555-TELL.
At the main menu, speak the word "Extensions."
Enter extension 58874.
Is this the same IDG that got so sue-happy over anyone using the phrase, "For Dummies", even if it was just a parody?