165 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
165 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
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# _________________________________ #
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# The Remote Informer Newsletter #
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# #
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# #
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# #
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#----------------------------------------------------------------------------#
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# November TRI Issue: 04 #
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#----------------------------------------------------------------------------#
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# #
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# The Editors: Tracker, Ye Cap'n, Norman Bates and The Reporter #
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# #
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##############################################################################
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==============================================================================
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= FCC Charges Much Ado About Not Much =
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New Cannan, CT -- International Resource Develope of New Cannan, CT says
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that the market bubble for packet switch networks like TeleNet is going to
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burst by 1991, regarless of what the Federal Communications Commission does
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about access charges. Cheap fiber, which greatly increases the capacity, and
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ISDN services, which let you share a phone line with your computer, will do
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the business in, the report says. Over the next four years, however, the
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demand for packet switch services to will grow from $650 million to $1,612
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million (If the Baby Bells are allowed to add competition to the market, the
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$5/hour access charge cannot be passed though to the customers anyway).
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] Supplied by Ye Cap'n
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==============================================================================
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= Pirate's Hollow =
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San Carlos, CA -- The Pirate's Hollow, one of the more popular BBS's in
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the Bay Area, is installing several new features that will even add to it's
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betting on NFL games and participating in the Pirate's Hollow Lottery. Also,
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in order to support one of the best newsletters around, the Pirate's Hollow
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will soon be adding a seperate module that will act as an outpost for The
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Remote Informer. This module will feature the older issues of the newsletter,
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a section that will keep you abreast of updates of recently released
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information, and a section that will show what is upcoming in the next issues
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of The Remote Informer.
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The long-awaited database will soon be put online. Over 800 textfiles
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on a variety of subjects will be available to the users that pay the access
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fee that will be determined at a later date. Many more are on the way, and
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will be included at no charge. The charge will be a one time charge though,
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rather than a yearly payment.
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Another new option will be available by early December. PC Pursuit
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callback will be installed. This will allow people to call and then get
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called back if your area code is supported by PC Pursuit. This will also
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require a charge, to be set at a later date.
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telecommunications world, but we need more callers in order to formulate a
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more diverse user base. Please spread the BBS # around while a}ilso trying to
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make others aware of the newsletter.
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= Switchin~rg Systems =
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There are currently three different forms of switching systems that are
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present in the United States today. Step by Step (SxS), Crossbar, and the
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a little tenative when it comes to "doing their work" once they have heard
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about effects of switching systems on their hobby. After researching this
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topic, I have found that there really is not that much to be worried about.
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Read on, while I share with you information which I have compiled about all of
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The first switching system that was used in the country was called Step
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by Step. This was adopted in 1918 by Bell, and until 1978, they had over 53%
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of all their exchanges using Step by Step (SxS). This system is known for
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it's long, confusing train of switches that are used for its step by step
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switching.
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Step by Step has many disadvantages to phone users. The switch train
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becomes jammed fairly often, and it causes calls to be blockeH0AAf{c2^TY[2977: a
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llow the use of DTMF dialing. This accounts for some of the areas in
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the United States that cannot have touch tone dialing abilities. A tremendous
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amount of electricity and maintenance needs to accompany the SxS switching
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system, which makes it even more impratical. All in all, this is probably the m
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ost archaic switching system around.
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There are a number of ways to see if you are on SxS. You will notice that
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there are no pulsing digits after dialing. Most sources say that the phone
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company will sound like many typewriters. SxS does not offer features such as
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speed calling, call forwarding, three-way calling, call waiting, and other
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such services. Pay phones on SxS also will want your money before you receive a
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dial tone. This adds to the list of disadvantages labelled to that of the
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Step by Step switching systems.
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Another type of switching system that is prevalent in the United States
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is Crossbar. Crossbar has been Bell's primary switcher after 1960, and three
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types of it exists. Number 1 Crossbar (1xB), Number 4 Crossbar (4xB), and the N
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umber 5 Crossbar (5xB). In Crossbar, a switching matrix is used for all the
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phones in an area, and when someone calls, the route is determined and is met
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up with the other phone. This matrix is set-up in horizontal and vertical
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paths. Unlike other swichting systems, in my research, I could not come up
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with any true and definate distinguishing features of the Crossbar switching
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systems.
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The Electronic Switching System (ESS) is yet another switching system
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used in the United States and the most used of all three swicthing systems.
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ESS is an extremely advanced and multi-faced type of switching system, and is
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feared by marauders of the phone company everywhere. With ESS, your phone
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company is able to know every digit dialed (including mistakes), who you call,
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when you called, and how long you were connected. ESS is also programmed to
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print out the numbers of people who make excessive calls to WATS numbers (800
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services) or directory assistance. This feature of ESS is called 800
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Exceptional Calling Report, and has spelled the end of some forms of
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continuous code hacks to certain extenders. ESS can also be programmed to
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print logs of who called and abused certain numbers as well. Everything is
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kept track of in its records.
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The aforementioned facts show that ESS has made the jobs of organizations
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such as the FBI, NSA, and other phone company security forces easier. Tracing
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can be done in a matter of microseconds, and the result will be conveniently
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printed out on the monitor of a phone company officer. ESS is also programmed
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to pick up any "foreign tones" on the phone line such as the many varied tones
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emulated by boxes.
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ESS can be identified by a few features common in it. The 911 emergency
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service is covered in the later versions of ESS. Also, you are given the dial
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tone first when using a pay phone unlike that of SxS. Calling services like
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call forwarding, speed calling, and call waiting are also common to ESS. One
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o}ither feature common to ESS is ANI (Automatic Number Identification) for long
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distance calls. As you can see, ESS is basically the zenith of all switching
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systems, and it will probably plague the entire country by the early 1990's.
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Soon after, we should be looking forward to a system called CLASS. This
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switching system will contain the feature of having the number of the person
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that is calling you printed out on your phone.
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What have I concluded about these switching systems? Well, they are not
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good enough. I know a few people employed by the phone company, and I know
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for a fact that they do not have enough time these days to worry about code
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users, especially in large, metropolitan areas. So, I will go out on a limb
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here, and say that a large portion of people will never have to worry about
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the horrors of ESS.
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] Written by Ye Cap'n
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= New Gizmo Can Ch}Lnge Voice Gender =
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The most amazing device has turned up in the new Hammacher Schlemmer
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catalog: the teXMA!=92=%
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:9I!anger.
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-- a most efficient way to dissuade an obscene phone caller just as he's
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getting warmed up.
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That is not the same as running a 45 r.p.m. record at 33. In digital
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conversion, the pitch can be changed without altering the speed.
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The device runs on a 9-volt batter and attaches to the telephone mouth
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piece with a rubber coupler that takes but a moment to slip on and off.
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With the changer switched on, says Lloyd Gray, a Hammacher Schlemmer
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technical expert, "the effect is similar to what you hear when they interview
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an anonymous woman on television and disguise her voice by deepening it."
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"It's better for changing a woman's voice to a man's than the other way
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around," Gray said. A man can use it to raise the pitch of his voice, but he
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still won't sound like a woman."
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A man could, however, use the changer to disguise his voice. But with the
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device set on high, Gray's voice still could be identified as his own. On low,
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his normal tenor became so gravel like that the words were unintelligible.
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] Supplied by Tracker and The Reporter
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==============================================================================
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We look for information in anyway related to the newsletter. If you have
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something of interests, or something that you saw on television, or in the
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newspaper, then upload it to one of the boards listed below. You will receive f
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ull credit.
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Pirate's Hollow..................................................(415)593-6784
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Bates Motel......................................................(619)267-0293
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==============================================================================
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[Ripco] Which 1-252 ?=menu,<CR>=abort:
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Cmd:
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