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independent news

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FRIDAY — AUGUST 3, 2012 — ISSUE NO. 518

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Paging and Wireless Messaging Home Page image Newsletter Archive image Carrier Directory image Recommended Products and Services
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Reference Papers Consulting Glossary of Terms Send an e-mail to Brad Dye

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Dear Friends of Wireless Messaging,

Greetings from Southern Illinois.

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SHERM WOLF—RIP

zip-call Another paging pioneer has passed away. It happened in March, but I just found out about it this week. His obituary follows. He was very respected by everyone in our business. Old timers will all recognize his name. He founded Zip-Call, which became the largest paging company in New England. Ron Mercer told me about having his first American Thanksgiving dinner at Sherm's home after he moved here from Canada. (See Ron's message in LETTERS TO THE EDITOR section below.)

My condolences to the Wolf family.

Following his obituary there is an article about his collection of vintage Ferraris, which are expected to bring up to $21 million at an auction in California next month.

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PSSI IN THE NEWS

Wow! Check out all the new things going on at PSSI . Two press releases follow.

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PERSONAL PRIVACY DEVICES

Also following is an interesting article about the illegal GPS jammers that truckers are using to hide their whereabouts from the dispatcher. They are called personal privacy devices (PPDs) and were discovered by FCC contractors a couple of years ago after interfering with the GPS system at the Newark airport.

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CTIA REPORTS ON THE POTENTIAL OF THE U.S. WIRELESS INDUSTRY

CTIA—The Wireless Association, reports that for every $1 invested in wireless broadband, it will create an additional $7-10 for U.S. GDP.

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STEAMBOAT RACES—AN ANALOGY

OK dear readers, here is a lesson from history for the current-day managers of paging companies (I won't mention any names):

Old Steamboat Days
on The Hudson River

The rivalry for the speed record became so great between two of the boats, the Oregon , owned by George Law, and the Cornelius Vanderbilt, owned by “Commodore” Vanderbilt, then running on Long Island Sound, that a race for $1,000 a side was arranged between them, which took place on the Hudson River on June 1, 1847. The Vanderbilt was a new boat. The race started at the Battery and both boats got away at eleven o’clock, a great throng of people being on hand to witness the contest. For thirty miles up the river the boats kept side by side, but the Oregon passed the Vanderbilt as she approached the stake boat off Ossining and was half a length ahead at that point. In passing the Vanderbilt , the Oregon was bumped by her rival and damaged her wheelhouse considerably.

On the way down the river the Oregon’s coal gave out, but the captain and crew resorted to tactics that had been followed before, in the days of exciting steamboat racing. The woodwork of the berths, chairs, benches, furniture of staterooms and everything else that would burn was put under the boilers to keep up steam. She finished the race at the Battery about twelve hundred feet ahead of the Vanderbilt , having covered the seventy miles in three hours and fifteen minutes with the tide against her going north and with her on the return. The owners of the Oregon got the $1,000 stake and possibly expended more than that restoring the joiner work on their boat. [ source ]

I shouldn't have to explain the analogy, but I believe that it is fairly obvious that some paging companies are burning up their assets — for short-term results — while destroying the long-term viability of their businesses — and damaging the whole industry in the process. I guess they believe that there won't be anymore paging sometime soon.

I don't!

Everyone is entitled their own opinion, and this one is mine.

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UNIPAGE TERMINAL BUG

I received many favorable responses to my “Urgent Bulletin” this week. I am sorry that I had to send it to everyone in my newsletter database, but the paging terminal “bug” appeared to be specific to August first, so it was important to get the information out quickly.

I was asked for help from Cathy Ackels, Customer Service Manager at Maximum Communications in Cincinnati, so I called Ira Wiesenfeld of Ira Wiesenfeld & Associates who was working at a customer site in Iowa, and he referred me to Mike Glaser of Glaser Electronics in California, who already had found a solution for the problem. This is a good example of how networking helps our industry. Thanks, Mike and Ira.

As more reports come in about the Unipage terminal bug, it appears that the fix originated from Eric Dobrowansky, Director of Technical Operations at Aquis Communications. (Thanks to Brian Bobeck, Aquis' President.)

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MORE ON THE UNIPAGE FIX

From: Corry Hill
To: Brad Dye
Date: August 2, 2012
RE: Urgent Bulletin

Brad, thanks for the e-mail, we were one of the carriers affected by this Unipage date issue. If it has value, thought I'd share the quick version of what we had to do. John B [Bimrose]. with Microspace suggested that it would make sense to pass this along.

Our console system became unusable as a result of this 8-1-2012 date problem. However, the fix was not as simple as turning the clock back.

Once we turned the date back to 2001 (the day of the week matches up), we were still getting condb40c.log file errors & could not access subscriber information. The total fix was to use a MSDOS v6.22 boot disk. I could not modify bad files while running PCMOS os, which makes me suspect that PCMOS may be as much of a culprit as the console program. Next, edit the condb40c.log file so it will have the 2001 modified date attached to it (all I did was change the last entry to a 2001 date). Then while in MSDOS, start the console program (condb) and invoke the "re-index database file" command under the maintenance menu. This should be done for all databases that would be available under the log menu. At least, that worked for us.

Corry Hill
CHill@connectingyou.com
Electronic Engineering
Des Moines, IA

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By the way, I have added Ira Wiesenfeld to our Consulting Alliance . If you ever need some help we are available. Please click on the link above to find out which one of us can best meet your needs.

CONSULTING ALLIANCE MEMBERS

  • Brad Dye
  • Ron Mercer
  • Allan Angus
  • Vic Jackson
  • Ira Wiesenfeld

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"I don't need to know everything, I just need to know where to find it, when I need it."

— Albert Einstein

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Now on to more news and views.

Wayne County, Illinois Weather

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Wireless Messaging News
  • Location-Based Services
  • Emergency Radio Communications
  • Wireless Messaging
  • Critical Messaging
  • Telemetry
  • Paging
  • WiMAX
  • Wi-Fi
WIRELESS
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MESSAGING

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Wireless Messaging News
This is a weekly newsletter about Wireless Messaging. You are receiving this because I believe you have requested it. This is not a SPAM. If you have received this message in error, or you are no longer interested in these topics, please click here then click on "send" and you will be promptly removed from the mailing list.

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About Us

A new issue of The Wireless Messaging Newsletter is posted on the web each week. A notification goes out by e-mail to subscribers on most Fridays around noon central US time. The notification message has a link to the actual newsletter on the web. That way it doesn't fill up your incoming e-mail account.

There is no charge for subscription and there are no membership restrictions. Readers are a very select group of wireless industry professionals, and include the senior managers of many of the world's major Paging and Wireless Messaging companies. There is an even mix of operations managers, marketing people, and engineers — so I try to include items of interest to all three groups. It's all about staying up-to-date with business trends and technology. I regularly get readers' comments, so this newsletter has become a community forum for the Paging, and Wireless Messaging communities. You are welcome to contribute your ideas and opinions. Unless otherwise requested, all correspondence addressed to me is subject to publication in the newsletter and on my web site. I am very careful to protect the anonymity of those who request it.

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Editorial Policy

Editorial Opinion pieces present only the opinions of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of any of advertisers or supporters. This newsletter is independent of any trade association.

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ADVERTISERS SUPPORTING THE NEWSLETTER

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Advertiser Index

American Messaging
Daviscomms USA
Hahntech-USA
Hark Technologies
Ira Wiesenfeld & Associates
Ivycorp
Leavitt Communications
Preferred Wireless
Prism Paging
Ron Mercer — Paging & Wireless Network Planners LLC
PSSI — Product Support Services
Critical Alert Systems d/b/a Northeast, UCOM & Teletouch Paging
WiPath Communications

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PRESS RELEASE

July 30, 2012, 4:55 p.m. EDT

USA Mobility Reports Second Quarter Operating Results; Board Declares Quarterly Dividend, Renews Stock Repurchase Plan

Wireless Trends Show Significant Improvement; Software Revenue, Bookings and Backlog Advance; Operating Expenses Reduced; Debt Repaid

SPRINGFIELD, Va., Jul 30, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — USA Mobility, Inc. USMO +0.74% , a leading provider of wireless messaging, mobile voice and data and unified communications solutions, today announced operating results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012. In addition, the Company's Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, payable on September 7, 2012 to stockholders of record on August 17, 2012. The Board also authorized renewal of the Company's previously suspended stock repurchase program.

Consolidated revenue for the second quarter was $56.0 million, compared to $56.7 million in the first quarter and $65.2 million in the second quarter of 2011. Revenue from the Company's Wireless business (USA Mobility Wireless) was $42.8 million in the second quarter, compared to $44.3 million in the first quarter and $52.1 million in the second quarter of 2011. Second quarter revenue from the Software business (Amcom Software) was $13.2 million, compared to $12.5 million in the first quarter and $13.1 million in the year-earlier quarter.

Second quarter EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and accretion) totaled $18.4 million, or 32.9 percent of revenue, compared to $18.8 million, or 33.1 percent of revenue, in the first quarter and $21.5 million, or 32.9 percent of revenue, in the year-earlier quarter. Second quarter EBITDA included $16.8 million from Wireless and $1.6 million from Software, compared to $20.4 million and $1.1 million, respectively, in the second quarter of 2011.

Net income for the second quarter was $8.4 million, or $0.37 per fully diluted share, compared to $18.6 million, or $0.82 per fully diluted share, in the second quarter of 2011. Net income in the second quarter of 2011 benefited from the receipt of $7.5 million from the sale of certain narrow band PCS licenses and a reduction in income tax expense of $4.9 million related to a reduction in our deferred income tax asset valuation allowance, partially offset by purchase accounting adjustments of $2.6 million. Excluding these adjustments, net income for the second quarter of 2011 would have been $10.0 million, or $0.44 per fully diluted share.

Second quarter results included:

Wireless

  • Net unit losses improved to 34,000 in the second quarter from 51,000 in the first quarter and 49,000 in the second quarter of 2011. The quarterly rate of net unit loss improved to an 8-year low of 2.1 percent from 2.7 percent in the year-earlier quarter, while the annual rate of unit erosion also reached a new low of 11.0 percent versus 11.5 percent in the first quarter and 12.2 percent in the year-ago quarter. Units in service at June 30, 2012 totaled 1,583,000, compared to 1,779,000 a year earlier.
  • The quarterly rate of revenue erosion was 3.3 percent, compared to 4.9 percent in the first quarter and 0.8 percent in the second quarter of 2011, while the annual rate of revenue erosion was 17.9 percent versus 11.9 percent in the year-earlier quarter.
  • Total ARPU (average revenue per unit) was $8.45 in the second quarter, compared to $8.50 in the first quarter and $8.74 in the second quarter of 2011.
  • Second quarter EBITDA margin for Wireless was 39.2 percent, compared to 39.5 percent in the first quarter and 39.2 percent in the year-earlier quarter.

Software

  • Bookings for the second quarter were $15.1 million, compared to $12.4 million in the first quarter and $15.2 million in the year-earlier quarter.
  • The backlog was $25.4 million at June 30, 2012, compared to $23.7 million at March 31, 2012, and $20.5 million at June 30, 2011.
  • Second quarter Software revenue of $13.2 million included $6.5 million of maintenance revenue and $6.7 million of operations revenue, compared to $6.4 million and $6.1 million, respectively, of the $12.5 million in Software revenue for the prior quarter.
  • The renewal rate for maintenance in the second quarter was 98.8 percent.

Total Company

  • Consolidated operating expenses (excluding depreciation, amortization and accretion) totaled $37.5 million in the second quarter, with $26.0 million for Wireless and $11.5 million for Software, compared to $38.0 million in the first quarter, with $26.8 million for Wireless and $11.2 million for Software.
  • Capital expenses were $2.9 million, compared to $1.9 million in the second quarter of 2011.
  • Dividends paid to stockholders totaled $5.5 million for the second quarter.
  • On April 6, 2012, the Company repaid its outstanding debt balance of $3.3 million and once again became a debt-free company.
  • The Company's cash balance was $41.0 million at June 30, 2012.
  • The number of full-time equivalent employees at June 30, 2012 totaled 686, including 411 for Wireless and 275 for Software, compared to a total of 685 at March 31, 2012.

Vincent D. Kelly, president and chief executive officer, said: "USA Mobility again reported excellent operating results for the quarter as both our Wireless and Software businesses made substantial progress. On the Wireless side, our quarterly and annual rates of subscriber erosion reached their best levels in nearly eight years as overall trends continued to improve. In addition, we exceeded all key performance goals for gross additions, unit churn, and ARPU. Our Software business also performed well during the quarter as bookings increased from the prior quarter and our backlog surpassed $25 million. Amcom also made important advances in its product and business development, including the acquisition in May of IMCO Technologies' Critical Test Results Management solution, which allows hospitals to improve patient care and safety by expediting the delivery of critical test results to caregivers. At the same time, our combined business continued to reduce expenses, maintain strong operating margins, and generate sufficient cash flow to again return capital to stockholders in the form of dividend distributions."

Kelly said Wireless sales and marketing efforts continued to focus on the core market segments of Healthcare, Government and Large Enterprise during the quarter. "These core segments represented approximately 91.0 percent of our direct subscriber base and 86.7 percent of our direct paging revenue at June 30th, compared to 89.5 percent and 84.3 percent, respectively, a year earlier. Healthcare continued to be our largest and best performing market segment with the highest percentage of direct gross additions (83.3 percent) and the lowest rate of direct net unit loss (0.2 percent) as healthcare providers continue to benefit from the reliability and cost advantages of paging for their most critical messaging needs."

With regard to Software results, Kelly said: "After a slower than expected first quarter, Amcom delivered an increase in quarter-over-quarter revenue in the second quarter and a growing backlog and sales pipeline at June 30th. We booked most of our business in the North American healthcare market, including a large East Coast teaching hospital. However, we also gained further penetration of the hospitality segment with the addition of a major hotel group. Customers from multiple business segments continue to choose Amcom due to the breadth of our critical communications solutions, which range from call center management, clinical alerting middleware, critical smartphone communications and emergency notification."

Kelly added: "As previously announced, we also made several important executive management changes during the quarter. Jim Boso was promoted to president of USA Mobility Wireless, while Kate Bolseth was named chief operating officer and Sean Collins executive vice president of selling and marketing at Amcom Software. All three executives have performed exceptionally well for us in the past and we expect them to continue to achieve further success going forward."

Commenting on the Company's revised quarterly dividend rate of $0.125 per share, a reduction from the previous rate of $0.25 per share, Kelly stated: "As noted on our fourth quarter earnings call earlier this year, the Board's decision to revise the cash dividend rate was made for the principal purpose of preserving sufficient capital to allow us to make acquisitions in our Software business and create opportunities for long-term growth. Notwithstanding our excellent current results, we recognize that ongoing Wireless subscriber losses will continue to put pressure on future operating margins and cash flows. As a result, we believe the revised dividend rate will help preserve capital for long-term growth opportunities. We also believe it better reflects our projected cash flows over the next several years, strengthens the Company's financial position while maintaining a significant yield on our common stock, and allows us to retain strategic capital as we continue to reposition the Company for the future."

Kelly said the Board approved renewal of the Company's stock repurchase plan, which was adopted in 2008 and suspended in March 2011 at the time of the Amcom acquisition. The plan, which extends through December 31, 2013, resets the repurchase authority to $25 million as of August 1, 2012. Since the buy back program began, the Company has repurchased 5.6 million shares of its common stock.

Shawn E. Endsley, chief financial officer, said the Company continued to reduce operating expenses in the second quarter. "Recurring operating expenses (excluding depreciation, amortization and accretion) for Wireless decreased 17.9 percent from the year-earlier quarter," he noted, "and again exceeded the adjusted annual rate of Wireless revenue decline. In addition, Wireless revenue for the quarter remained strong, driven largely by a stable ARPU and improved unit churn." Endsley said the Company repaid its outstanding $3.3 million debt balance on April 6, 2012, noting that "with the repayment USA Mobility is once again a debt-free company."

Regarding financial guidance for 2012, Endsley said the Company is revising its prior guidance for consolidated results for the full year, with total revenues expected to range from $215 million to $227 million, operating expenses (excluding depreciation, amortization and accretion) to range from $154 million to $162 million, and capital expenses to range from $7.1 million to $9.5 million. "We have also revised our revenue guidance mix between Wireless and Software based on our outlook for each business. Accordingly, we now expect Wireless revenue to range from $162 million to $170 million, an increase from the prior guidance of $156 million to $166 million, and Software revenue to range from $53 million to $57 million, a reduction from the previous guidance of $58 million to $66 million. We have also adjusted the operating expense guidance for Wireless to a range of $106 million to $110 million, a reduction from the original range of $108 million to $112 million. Our Software operating expenses have been adjusted slightly to a range of $48 million to $52 million. Finally, we have slightly adjusted the capital expense range for our Software business to $0.1 million to $0.5 million from the previous range of $0.5 million to $1.0 million."

* * * * * * * * *

USA Mobility plans to host a conference call for investors on its second quarter results at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, July 31, 2012. Dial-in numbers for the call are 719-234-0008 or 888-428-9496. The pass code for the call is 3467154. A replay of the call will be available from 1:00 p.m. ET on July 31 until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday August 14. Replay numbers are 719-457-0820 or 888-203-1112. The pass code for the replay is 3467154.

* * * * * * * * *

About USA Mobility

USA Mobility, Inc., headquartered in Springfield, Virginia, is a comprehensive provider of reliable and affordable wireless communications solutions to the healthcare, government, large enterprise and emergency response sectors. In addition, through its Amcom Software subsidiary, it provides mission critical unified communications solutions for hospitals, contact centers, emergency management, mobile event notification and messaging. As a single-source provider, USA Mobility's focus is on the business-to-business marketplace and supplying wireless connectivity solutions to organizations nationwide. The Company operates the largest one-way paging and advanced two-way paging networks in the United States. USA Mobility also offers mobile voice and data services through Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile, including BlackBerry(R) smartphones and GPS location applications. The Company's product offerings include customized wireless connectivity systems for the healthcare, government and other campus environments. USA Mobility also offers M2M (machine-to-machine) telemetry solutions for numerous applications that include asset tracking, utility meter reading and other remote device monitoring applications on a national scale. For further information, visit www.usamobility.com and www.amcomsoftware.com .

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act: Statements contained herein or in prior press releases which are not historical fact, such as statements regarding USA Mobility's future operating and financial performance, are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause USA Mobility's actual results to be materially different from the future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expectations include, but are not limited to, declining demand for paging products and services, the ability to continue to reduce operating expenses, future capital needs, competitive pricing pressures, competition from both traditional paging services and other wireless communications services, government regulation, reliance upon third-party providers for certain equipment and services, as well as other risks described from time to time in periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although USA Mobility believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. USA Mobility disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Tables to Follow [at source]

Source: The Wall Street Journal MarketWatch

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Daviscomms USA

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daviscomms PAGERS & Telemetry Devices
FLEX & POCSAG

(12.5 kHz or 25 kHz - POCSAG)

br502 numeric
Br502 Numeric

br802 front
Br802
Alphanumeric

tmrp-1
Telemetry

 

Contract Manufacturing Services
Board Level to complete “Turn-Key”

Bob Popow
Scottsdale, AZ
www.daviscommsusa.com
480-515-2344

 

Daviscomms (S) Pte Ltd-Bronze Member-CMA

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Daviscomms USA

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American Messaging

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amsi

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American Messaging

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Product Support Services, Inc.

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Wireless and Cellular Repair - Pagers, Coasters, Handsets, Infrastructure and other Electronics

pssi logo

pssi

repairmanrepairman

Product Support Services, Inc.

511 South Royal Lane
Coppell, Texas 75019
(972) 462-3970 Ext. 261
sales@pssirl.com left arrow
www.pssirl.com left arrow

PSSI is the industry leader in reverse logistics, our services include depot repair, product returns management, RMA and RTV management, product audit, test, refurbishment, re-kitting and value recovery.

PSSI Offers Customers —

  • Centralized Returns and Repair Services at our 125,000 Sq. Ft. Facility, in a Triple Free Port Zone, 3 Miles North of DFW Airport.
  • Experience , PSSI repairs 5,000 units a day and has capacity for more.
  • ISO9001:2008 Certified Operation, with integrated Lean Manufacturing processes and systems for best-in class performance and turn-times.
  • Authorized Service Center for Level I, II and III Repair by a wide variety of OEMs including LG, Motorola, Samsung, Nokia and others.
  • State-of-the-art facility for multiple wireless test environments, including infrastructure and board-level test and repair capabilities.
  • Serialized Tracking through PSSI’s proprietary Work-In-Process (WIP) and shop floor management system PSS.Net. This system allows PSSI to track each product received by employee, work center, lot, model, work order, serial number and location, tracking parts allocated, service, repair and refurbishment actions through each stage of the reverse logistics process. Access to order status and repair reports can be transmitted electronically in formats like FTP, EDI, API, XML or CSV.
  • Expertise , PSSI’s executive team has 125+ years of industry experience.

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PAGING PIONEER—SHERM WOLF
Obituary

sherm wolf WOLF, Sherman Melvin 86, died peacefully at his home Friday, March 9, 2012. He was the devoted father of Scott and his wife Hiroko Mochizuki of Beverly Hills, CA; Steve and his wife Michelle of Wayland; and Julie of Newton. He was the cherished grandfather of Jennifer, Russell and Bryant Wolf and loving brother of Myron Wolf and the late Edith Friedlander. He was the chief ball tosser for his beloved dog Enzo. Sherman was a 53-year Master Mason of The Consolidated Lodge. Sherman began his business career at age 16 repairing newly invented televisions for Jordan Marsh. He furthered his training in the Navy serving in World War II and the Korean War as an Electronic Technician Second Class and applied that training to establish Two-Way Radio Engineering, Inc., which provided and serviced all of greater-Boston's police departments and taxi companies with two-way radios. In the early 1960s, Sherman founded Zip-Call, Inc., which became the largest pocket paging company in New England, supplying all of the major Boston hospitals and trades. His innovations and breakthroughs led the industry and advanced the services provided. When no bank would offer financing, Sherman saw the potential of an outdoor music shed in Mansfield, Massachusetts and agreed to co-develop the Great Woods Center amphitheater and later the Harborlights Pavilion in Boston, both projects becoming models for similar facilities throughout the country. Since 1986, Great Woods, now known as the Comcast Center, has provided enjoyment to millions of people in the New England area. While successful in business, Sherman's unique talent was troubleshooting and solving electrical and mechanical problems. He could fix anything and always found the most elegant solution. He was fortunate to have many caring neighbors and friends who enjoyed and appreciated his many talents and skills. Sherman's passion was collecting and repairing antique radios, clocks and cars. He always maintained and repaired his own vintage cars, frequently fabricating parts in his workshop when they could not be found. He participated in road rallies around the world including the Mille Miglia in Italy and Japan. It was at these events where Sherman was truly in his element, often helping other drivers get their cars running again while they stood in awe. While most other participants brought their own mechanics and enjoyed the social parts of the event, Sherman reveled in climbing under the hood to diagnose and repair their cars. He was dearly loved and will be sorely missed in so many ways. Services will be at Temple Shir Tikva, 141 Boston Post Rd., Wayland MA on March 12, 2012 at 11:00 am. Following interment at Beit Olam Cemetery, shiva will be observed at the home of Steven and Michelle Wolf, Monday until 8pm and Tues. 1pm to 8pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Glen Highland Farm Border Collie Rescue, 217 Pegg Rd, Morris, NY 13808, or the charity of your choice. Brezniak-Rodman Chapel www.brezniakrodman.com

Source: The Boston Globe

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Vintage Ferraris very hot wheels

Late businessman’s collection could fetch $21M at auction

By Ira Kantor
Monday, July 30, 2012

ferrari

A quartet of vintage Ferraris owned by the late Hub pocket-paging and amphitheater magnate Sherman M. Wolf could fetch upwards of $21 million when the automobiles zoom onto a California auction lot next month.

Classic car auctioneer Gooding & Co. will present the Sherman M. Wolf Ferrari collection at its Pebble Beach Auctions on Aug. 18 and 19. Bidders have the chance to vie for the following models:

  • A 1960 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Alloy California Spider Competizione, one of only nine alloy-bodied LWB California Spiders ever built, with an estimated value of $7 million to $9 million.
  • A 1953 Ferrari 340 MM Spider, one of the last of five 340 MM Spiders bodied by Italian company Vignale, with an estimated value of $4.5 million to $6.5 million.
  • A 1957 Ferrari 500 TRC, one of only 19 TRCs built, with an estimated value of $3.75 million to $4.5 million.
  • A 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO, which is equipped with original books and tools, as well as air-conditioning and power windows. This model has an estimated value of $750,000 to $900,000.

“They are all hard to come by,” said Sam Hallowell, New England regional director of the Ferrari Club of America. “It’s a steal if you’re the only guy who shows up at the auction and nobody bids.”

Wolf, a vintage car aficionado who founded Zip-Call Inc., New England’s largest pocket-paging company, died in March at age 86. Gooding & Co. president and founder David Gooding called Wolf “one of the most earnest and generous Ferrari enthusiasts I've ever known.”

Wolf is also remembered for co-developing the Great Woods Center amphitheater — now the Comcast Center — in Mansfield, and the former Harborlights Pavilion in Boston, now the Bank of America Pavilion.

Though he also enjoyed collecting and fixing antique radios and clocks, Wolf thrived on maintaining, repairing and racing his vintage cars. At times it was not uncommon for Wolf to help other drivers at worldwide road rallies, including the Mille Miglia in Italy and Colorado Grand, get their own roadsters running, friends said.

“The collector car experience, though it’s alive and well — men, like Sherman Wolf, in many respects, almost invented that,” said Sheldon Steele, executive director of the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline, where Wolf served as a board member and trustee. “He’s just a legend in the community.”

Hallowell said older Ferraris can hit “prices in the stratosphere” based on rarity, racing history, production numbers and famous ownership.

“These cars are looked at as a storehouse of value. The prices of older Ferraris go up and down but with these rarer ones ... the prices of those have tended to stay stable in uncertain times and gradually rise,” Hallowell said. “Cars of these models do not come up that frequently at auction.”

Hallowell said Wolf’s California Spider would generate collector interest for its competition engine alone, adding it was important for all vintage Ferraris to be driven periodically to improve their overall value.

“If they are left to stand without being exercised, they fall away,” he said.

Source: Boston Herald

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LEAVITT Communications

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its stil here

It's still here — the tried and true Motorola Alphamate 250. Now owned, supported, and available from Leavitt Communications. Call us for new or reconditioned units, parts, manuals, and repairs.

We also offer refurbished Alphamate 250’s, Alphamate IIs, the original Alphamate and new and refurbished pagers, pager repairs, pager parts and accessories. We are FULL SERVICE in Paging!

E-mail Phil Leavitt ( pcleavitt@leavittcom.com ) for pricing and delivery information or for a list of other available paging and two-way related equipment.

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Phil Leavitt
847-955-0511
pcleavitt@leavittcom.com

leavitt logo

7508 N. Red Ledge Dr.
Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
www.leavittcom.com

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ctia

Independent Review of the U.S. Wireless Industry

America and Americans benefit from the U.S. wireless industry’s competitive ecosystem. We lead the world in value, innovation and investment. Yet the significant benefits of the wireless industry are in jeopardy unless our members may purchase more spectrum so they can meet Americans’ demand and usage. As history has proven, when the U.S. wireless industry has access to spectrum, companies continue to make billions of dollars worth of investments, creating jobs and developing the world’s best mobile products and services.

While CTIA—The Wireless Association’s® research team regularly conducts industry surveys, we've highlighted data from third party experts and organizations.

WIRELESS ECONOMY:

  • The U.S. wireless industry provides 3.8 million direct/indirect jobs, which is 2.6% of all U.S. employment. 75.8 million people, or more than 54% of the 139.4 million people in the U.S. workforce (as of June 2011), are in jobs that directly rely on wireless services. i
  • The U.S. wireless industry is valued at $195.5 billion, which is larger than publishing, agriculture, hotels and lodging, air transportation, motion picture and recording and motor vehicle manufacturing industry segments. It rivals the computer system design service and oil and gas extraction industries.ii
  • For every $1 invested in wireless broadband, it will create an additional $7-10 for U.S. GDP. iii
  • The U.S. wireless industry accounted for $33 billion in productivity gains for U.S. businesses in 2011; these efficiencies will grow to be worth more than $1.4 trillion over the next 10 years. iv
  • The U.S. wireless industry and its direct/indirect employees paid $82.2 billion in federal, state and local taxes and fees. This doesn't include the more than $2 billion annually remitted by carriers for 911 fees. v

INNOVATION/USAGE:

  • Even though the U.S. population is less than 5% of the world’s total population and total U.S. subscribership is less than 6% of the world’s total wireless subscribers, the U.S. has more than 21% of global 3G/4G subscribers and 87% of global LTE subscribers. vi
  • The average smartphone user consumes 435 MB per month in Q1 2011, which is an increase of 89% from 230 MB per month in Q1 2010.vii
  • Apple and Android launched their “app” stores in 2008. As of December 2011, there were almost 2 million apps available on more than 11 operating systems available on 28 non-carrier stores. viii
  • As of June 2011, there were 31.6% of U.S. wireless-only households, up from 10.5% in 2006. ix

VALUE:

  • The average price per minute of use in the U.S. is $0.05; consumers in the E.U. pay $0.17 per minute. x
  • U.S. consumers used 875 minutes per month in 2011, while the average E.U. consumer used 418 minutes per month. xi
  • The average price of a wireless handset has gone from $85 to less than $45. xii
  • The average price of a smartphone has dropped for four consecutive quarters to $135. xiii

SPECTRUM:

The Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan, which was released in 2010, called for 300 MHz of spectrum by 2015 and an additional 200 MHz by 2020. The economic impact of bringing 500 MHz of spectrum to market by 2020 is: xiv

  • $166 billion increase in U.S. GDP
  • At least 350,000 new U.S. jobs
  • Additional $36.7 billion in government revenues
  • $13.1 billion increase in wireless applications and content sales.

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i Roger Entner, Recon Analytics, The Wireless Industry: The Essential Engine of US Economic Growth (2012), available at http://reconanalytics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Wireless-The-Ubiquitous-Engine-by-Recon-Analytics-1.pdf (last visited June 25, 2012).

ii Id.

iii Larry Summers, Speaking at the New America Foundation, Technology Opportunities, Job Creation, and Economic Growth , 2010, available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/nec/speeches/technological-opportunities-job-creation-economic-growth (Last visited May 16, 2012).

iv Roger Entner, Recon Analytics, The Wireless Industry: The Essential Engine of US Economic Growth (2012), available at http://reconanalytics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Wireless-The-Ubiquitous-Engine-by-Recon-Analytics-1.pdf (last visited June 25, 2012).

v Id.

vi Informa Telecoms & Media Group, WCIS database, (Last visited May 1, 2012).

vii Don Kellogg, Nielsen Wire, “Average Smartphone Data Usage Up 89% as Cost per MB Goes Down 46%”, June 2011, available at http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/average-u-s-smartphone-data-usage-up-89-as-cost-per-mb-goes-down-46/ (last visited June 25, 2012)

viii Written Ex Parte Communications of CTIA—The Wireless Association, WT Docket No. 10-133 (July 30, 2010); CTIA research.

ix Stephen J Blumberg, Julian V. Luke, Wireless substitution: Early release of estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January-June 2011 , National Center for Health Statistics, 2011, available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/wireless201112.pdf (Last visited June 25, 2012).

x Roger Entner, Recon Analytics, The Wireless Industry: The Essential Engine of US Economic Growth (2012), available at http://reconanalytics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Wireless-The-Ubiquitous-Engine-by-Recon-Analytics-1.pdf (last visited June 25, 2012).

xi Id.

xii FCC 15th Annual Report and Analysis of Competitive Market Conditions with Respect to Commercial Mobile Services, 192; David Barden, Wireless pricing constructive, upgrades more expensive, Bank of America Merrill Lynch at 8, 11 (April 11, 2011).

xiii Tom Krazit, mocoNews, How Low Will They Go? Average Smartphone Price Falls Again In U.S., (Nov. 14, 2011), available at http://moconews.net/article/419-how-low-will-they-go-average-smartphone-price-falls-again-in-u.s.

xiv Roger Entner, Recon Analytics, The Wireless Industry: The Essential Engine of US Economic Growth (2012), available at http://reconanalytics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Wireless-The-Ubiquitous-Engine-by-Recon-Analytics-1.pdf (last visited June 25, 2012.)

Source: CTIA

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Product Support Services, Inc. “PSSI” announces approval from U.S. Patent and Trademark office of a Registered Trademark – “Reverse Logistics Optimized”

The U.S. Patent and Trademark office has granted a Trademark to PSSI in their application for “Reverse Logistics Optimized”.

Coppell, Texas (July 23, 2012) – Product Support Services, Inc. (PSSI), a specialized provider of service supply chain and reverse logistics solutions for the electronics industry, today announced the company has been awarded a Trademark for Reverse Logistics Optimized. “We are pleased that our application for Trademark has been approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, indicated Mr. Schuler, EVP, Sales and Marketing. “This Trademark directly communicates what PSSI brings to our clients as PSSI continually strives to refine the processes, solutions, repair yield and net value recovery on the products we service. With over 125 years of industry experience among our senior executives (5), we provide a consultative approach to reverse logistics based on a broad base of industry experience in manufacturing, product repair, depot and field service management, service parts management and product remarketing.”

About Product Support Services, Inc.
Based in Coppell, Texas, Product Support Services, Inc. (PSSI) provides service supply chain solutions to assist OEMs, service providers, retailers, distributors, carriers and 3PLs provide reverse logistics solutions including product returns management and depot repair services that optimize value recovery on returned products and extend the life-cycle on deployed electronics. Operating from 125,000 Sq. Ft. facility in a triple free port zone, PSSI employs lean manufacturing principles and is an ISO9001:2008 certified operation.

For more information about PSSI, visit www.PSSIRL.com .

Contact:
Michael Schuler,
Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing
(972) 462-3970 Ext. 261
mschuler@pssirl.com

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Product Support Services, Inc. “PSSI” announces New Hires

Service supply chain expert Russell Joly will serve as General Manager for PSSI’s embedded reverse logistics operation supporting a major retailer in Illinois.

Coppell, Texas (July 23, 2012) – Product Support Services, Inc. (PSSI), a specialized provider of service supply chain and reverse logistics solutions for the electronics industry, today announced the company has secured the services of Russell Joly as General Manager for its embedded repair operation in Illinois.

Joly brings more than 30 years of aftermarket services experience to his role at PSSI, where he will oversee PSSI’s embedded reverse logistics, repair and refurbishment operations in Illinois. The operation, started in October of 2011, supports the repair and refurbishment of product returns for a major retailer (unnamed). Processing 10,000 units each month, the operations repairs and remanufactures products ranging from 92” TVs to notebooks, netbooks and a wide variety of consumer goods. According to PSSI President and COO Bill Biancaniello, Russell’s substantial background in service supply chain management, as well as a strong track record of electronic product service, repair, remanufacturing and service operations experience, will enhance PSSI’s ability to develop and deliver innovative solutions for its customers. Joly will report to Mr. Biancaniello.

“Russell has played a major role in the history of the product services industry. As Vice President at Circuit City, he managed the Firedog service operation and transformed their service division from a cost center to a profit center in less than 18 months. As Vice President of Service and Support at RadioShack, he developed the reverse logistics service operation that allowed RadioShack’s 7,500 locations to become a leading provider of cellular and computer technology, processing over 5 million items a year. We’re confident that Russell’s expertise will prove strategic to PSSI in developing the operational template for PSSI’s Embedded Solutions model, allowing PSSI to bring this innovative reverse logistics solution to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), retailers, distributors and third party logistics providers (3PLs) across the U.S.” said Biancaniello.

Experienced IT professional Stephen Mull to serve as Director of IT for PSSI in Coppell, Texas.

PSSI today announced the company has hired Stephen Mull as Director of IT.

Mull brings more than 25 years of IT management and development expertise to his position at PSSI, where he will oversee PSSI’s information technology functions throughout PSSI operations in Coppell and all off-site embedded operations at client facilities. “Stephen’s experience in IT operations management coupled with his extensive familiarity with the challenges of our service industry make him the ideal selection for this new role at PSSI” said Mr. Biancaniello, President and COO of PSSI. “Stephen previously worked at Flextronics, BrightPoint and other 3PLs. His hiring represents another key addition to PSSI’s executive management team that will position us for significant growth in the coming decade” said Biancaniello. Mull will be a direct report to Mr. Biancaniello .

Mull will oversee the continuing development of PSSI’s premier repair operations management software platform. PSS.Net provides serialized tracking of all service actions from receipt, test, repair, parts allocation, refurbishment, re-kitting and shipment. This software is integrated with a Microsoft Navision ERP system allowing PSSI to provide daily reporting to clients, which includes tracking of PSSI’s best-in-class warranty returns rate of less than 1%.

PSSI adds two Key Hires for Sales Team at PSSI in Coppell, Texas.

PSSI today announced the company has hired Janie Cavender as Senior Business Development Manager and Jamie Blazek as Sales Administrator. Janie brings over 25 years of sales experience in the information technology and wireless industry. Jamie has over 15 years of sales support and executive management administration experience including service with Lucent Technologies. “Both Janie and Jamie represent key hires to our sales team and will help us respond to the growing demand for PSSI’s reverse logistics and depot repair services” said Michael Schuler, EVP of Sales and Marketing. The two new hires will report to Mr. Schuler.

About Product Support Services, Inc.
Based in Coppell, Texas, Product Support Services, Inc. (PSSI) provides service supply chain solutions to assist OEMs, service providers, retailers, distributors, carriers and 3PLs provide reverse logistics solutions including product returns management and depot repair services that optimize value recovery on returned products and extend the life-cycle on deployed electronics. Operating from 125,000 Sq. Ft. facility in a triple free port zone, PSSI employs lean manufacturing principles and is an ISO9001:2008 certified operation.

For more information about PSSI, visit www.PSSIRL.com .

Contact:
Michael Schuler,
Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing
(972) 462-3970 Ext. 261
mschuler@pssirl.com

Source:Product Support Services, Inc.

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FCC News: FCC Upholds $7000 Forfeiture Order to California CB Operator

FCC seal After a Merced, California man refused to let FCC investigators inspect his Citizens Band (CB) radio station, the FCC issued — and upheld — a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) for $7000 for not allowing the inspection. In issuing the NAL in March 2011, the FCC found that Ira Jones "apparently willfully and repeatedly" violated Section 303(n) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 95.426(a) of the Commission's rules (CB Rule 26) by failing to permit the inspection. Jones responded to the NAL, but the FCC upheld the forfeiture amount, saying that Jones' arguments were "irrelevant" and "unpersuasive." Read more here .

Source: ARRL

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National PNT Advisory Board comments on Jamming the Global Positioning System— A National Security Threat: Recent Events and Potential Cures

November 4, 2010

Summary: The United States is now critically dependent on GPS. For example, cell phone towers, power grid synchronization, new aircraft landing systems, and the future FAA Air Traffic Control System (NEXGEN) cannot function without it. Yet we find increasing incidents of deliberate or inadvertent interference that render GPS inoperable for critical infrastructure operations.

[Excerpts:]

Deliberate Jamming: the so-called “Personal Privacy Devices”

Figure 1: Commercially available GPS Jammer ("Personal Privacy Device")
ppd

In the past year, so-called personal privacy devices (PPDs) have become widely available on the Internet. A simple example of such products is shown in Figure 1. The most inexpensive PPDs are single antenna devices that jam the one GPS signal frequency (L1) that is used by most users. More expensive units have multiple antennas and attack all three GPS signal frequencies (L1, L2 and L5). As such, these attackers anticipate the next generation of GPS user equipment that would continue to function if only one or two of the three frequencies were jammed. Others PPDs jam cell phone frequencies at the same time, shutting down all calls. They are preferred by car thieves that wish to prevent an on-car warning systems to report the location of a stolen car to the authorities using a GPS receiver connected to a cell phone link.

Figure 2: Multiplicity of Personal Privacy Devices Available on the Internet (Eldredge, 2010)
ppd

As shown in Figure 2 (Eldredge, 2010), PPDs range in price from $30 to over $300 based on the number of frequencies under attack and the transmitted power. Some radiate only a few milliwatts and other broadcast several watts. The former knock out GPS receivers for hundreds of yards, and the latter can have dangerous effects for many miles. As their name suggests, PPDs are marketed to individuals that fear for their privacy. This sales strategy seems to be effective. An investigation recently initiated by the FAA revealed that trucks traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike were carrying these devices. Perhaps, these drivers worry that the company dispatcher was monitoring their locations. Ironically, the attention of the dispatcher must be drawn to the truck that never provides location reports.

Jamming Examples – the threat is real and getting worse.

Figure 3: Proximity of Impacted GPS Ground Antenna to Highway
ppd

Newark Airport. In any event, a PPD can cause collateral damage much greater than any privacy protection the user may possible enjoy. The above-mentioned FAA investigation was sparked while the FAA was installing a new GPS-based landing system for aircraft at Newark International Airport. This new system uses GPS receivers on the ground to aid GPS receivers in the approaching aircraft. This technique allows the use of all runways during restricted visibility conditions. The antennas for the FAA’s ground receivers are shown in Figure 3 (Eldredge, 2010), which also shows the proximity to the New Jersey Turnpike. During system test, the FAA noticed that the GPS ground receivers suffered one or two breaks in reception on many days. PDDs were identified as the cause of the continuity breaks after an investigation that lasted several months. If PPDs gain notoriety, they could gain the interest of hackers. These people may not be particularly worried about their location privacy, but may simply enjoy the notion of jamming GPS over wide areas.

Source: National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board

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Contact
Postal
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4845 Dumbbarton Court
Cumming, GA 30040
Street
Address:
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Cumming, GA 30040
Web site: www.wipath.com left arrow CLICK
E-mail: info@wipath.com left arrow CLICK
Phone:770-844-6218
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Hark Technologies

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  • Please see our web site for other products including Internet Messaging Gateways, Unified Messaging Servers, test equipment, and Paging Terminals.
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717 Old Trolley Rd Ste 6 #163
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Microsoft saying farewell to Hotmail, hello to Outlook.com

janet tuJuly 31, 2012 at 8:24 PM
Posted by Janet I. Tu

(This story is running in the print edition of The Seattle Times Aug. 1, 2012.)

Back in the day, Hotmail was, well, pretty hot.

It was one of the first free Web-based email services available, instantly attracting a lot of users. It still has hundreds of millions of users worldwide.

But it's time to start saying goodbye to Hotmail.

On Tuesday morning, Microsoft launched the preview version of Outlook.com, its new personal, free Web-based email service.

Eventually, Microsoft intends to migrate all Hotmail users to Outlook.com. But for the time being, Hotmail users can continue to use the same interface they've been using. Hotmail users who choose to do so will also be able to keep their Hotmail addresses even after moving over to Outlook.com.

Outlook.com combines both the familiar and the new.

Millions of people already use Outlook — Microsoft's email, contacts, calendar and task-management system — primarily at work. It also comes bundled with several versions of Office, Microsoft's productivity suite with a billion users worldwide.

It's a name people are familiar with and already associate with email.

Branding both the business and personal email offerings from Microsoft with the same name "is very simplifying" for people, said Dharmesh Mehta, a senior director at Microsoft.

At the same time, Outlook.com is a spiffed-up-looking version of Outlook, featuring a clean new design and new features.

Outlook.com came about when Microsoft realized that "Web mail hasn't kept up with what people are doing," Mehta said.

Outlook engineers began thinking about "what does it mean to have a modern email," he said.

Thus, Outlook.com includes features such as the option to connect to Facebook, Twitter and other social networks; the ability to open, edit and share Office documents anywhere via Office Web Apps; and options to easily connect in other ways, such as chat or a status update from a social network.

Still to come, Microsoft says, is the ability to make Skype video calls directly from your inbox.

Also, when emailing a person in your address book, there will be no ads featured, Microsoft promises.

There's also the ability to filter newsletters, group deals and the like.

These features are designed not just to modernize Microsoft's Web-based personal email service, but also to harmonize it with other changes the company is making.

Microsoft has been streamlining its brands lately, particularly for "Windows Live," a name that had been used to refer to software for PCs, a suite of Web-based services and a user's individual identification when he or she logged in to any Microsoft service. Now, the term "Microsoft account" is used to refer to a user's individual logon identity.

Outlook.com is also designed to be particularly compatible with Windows 8, which will launch on Oct. 26.

Both are supposed to be equally friendly to touch and mouse-and-keyboard input.

It's Microsoft's break from the past, said Wes Miller, an analyst with the independent research firm Directions on Microsoft.

"Hotmail is something from the old millennium," he said. "It was breakthrough in its time. And it's still very popular. But even down to its name, it's pretty dated. Old-timers like me remember when it was HoTMaiL — like HTML. The name itself conjures up a different era."

The name "Hotmail" has also never tied in completely with the rest of Microsoft, which bought the service in 1997.

"Outlook, while not a name that everyone loves, is a name everyone associates with Microsoft," Miller said, and Outlook.com ties in with other Microsoft offerings such as SkyDrive and Web Apps far better than Hotmail did.

It also appears that with Outlook.com, Microsoft is hoping that people will stay on the site longer, rather than logging in, checking email, then logging out.

"I think what Microsoft is trying to do with Outlook is make it stickier," Miller said.

All of that is needed as Web email services, including Yahoo Mail and Gmail, have grown since Hotmail launched.

"In many ways, this meets or exceeds what you'd find in Gmail," Miller said. "I think, in general, Microsoft understands their users a little better here."

Source: The Seattle Times

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Selected portions of the BloostonLaw Telecom Update, a newsletter from the Law Offices of Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens, Duffy & Prendergast, LLP are reproduced in this section with the firm's permission.

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NOTICE TO CLIENTS: The BloostonLaw Telecom Update newsletter will be on vacation during the month of August. We will resume publication on September 11. Meanwhile, we will keep clients apprised of significant developments via memos and special supplements.

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Verizon To Pay $1.25 Million To Settle FCC Probe Of Open Access Violations

The FCC's Enforcement Bureau released a $1.25 million consent decree with Verizon Wireless that resolves an investigation into whether the company had fully complied with the FCC's "C Block rules," requiring licensees of C Block spectrum to allow customers to freely use the devices and applications of their choosing.

Verizon Wireless offers customers its 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) service on C Block spectrum. Verizon Wireless bid at auction to acquire that spectrum, understanding that it was accompanied by open device and application obligations. Specifically, licensees offering service on C Block spectrum "shall not deny, limit, or restrict the ability of their customers to use the devices and applications of their choice on the licensee's C Block network," subject to narrow exceptions. This case is the first of its kind in enforcing the open access obligations of the C Block rules.

The Bureau launched an investigation after reports suggested that Verizon Wireless had successfully requested that a major application store operator block Verizon's customers from accessing tethering applications from its online market. ("Tethering" is using a wireless phone as a modem to obtain Internet access for another device, such as a laptop computer or tablet.)

The Commission also received an informal complaint alleging that Verizon Wireless had violated the FCC's C Block rules by making such a request. At that time, Verizon Wireless's terms of service required all customers who wanted to use their phones for tethering to subscribe to the company's Mobile Broadband Connect service, at an additional 1charge. In response, Verizon Wireless stated that the additional fee reflected the fact that customers who tether laptops or other devices have the capability to use more data capacity than others. At the time of that response, however, Verizon Wireless required not only unlimited data plan customers, but also customers who paid for data on a usage basis, to pay the additional fee. Verizon Wireless asserted that third-party tethering applications could enable its customers to tether without paying an additional fee.

  • Under the terms of today's settlement, Verizon Wireless will make a voluntary payment to the Treasury in the amount of $1.25 million, and has committed to notifying the application store operator that it no longer objects to the availability of the tethering applications to C-Block network customers in the operator's online market. Verizon Wireless has also agreed to implement a compliance plan, requiring that:
  • employees will receive training on compliance with the C Block rules;
  • future communications with application store operators regarding the availability of applications to Verizon Wireless customers will be reviewed in advance by legal counsel; and
  • Verizon will report any instances of noncompliance with the rule at issue that might occur during the two-year term of the plan.

In addition, the company recently revised its service offerings such that consumers on usage-based pricing plans may tether, using any application, without paying an additional fee.

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  FCC RELEASES 2Q REPORT ON CONSUMER INQUIRIES, INFORMAL COMPLAINTS : The FCC has released its second quarter report of consumer inquiries and informal complaints:

  • 2012 Second Quarter Inquiries. During the second quarter of 2012, the overall number of inquiries for the top four reported inquiry categories decreased by nearly 21% from the number received and processed by FCC during the previous quarter, from 17,813 during the first quarter of 2012, to 14,138. The number of Cable and Satellite Services inquiries decreased by more than 17%, from 1,840 to 1,511, due to a decrease in inquiries regarding Billing and Rates, Service, Satellite Television Extension & Localism Act, Over-the-Air Reception Devices, and Programming issues. Inquiries regarding Billing and Rates issues constituted more than 38% of the inquiries in this category during the second quarter. The number of Radio and Television Broadcasting inquiries decreased by more than 44%, from 6,157 to 3,444, primarily due to a decrease in inquiries concerning Programming issues. Wireless Telecommunications inquiries decreased by nearly 7%, from 2,265 to 2,109, with a decrease in the number of inquiries regarding Billing and Rates, and Service issues. Wireline Telecommunications inquiries decreased by more than 6%, from 7,551 to 7,074, with Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) matters constituting more than 66% of the second quarter inquiries in this category.
  • 2012 Second Quarter Informal Complaints . During the second quarter of 2012, the overall number of informal complaints in the top five reported categories decreased by nearly 2% from those received and processed during the first quarter of 2012, from 89,210 to 87,883. Bundled and VoIP Service-related complaints decreased by more than 7% this quarter, from 2,003 to 1,847. Cable & Satellite Services complaints decreased by more than 22%, from 1,876 to 1,449. The number of Radio and Television Broadcasting complaints decreased by more than 44%, from 3,903 to 2,183, due to a decrease in complaints regarding Programming issues. Wireless Telecommunications complaints decreased by more than 6%, from 45,396 to 42,254, with TCPA-related complaints comprising the bulk of the complaints in this category. Wireline Telecommunications complaints increased by more than 11%, from 36,032 to 40,150, with TCPA-Other Issues, Do Not Call List and Unsolicited Faxes constituting the top categories of such complaints. These three subcategories, combined, constituted over 94% of the Wireline complaints in the reported subcategories during the second quarter.
Source:BloostonLaw Telecom UpdateVol. 15, No. 30August 1, 2012

 

This newsletter is not intended to provide legal advice. Those interested in more information should contact the firm. For additional information, contact Hal Mordkofsky at 202-828-5520 or halmor@bloostonlaw.com

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SCIENCE / PHOTOGRAPHY 

Source: TED.com

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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From: Peter Oesterle phoesterle@hotmail.com
Subject: re Fluorescent Ballasts
Date: July 27, 2012 1:27:33 PM CDT
To: Brad Dye

HI Brad,

Here are some of what I dealt with. There are 2 types of  electronic ballasts. One is a one-size-fits-all, for 97 to 270 VAC. That is the industrial version, which is the cheap and dirty model.

The residential model is less noisy but comes in 2 flavors, 110 VAC in and the other is 220 VAC in.

These ones will disable a 155 MHz HT in the room. The peak noise is at 47 MHz, 4 1-inch diameter tubes, [each] 42 inches in length, is approximately a 1/4 wavelength on 47 MHz. Bad news for any low band fire portables.

It just gets worse every year !

73,

Pete
VE3HOH/W3

RFI on IFR

RFI probe

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From: John Parmalee JParmalee@aol.com
Subject: Re: Troubleshooting RFI
Date: July 22, 2012 9:02:28 AM CDT
To: Brad Dye

Brad, Love the pix. I love trouble shooting RFI. I think I have interfered with as many as have interfered with me. I think my all time best was with a HVAC system at a Semiconductor fab. Turned out the thermocouple mount was grounded a multiple wavelength from the end. I fixed it with a box of tech screws.

I remember Trenton. In 1961 I was driving from Lowry AFB in Denver to Miami. I had with a bunch of guys with me and we were going to drive straight through. We needed gas in St. Louis but we did see anything open. Well when we got to the other side the sidewalks were rolled up. Well we made it to Trenton and spent the rest of the night in there.

If you ever need a RF guy in my neck of the woods [Houston, Texas] give me a call.

John

JParmalee@aol.com

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From: Ronald Mercer wirelessplannerron@gmail.com
To: Bradley Dye
Subject: Sherm Wolf
Date: August 2, 2012

Hi Brad,

I was deeply saddened to learn of the recent death of Sherman Wolf at his home outside of Boston, Mass. Sherman was an early pioneer in the radio paging industry having founded Zip-Call in Boston in the late 1960s. In 1969, Sherman was my first customer for our ACME Paging Terminal (ADAPT) which we installed in his office in the Roxbury Crossing section of Boston. A year or so later, Sherman was elected President of NARS (National Association of Radiotelephone Systems) which later became Telocator, and still later PCIA (Personal Communications Industry Association) followed by AAPC (American Association of Paging Carriers) and finally the CMA (Critical Messaging Association) that represents the paging industry today.

Throughout his career, Sherman was highly respected for his technical ability, his business acumen and his personal integrity. He will be missed.

R.H.(Ron) Mercer
Paging & Wireless Network Planners LLC
217 1st Street, East Northport, NY 11731
Tel: (631) 266-2604
Cell: (631) 786-9359

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UNTIL NEXT WEEK

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brad dye

With best regards,
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Newsletter Editor
73 DE K9IQY

Wireless Messaging News
Brad Dye, Editor
P.O. Box 266
Fairfield, IL 62837 USA

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Skype: braddye
Twitter: @BradDye1
Telephone: 618-599-7869
E–mail: brad@braddye.com
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THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

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C. S. Lewis:

“The question is not what we intended ourselves to be, but what He intended us to be when He made us. He is the inventor, we are only the machine. He is the painter, we are only the picture. . .”

Mere Christianity

faith

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