with johnny dinell to make you spin spin spin and club impresario chichi valente
the brains and beauty behind verbal abuse that's poetry jackie 60 style
saturday december 18th 3 30 to 5 p.m with myself jeannie hopper on wbai 99.5 fm in new york
it's wednesday it's 10 o'clock and that means it's time for off the hook
the telephone keeps ringing so i ripped it off the wall i cut myself while shaving
now i can't make a call it couldn't get much worse but if they could they would
bum dilly bum but the best expect the worst i hope that's understood bum dilly bum
and a very good evening to one and all this is off the hook the program that speaks about
technology telephones computers you name it it's out there and it's waiting for you to either
stumble into it be victimized by or conquer it it's all up to you we've got some uh some news
items some rather fascinating revelations and a couple interesting stories and of course your
phone calls here at the radio station 212-279-3400 but don't call now because the phone system will
almost certainly disconnect you before you actually get through and it's no fault of ours as
we've mentioned many many times on this particular show okay here are some items that have been
taking place over the past couple of weeks that may interest those of you out there that are
interested in this kind of thing in boston there is a production of tommy you know the play tommy by
the who um supposed to take place on december 2nd well it didn't and the reason it didn't was because
the computers didn't work that's right the opening boston performance of the high-tech musical
was canceled because several computers required to stage the show suffered technical difficulties
as a result of being shipped to the colonial theater from louisville
where the production completed a one-week run on the sunday previous
according to david balsam the show's local press representative
touring is apparently becoming more funky on the computers than anyone anticipated
that's kind of music we used to play when we were a musak station
in the december 12th edition of the new york times
the cover story on the business section is about apple's newton handheld computer project
i got to play with the newton this uh this past weekend they're fascinating little machines
you can you can actually write on and they recognize your handwriting and they translate it into ascii text
and all kinds of wonderful neat things like that
but it wasn't so wonderful and neat developing the newton
the pressure to finish exhilarating at first eventually overwhelmed some of the young designers
after 18 hour days some engineers went home and cried
some quit
one had a breakdown and ended up in jail
and one took a pistol and killed himself
so as you can see
some of us
take our work a lot more seriously than
others
and
we have an interesting story out of
again the uh the boston area
michael jackson is shot dead in front of a live studio audience
no
no
wrong story
this has to do with call forwarding and mit
michael jackson is in heaven now
comes from uh samson garfingal i'm sorry simpson garfingal writes to the risks digest
and according to the november 1993 issue
of uh mit
information systems journal
there was uh an article called when call forwarding goes awry
have you ever heard
he says
have you ever heard
from people who tried to dial you directly at your mit
extension
but got the mit operator instead
or perhaps got the operator at the whitehead institute
or someone with no connection at all to your department
well there's a reason for that
and there may very well be a system like this here in new york
turns out that at mit you can initiate a call forwarding command by dialing 7-8
and then the number that you want to forward to
so
just by dialing 7-8
and then either the extension or the full number that you want your calls to be forwarded to
it's that simple
now to dial an outside number
you have to dial 9
so you would dial 7-8 and then 9
and then the number you want to forward to
otherwise you would dial 7-8
and then the 5 digit extension
well you guessed it people are dialing outside numbers
like
here's an example
7-8-8-5-000
which is the main number for bay banks
and they're forgetting to dial the 9
so what happens is
somebody dials 7-8-8-5-000
the system thinks that they're trying to forward their telephone
because it sees the initial 7-8
and then it takes the 8-5-000
and translates that to an extension
and so
a lot of people's telephones are being forwarded to
extension 8-5-000
which is the main number at the Whitehead Institute
now
it's an amazing story of mix-ups and blunders
and the whole reason for it is
because the people that designed this system
as it's described
zillion button digital phone sets at MIT
well
they neglected to design it in such a way that call forwarding
looks unique
where you use a pound sign perhaps
or a star
or something
something different
instead they use 7-8
so that it looks like a telephone number
the result being
lots of confusion
that's one telephone horror story
it's not really a horror story
it's kind of a confusing story
because there are people out there that will never figure it out
they won't know why
they're not getting any of their telephone calls
they won't know why
all their calls are being forwarded someplace weird
and certainly the people calling them won't know why either
and finally
we talked about changing addresses
and how easy it is
and how little security there is
as far as changing your address
well
here's an interesting story
this comes from
an anonymous contributor
after a recent move
I decided to fill out
a change of address form
at the U.S. post office
to have my mail forwarded for me
as my personal name
me as my sole proprietorship
both of the names of the little informal businesses
I and each of my two friends have formed
to be on better terms
at larger companies
and since each of my friends
occasionally sends mail
from our hobby slash ventures
to my place
for them as well
for a grand total of five forwarding orders
I expected the
large number of forwarding orders
to be questioned
it wasn't
and I was not pleased to learn
that just anyone can walk in
and fill out one of these things for me
and how did I come to that conclusion?
I was not asked for any ID at all
and finally when I asked
if it was okay for me
to fill out a change of address
for someone else
that is
the ones with my friends' names on them
and my signature
the mail clerk responded
as long as they don't mind
the anonymous contributor suggests
that we
try having 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue forwarded
to see
if anyone minds
and we have
a live story
well
a story that will be told to you live
in the first person
something that actually happened
right here in New York
yes we do have stories
that happen here in New York
and this concerns
another security
security breach
and this comes from
an anonymous contributor
however the difference is
that the anonymous contributor
is here
so
anonymous contributor
tell us your story
hi
yeah I teach at a college
in New York City
and in the cafeteria
they had a UPS dropbox
and knowing that UPS dropboxes
always are set
the combinations and the locks
are always set to the default
they use the simplex locks
yeah simplex locks
I decided
I was walking with my girlfriend
I decided to like
just open it
but before
before I checked around
I opened it
and there was security watching
and eventually security
tracked me down
they took me
up to the main office
the main security office
I talked to the head of security
at the college
and he wanted to know
where I got the information
and they were treating it
very seriously
and so I told him
basically that
everyone knows this
I mean the locks
are set to the defaults
and I got the information
out of 2600
and it's been published
and he asked me
to bring in the article
from 2600
and I did
with a little note
saying
how the locks
are really a sham
and they don't really
do anything
and he sent it down
to UPS
and he called me
a few days later
and told me that
UPS wanted to
prosecute me
for opening the box
I was actually lucky
because he didn't
give my name
to UPS
because it was
an internal thing
and he realized
that I was just
playing around
but UPS
took it pretty seriously
so we're dealing
with a company here
that has
a default password
now
that's the password
that every single
simplex lock
is shipped out with
you can find out
but just by going
down to a hardware store
and seeing
the combination
and demo mode
and UPS
has them on every
single one of their
drop boxes
throughout the nation
with the default password
default combination
and because of that
because you're one
of the people
that was demonstrating
this to somebody
you didn't take anything
no I didn't take anything
I opened it
and I closed it right away
just to show
that it could be done
I always do that
I always walk up
to these things
and open them
and close them
and just to show people
how easy it is
because a lot of people
don't believe you
until you actually do it
and you know
people are shocked
when they realize
how easy it is
now the fact that
Federal Express
uses these things
and they have
the same password
on all of them
throughout the nation
at least they don't
have the default password
I mean it's still
just as easy to guess
but it's default
you know it's what
everybody sees
so it's incredible
so yeah I guess UPS
deserves a little
slap in the face
for that
so you won't be
brought up on charges
that's good
yeah
and hopefully
you'll stay out of trouble
thanks for that
I'll keep my hands
out of UPS boxes
alright thanks for that story
and obviously
this person has to
remain anonymous
for reasons
that are pretty obvious
okay somebody also
sent in a
I want to thank them
for doing this
they remained anonymous
too but they sent in
a copy of the
AT&T page
that has people
talking on telephones
throughout the world
and you see people
in South America
North America
Europe
and well actually
the person from Asia
is kind of standing
in Europe
I don't know why
they're doing that
but I imagine
they're the person
that's supposed to be
in Asia
and you probably
can't see Asia
because they're all
the way around
the other side
of the world
and there's nobody
from Australia
you can't even
see Australia
but the person
from Africa
is a gorilla
yeah
the person from Africa
is represented
as a monkey
gorilla
what have you
and of course
this caused
a bit of a stir
it's on a magazine
called Focus
September 1993
page 50
and it's
underneath a section
called Fun and Games
the AT&T International Quiz
very interesting
so I'm glad
I got to see this
finally
and I'll make sure
as many other people
as possible
see it as well
because such things
should not be
unremarked
when they happen
alright we also
have a couple of pieces
of listener mail
I'd like to get to
this is
from
Holmdale
New Jersey
to off the hook
you mention often
that cable and wireless
provide surcharge
free credit card
access via
950 numbers
AT&T has a similar
service
the AT&T
calling card
lets you call
without any
surcharge
from any phone
booth
hotel room
etc.
under the
following conditions
listen up
you have to subscribe
to the Reach Out America
plan
it costs $10 a month
and it includes
one hour of free
out of state
off hours
weekends
or 10pm
to 8am
calls from home
or using the
calling card
after using
one hour of calls
you pay 10 cents
a minute
for out of state
off hour calls
the plan also
reduces your evening
calls
5pm to 10pm
by 25%
and daytime calls
by 10%
if you don't
call off hours
or out of state
then there is a
calling card
surcharge of 50 cents
but the discounts
still apply
it took me
quite a while
to pull out
this information
from AT&T operators
even if they have
a good thing going
it is difficult
to find it out
well I don't know
really if this is
such a good thing
because it's
very very complicated
I've read this
three times
and I don't really
understand it all
that well
because it's
it's not something
that is a simple
thing of picking up
the telephone
and making a call
and knowing what
you're going to be
charged for
you have to pay
a $10 a month fee
I'm not sure
if that's a minimum
or if it's a fee
it sounds like
it's something you pay
on top of
whatever charge
you have for phone calls
which is a lot of money
$10 a month
is a lot of money
just to have a service
I mean it's not
costing them anything
to provide you
with the service
because they're
charging you
when you use it
so the $10 a month
is sheer profit
and then these only
apply for out of state
off hour calls
now the thing
with 950 numbers
is there is no
surcharge ever
at least with the ones
that I was talking about
namely
Metromedia
long distance
and cable
and wireless
those two services
just offer you
cheap calls
any time of the day
or night
from any phone
in your local area
in Metromedia's case
any phone within the country
for the most part
most areas are covered
it's something that is
dying out
unfortunately
Sprint used to offer this
MCI used to offer this
initially it was meant
for people to be able
to use their
long distance calling cards
or carriers actually
when they didn't have
equal access
in other words
you couldn't choose
your long distance company
so you would
you would dial
a 950 number
and use your
Sprint code
and it would be
billed to your phone number
and there wouldn't be
any surcharge
well now as everybody
is getting equal access
those days are
drawing to a close
and people are expected
to either choose
a long distance company
or pay a surcharge
every time they use
a different long distance company
now
it's not really
a fair way
to do things
and it's something
that I've been
speaking out against
for quite a bit
and I think one way
to speak out against it
is to show
when good things
are happening
and in this particular case
those two companies
are offering
a fairly good service
although
it's like pulling teeth
getting it from them
so
I think they could
make a lot of money
if they offered this to people
I mean imagine
the convenience
of walking up
to any pay phone
anywhere in the country
making a phone call
staying on for one minute
and having it cost you
10 cents
or 15 cents
or something like that
instead of
you know
a dollar
like AT&T, MCI
and Sprint
charge you
if you use
their calling cards
I mean
a surcharge
to me
implies some sort
of a penalty
for doing something
above and beyond
what the service
initially offers
in this case though
that is the service
there should not
be a surcharge
I think a lot more
people will be making
phone calls
if the system
was a bit more affordable
okay
one more letter
from our listeners
this comes from
where does this come from
I see our address on it
well it comes from
somewhere in New York City
I'd love to call
into your show
but the new phone switch
that cuts callers off
after 30 rings
makes it a most
aggravating experience
this is much
more convenient
writing a letter
than it is
and I hope you
will oblige me
by reading this
alright
I noticed an article
on regional
telephone companies
involvement
in cable TV
I found it
while skimming
through a copy
of Daily Variety
found on the subway
a few weeks ago
the piece gives
quips of information
on the phone company's
situations
their relations
or lack thereof
to cable operators
to top that off
it mentions the revenue
and profit
they all showed
in 1992
their financial situation
is rather similar
annual income
is between
10 and 15 billion dollars
while they all showed
profits of slightly
over 1 billion dollars
they average profits
around 10% of revenue
a billion dollars profit
next time 9X asks
for a rate hike
the PSC should tell
them to go screw
I thought of putting
blank spot
instead of saying screw
since I'm running
this for radio
but screw isn't
one of the seven
dirty words
so why bother
yeah
anyway
there's
here's some fun
phone stuff
I've noticed
while cycling
across Manhattan's
55th Street
near 3rd Avenue
I noticed all sorts
of phone switches
on the sidewalk
there's a
New York telephone
building there
and they were
throwing out
the old stuff
yep
55th Street
near 3rd Avenue
maybe this stuff
is still there
I assume
they were replacing
the old stuff
with new
digital switches
all you techies
out there
may appreciate
this information
and
since I'm a
bicycle messenger
I use pay phones
a lot
the other day
I picked up
the handset
put my quarter
in and dialed
bicycle messengers
are another group
of people
by the way
that would benefit
from 950 numbers
a lot
because instead
of wasting
a quarter
every time
you make
a local
phone call
which is
probably
going to
last
about
10 seconds
you can
spend
less than
half of that
and not have
to worry
about change
and mechanical
pay phones
breaking down
anyway
this is what
happened to
this person
I couldn't
hear the dial tone
before I put
the money in
but I thought
that was because
of my wool hat
once I got my hat
out of my ear
the line was dead
I must have
misdialed
was my impression
I pressed down
the receiver
to start over
when the receiver
was down
I heard a dial tone
that's right
press the receiver
down
you hear a dial tone
lift the receiver
up
you don't get
a dial tone
I mean
that makes
perfect sense
to me
so I lift
the receiver
up and it
went away
this went on
for a couple
of tries
but then it
reversed itself
this of course
flabbergasted me
when I reported
this to 611
I joked that
no I'm not
on drugs
right now
I recently
got my own
phone line
at home
so I am
now motivated
to report
the loss
of quarters
and pay
phones
in order to
get credit
I've noticed
that when one
reports the loss
of money
the operators
just take your
word for it
this is obvious
since sometimes
I end up
reporting the loss
on a different
pay phone
and they say
the same thing
every time
they ask for my
phone number
to which they
can credit
the 25 cents
and say
credit has been
arranged
I haven't gotten
the bill yet
to tell if they
were actually
crediting the
account
usually it shows
up in a weird
place
it shows up
on your
local page
that one
with the box
on it
that tells you
how many calls
you made
to a particular
region
and underneath
the subtotal
you have
operator credits
and it says
minus three
operator credits
and it gives
you a figure
for that
and that's
really the only
way you know
you don't know
when you got
the credit
you don't know
what the credit
was for
and that's
supposedly
how it's done
and finishing
off this letter
to close
I want to mention
a high tech
blooper
with my
checking account
this is
something weird
I wrote a check
to Con Ed
which for those
of you that
are in
outer space
New York City's
electric and gas
company
the check
was not
for the entire
amount of the
present bill
I had already
paid the previous
charges but
not in time
to be reflected
on the present
bill
the next time
I made a deposit
to my checking
account
I noticed
that my balance
was not
where I expected
it to be
so I investigated
Con Ed
and cashed
my check
for the amount
shown on the
bill
not the amount
of the check
this was
immediately
rectified
but it could
have cost me
dearly
if my
checking account
was near zero
their overcharge
would have pushed
my account
below zero
and caused
that along
with several
other checks
to bounce
and that's
not cheap
Con Edison's
error taught
me two things
first funds
for a check
are electronically
deducted from my
account by another
bank not by my
bank
second always
write on the
bill how much
money you are
sending along
for I had
not
thanks for
a great
interesting show
Emanuel
fiber
we'll miss
you
thanks for
the letter
and thanks
for the
warning
that's
something I've
never heard of
happening before
I mean imagine
if you could do
it that way
imagine if
somebody sent
you a check
and you could
just sort of
write a different
number on a
piece of paper
and say well
I'd like to
deposit it for
this number
instead of
what the person
gave it to me
for and
the bank just
takes your word
for it
you see if
you're a big
institution like
Con Edison
you can get
away with
things like that
but we as
mere mortal
humans
it's not so
easy
well
fiber is here
good evening
how are you
I'm doing okay
okay you had
an interesting
story a couple
of weeks ago
when you were
brought into
I'm not sure
if it was to be
sentenced or
it was when
you were inside
a building
do you recall
the story I'm
talking about
you were in
the lobby of
a building
and you were
entrusted with
something
want to tell
the folks
about that
yeah
well one
interesting story
first of all
I guess we
should update
people that
you were
indicted for
computer hacking
sentenced to
a year and a
day in prison
which begins
on January
7th
and at what
point in the
story does
this take
place
this is
basically
when I was
notified a
couple of
weeks ago
by my
lawyers that
the secret
service had
contacted them
and said that
they were
cleaning up
house and
were giving
me the option
to pick up
my old junk
or else they
would basically
throw it away
did they use
the word junk
I don't know
if they use
the word junk
or not
but I
I really
got the
impression
that they
basically
just would
have gotten
rid of the
stuff as if
it were trash
if I hadn't
gone to
pick it up
I see
so I headed
down there
with a couple
of friends
and this
of course
after
after missing
the guy
numerous times
over the
period of a
few weeks
he was
obviously never
around whenever
I called
the secret
service headquarters
so we went
down there
to Six World
Trade
and in the
lobby we have
to go through
metal detector
because obviously
we're not
we're not
treasury agents
so I always
have problems
going through
metal detectors
because I wear
steel toed boots
so
at least you have
an excuse
I always have
trouble and I
don't know why
like a steel plate
in my head
or something
I don't know
the reason is
but it takes
forever to figure
it out
but you at least
have a reason
you have steel
in your shoes
just to cause
trouble
no other reason
right
yeah
yeah
alright
so I'm
explaining to
the guy
the reason
why the metal
detector is going
off
and I'm
doing a little
dance
sticking one
foot into
the detector
at a time
so he can see
that it actually
does go off
because of
my feet
and I don't
know whether
this was convincing
enough or not
but he said
I would have
to wait
while he
called upstairs
to clear me
to come into
the building
now while he
was off
in wherever
he was
making that
phone call
a treasury
agent rushed
into the
building
saw me
as a
plainly visible
person near
the entrance
and proceeded
to flash
his badge
at me
as if I
was giving
him the
okay to
enter the
building
so the
treasury people
thought that
you were in
charge at that
point
yeah
apparently
this treasury
agent had
figured that
I was the
guard of the
building
and he was
flashing his
badge
and walking
in
when he realized
that we were
all laughing
then he sort
of felt a little
embarrassed
well I mean
he could have
had more fun
than that
he could have
stopped him
and he could
have asked
for more ID
and all kinds
of other things
signing in
and put him
through the
metal detector
after all
wow
so between
that and being
put in the same
room as the
World Trade Center
bombers
I don't know
it's an
interesting
organization
that Secret
Service
there
one interesting
experience
after another
yeah
well speaking
of interesting
experiences
we did
something over
the past couple
of weeks
that was kind
of historical
I guess
we mentioned
it here only
too briefly
and it's
changed quite a
bit in the
past few weeks
since we did
mention it
and that was
starting up a
Usenet news
group on the
internet
basically meaning
that anybody
throughout the
world theoretically
that has ties
to the internet
can read this
particular news
group which is
known as
alt.2600
now there's
all kinds of
news groups
what we read
from virtually
every week
here is a
news group
called comp.risks
and that gets
sent all over
the place
it's one of the
more popular
ones it comes
in the form
of a publication
but there's
all kinds of
other ones
you pick any
topic any
place from
Star Trek
to virtual
sex to
anything
you can imagine
there is a
news group for
it someplace
the most
arcane
scientific
facts that
there could
possibly be
everything
I mean there
was no topic
anybody can
mention that
it's not
covered somewhere
on the internet
so we figured
it was high
time to put
2600 magazine
in there
and the
hacker world
having its own
news group
and so we
started this
alt.2600
news group
and almost
immediately we
were met
with all kinds
of controversy
which rages
to this day
but it's
controversy of
such a nature
that you have
to sort of
sit back
and laugh
at it
because
well the
first thing
that happened
and I think
the first
message
that was
actually posted
in the
alt.2600
news group
and the reason
it was the
first one
was because
not everybody
got access
at the same
time
in other words
the news group
was created
on the various
systems that I'm on
it didn't reach
those systems
for a couple of
days
so the people
that got to it
first were not
really the people
that had started
the news group
so the very first
message was something
to the effect of
at last
a news group
for the Atari 2600
boy I've been
waiting for this
all my life
and so
the first couple
of dozen messages
were taken up
by people battling
back and forth
saying no you fool
this is not for the
Atari 2600
this is for 2600
the hacker people
and the whole big
discussion got started
on that
and eventually
I think
alt.atari.2600
got started
as another news group
to satisfy those people
but that wasn't
the height of the
controversy
the real controversy
started
when people
in the hierarchy
of news groups
got upset
at the way
this news group
was created
and Fiber
maybe you can
explain a little
better to me
than me
as far as
how the hierarchy
works
and how the whole
network
kind of
fits together
or tries to fit
together
and what they
were upset about
sure
basically the
alt
or alternative
hierarchy
of news groups
is meant to be
an uncontrolled
hierarchy
where basically
anyone can create
a news group
you don't have to be
a grand high
exalted
news administrator
much revered
on the internet
no doubt
and what happened
was that
this group
was simply
created
without
taking certain
steps
that other people
are more used to
for better
or for worse
there's a news group
in the alt hierarchy
called alt.config
where people
often propose
as they see
fit
as a common
courtesy
and allow
people to have
a vote
to see
if they'd like
to accept
this news group
at their site
while myself
and numerous
other people
feel that
the alt hierarchy
was created
because
it should not
be controlled
and no one
is going to
try and say
that they're
in charge
of whether
or not
a group
should be
carried
or not
under that
hierarchy
is there any
danger in that
though
having something
that's not
controlled at all
yeah basically
probably the reason
that alt.config
came into place
which still
doesn't prevent
the problem
anyway
but people
often create
news groups
just to be
annoying
simply because
when you create
a news group
every news
administrator
everywhere
gets an email
message saying
that this new
group is created
and they can
opt on whether
or not they
want to carry it
and some people
simply use
the motions
of creating
a new news
group
as a means
of sending
an annoying
message to
people
like for
instance
alt.fillintheperson's
name.di.di.di.di
is a typical
thing that people
often do
to express
dismay
but sometimes
those news
groups catch
on
sometimes
they do
catch
on
and people
actually post
to them
and send
messages
to them
but yeah
every day
there's a couple
of dozen
news groups
that get
passed
along
so
now okay
why the
controversy
of all
that 2600
a fairly
clear cut
news group
the smaller
controversy
was just
that
they felt
it was rude
that it was
simply created
without discussion
without having
a vote
that in and of
itself wasn't
enough
it was the fact
that on
the Unix
operating system
as well as
lots of other
operating systems
the way that
news is stored
on the actual
site that's
providing usenet
news to
subscribers
the news groups
are stored as
subdirectories
with files
in them
which are
the actual
articles themselves
so for instance
if you have
a news group
such as
comp.risks
you would have
a directory
hierarchy
you'd basically
have a directory
on the Unix
machine for example
that kept all
the spools
of news articles
and under
that there would
be a subdirectory
called comp
then branching
off the subdirectory
comp there would
be a series
of subdirectories
for the next
level under
that for
instance another
subdirectory called
risks
now the problem
comes into play
when you have
numbers as
one of the
elements of
the name of
the news group
for example
alt.2600
the problem you
run into is
that you can't
have a directory
and a file
with the same
name
but the actual
message numbers
are stored as
numbers
yeah the actual
articles themselves
are stored as
numbers
so message
number 500
in the comp
risks
digest series
would be
stored as
file number
500
the file name
would be
500
in the risks
subdirectory
right
that's correct
so the problem
arises when there's
a number
as the name
of the news
group
right
as one
of the elements
of the name
of the group
and basically
my argument
and lots of
people's argument
is that you
will never
have a news
group simply
called
alt
because that
doesn't
accomplish
anything
nor should
should anyone
be allowed
to make
the argument
that oh
well we can't
have a news
group called
alt dot
and then a
number because
someone might
create an alt
news group
that's simply
called alt
and then what
would happen
when this alt
news group
reached article
number 2600
okay
basically one
of two things
would happen
if a directory
called 2600
already existed
then that
news group
would bomb
out
and wouldn't
be able
to receive
any new
articles
if it was
the other
way around
if alt
existed
previously
and there
was an
article
number 2600
any attempt
to create
a news group
called alt
dot 2600
would fail
okay now
maybe
we can make
this a little
clearer by
showing a
normal type
of news group
and showing
how that
could cause
a problem
if somebody
did something
else
like I
don't know
let's look
at comp
dot sys
dot
I don't
know
comp dot
sys
dot unix
which probably
isn't a real
news group
anyway
okay now
let's take
that news
group
how could
we potentially
have a problem
of this nature
in an existing
news group
like that
okay say
for instance
that
this hypothetical
comp dot
sys dot
unix
and say
for instance
that there
was some
version of
unix
called
2000
just for
sake of
argument
okay
and some
news
administrator
somewhere out
on the net
decided that
he was going
to create
a news
group
to discuss
a unix
system
2000
so he
basically
sent out
a control
message
to create
a new
group
and
basically
if someone
chose to
carry that
group
a new
subdirectory
would be
created
somewhere under
the news
full directory
comp
slash
sys
slash
unix
slash
2000
okay
now
if there
was a
news
group
called
simply
comp
dot
sys
dot
unix
and it
just
happened
to have
2000
articles
in it
the creation
of that
new
news
group
would fail
okay
so
the
2000
would
collide
with
message
number
2000
comp
sys
unix
since
a
directory
itself
is a
file
right
you
can't
have
a
file
or
two
files
rather
with
the
same
name
okay
so
it
makes
sense
in certain
situations
but in
the
alt
dot
2600
case
it
doesn't
appear
to make
any
sense
it's
a
moot
point
to
argue
because
he
simply
will
never
have
a
news
group
called
alt
because
that
doesn't
really
define
any
subject
matter
and
that
should
be
something
that
they
should
be
arguing
about
right
it's
ridiculous
to
block
the
creation
of
this
group
well
it
hasn't
really
been
blocked
but
in
several
places
there
has
been
trouble
getting
it
through
well
the
official
word
as far
as
the
news
admins
they
basically
request
that
people
do
not
carry
this
group
interesting
well
it's
kind
of
funny
how
no
matter
what
we
get
involved
in
it's
surrounded
by
controversy
somehow
I mean
our
very
name
is
causing
trouble
here
2600
being
a
number
it's
causing
people
headaches
the fact
that
it's
not
made
up
of
letters
and
the
way
in
which
it
was
gone
that
coincides
with
Atari
2600
I think
it's
just
too
perfect
but
despite
that
there have
been
over
450
messages
posted
in the
past
couple
of
weeks
and
at
least
enough
people
are
getting
it
to
have
an
interesting
forum
so
if
your
system
doesn't
get
it
request
it
and
there's
really
no
reason
why
is
there
any
technical
reason
why
you should
not
be
able
to
get
it
no
none
at
all
unless
whoever
you're
getting
your
news
feed
from
is
simply
being
very
uncooperative
except
for
just
obstinance
that's
the only
real
reason
okay
well I
think
that
explains
things
as
clearly
as
they
can
possibly
be
explained
hopefully
people
on the
net
will
also
catch
wind
of
this
explanation
and
maybe
put
an
end
to
that
particular
aspect
of
the
controversy
so
we
can
move
on
to
the
next
thing
of
sorts
we're
going
to
move
on
to
phone
calls
212-279-3400
let us
know
if you
have
any
questions
on
the
internet
on
telephones
technology
credit cards
change of
address forms
or
anything
else
of that
nature
212-279-3400
let's take
the first
phone call
good evening
you're on
yeah
hi
I want
to
report
today
on
the
meeting
of
the
public
service
commission
the
commissioners
met
in
bank
in
New
York
City
on
Broom
Street
for
the
purpose
of
determining
what
they
would
do
about
the
case
you know
a
$300
million
the
recommended
decision
of the
case
0665
recommended
a $300
million
rate
reduction
for
New
York
Telephone
that
is
passed
on to
the commission
they had
an open
meeting
the public
wasn't allowed
to speak
but you could
hear their
deliberations
there was an
open meeting
that nobody
was allowed
to speak
at
yeah
okay
they said
you had
your chance
during the
pendency
of the case
so
now
now this
this by the
way is a big
departure from
commission policy
for many
many years
once the
case was
completed
the commission
had a
oral
thing called
oral
arguments
and all
the parties
that were
interested
could appear
before the
commission
for a certain
amount of
time
a minute
five minutes
whatever it
was
if it was a
phone company
twenty minutes
and speak
directly to the
commissioners
sitting in
banks
so you
told them
what you
thought was
the most
important
and what
instead we
heard was
like five
jerks
sitting there
and supposed
to be the
commissioners
making rulings
on all kinds
of gas
electricity
water power
telephone rates
and having
very little
concept of
what's going
on there
so the
commission
staff
and the
senior
staff
which is
like a
gang of
four
for many
years
they've been
processing
things in
an anti-consumer
way
but anyway
what they're
doing now
is of this
three hundred
million dollars
if it is
found
the commission
agrees
that's it
they want
to give
that to
certain
aspects
of the
rate schedule
of the
phone company
but the
one thing
they want
to avoid
in the
worst way
is to
give it
back
any of
this
money
to
the
residential
consumers
now
just
about
two
years
ago
the
phone
company
came up
with a
big rate
increase
and
naturally
they slapped
most of the
increase
on the
rates
paid by
basic
residential
consumers
now
there's
a
that was
a claim
revenue
deficiency
now we
have
a
what we
expect
to be
a
found
revenue
excess
of
300
million
dollars
so you'd
think one of the
first places
they would go to
would be to give
some of this
money back
excuse me
back to the
residential
consumers
that's the one
thing they
just seem to
avoid
completely
instead they're
talking about
reducing
some of the
touchtone rates
and switch
access rates
and long
distance rates
having bigger
time of day
discounts
which may
apply to
some people
some of the
time
but the
one thing
they didn't
mention
none of the
commissioners
even said
what about
giving any
money back
to the
basic
residential
customers
now
Erie County
Nassau County
and the
city of
Buffalo
put in
a lot of
testimony
and everything
saying
the rate
calling for
giving this
money back
or some
of it
back to
residential
customers
but
none of
this gets
through to
the commission
unless it
passes through
the unleaky
sieve of
the senior
staff of
the commission
and the
administrative
law judges
who turned
this thing
down in
their
recommended
decision
they said
the basic
rates are
still being
the residential
rates are
still being
subsidized
or be
misdirected
to put
this money
back
to reduce
them
at this
time
well it
sounds like
the status
quo is
just going
to be
upheld
forever
as long as
these meetings
carry on
my guess
this is the
background
they couldn't
finish their
deliberation and
arrive at a
decision today
so they
arranged for
a special
meeting
not one of
their regular
bi-weekly
meetings
but a special
meeting is going
to be held in
Albany at
one o'clock
on Monday
and what I'm
pleading with
any of your
listeners who are
interested in this
to do is to
write a letter
or a postcard
or just call up
the PSC
ask for
Chairman
Peter A.
Bradford
and tell him
that you want
the basic
residential
customers to
participate
in rate
reductions
as well as
the other
things
do you have
an address
or a phone
number
no I don't
have the
phone number
handy
the public
service
commission
but there
is a local
number here
in New York
the operator
will give it to
you or it's
in the blue
pages of your
phone book
the fellow's
name is the
Chairman of
the Commission
Peter A.
Bradford
I think he'd
be the most
important one
to get this
message home to
and there is
time to do
this between
now and
Monday
should people
be mailing
this to
Albany or
to New York
the best
bet is to
mail it to
Albany is
fine
well New
York I can
give you the
address in
New York
it's 400
Broom Street
that's B-R-O-O-M-E
right
yeah
okay
and even a
phone call
a quick phone
call might do
the job
just to tell
them please
tell the
Chairman of the
Commission
we want them
to have
the basic
rates paid
by residential
customers to
be part of
the rate
reductions
okay well
thanks for
the information
you're welcome
all right
take care
and as a
further public
service here
we're going
to try
and get
that phone
number for
you so
that we
can actually
have people
call up the
Public Service
Commission
and pass on
whatever message
you want to
pass on
so let's
get our
trusty dial
tone here
and dial
information live
on the air
your telephone
hello
I need the
number for
the Public
Service
Commission
please
thank you
thank you
hello
I'm looking
okay
okay I'm
checking on to
the title of
Public Service
Commission
yeah
yeah I don't
have anything
listed as
Public Service
Commission
you don't
mean Public
Service
Department
do you
no I
doubt the
Public Service
Commission
is unlisted
they're the
ones that
regulate phone
rates
it might be
listed under
PSC
hey it's
Public Service
Department
now I guess
they must have
changed that
I don't think
so
it's listed
here it says
communications and
they have gas
electric and water
under there
uh huh
well it's the
PSC the Public
Service Commission
that is their
title
yeah I know
that's how they
were listed but
now I guess they
must have changed
it to PSD for
Public Service
Department of
really um okay
well give us that
then okay which
is it for uh it's
for telephone service
telephone okay thank
you
PSD the toll free
number is 800
3 4 2 3 3 7 7 7
again the toll free
number is 800
3 4 2 3 3 7 7
if you need further
assistance please stay
on the line and an
operator will help you
well um that won't be
necessary but it's
interesting how we got
a toll free number and
we have to pay 45 cents
to get information for a
toll free number now
let's verify that we
can call regular
toll free information
not pay anything and
see if we get the
same number when we
ask for the public
service commission
800 directory Mary
hi I'm looking for the
public service commission
in New York state
please
is that under
government sir
uh yeah I think it
is
for state or federal
state government
federal or for state
state
pardon me
state
for what state
New York
New York
yes
you fade out
every time you
say something
yeah there's
something wrong with
the phone that's
why I'm calling
them
service
I'm sorry
New York public
service
public service
commission
okay I have the
New York public
service commission
consumer service
number
okay
the toll free number
is
800
342
3
3
5
5
800
it was almost the
same
or
2
3
3
5
5
if you have
further questions
a directory
assistance operator
will return
okay well we seem
to have sort of a
similar number
anyway it's either
800-342-3377
or 800-342-3355
either way you don't
pay for the call
and if there's any
confusion you can
spread it around as
much as possible
let's go back to the
phones good evening
oh yes this is BAI
yes it is you're on
the air
oh okay
the only thing I'd
like to say is
I'm not really
I'm not really
concerned about being
on the air I just
wanted to say how
much I really
appreciate the
secret museum of
the air
okay
with citizen Kafka
and Pat Conti
okay well we
appreciate your
thoughts
I really wasn't
aware of what was
going on on the
air at this point
I thought I might
be talking to
somebody that
wasn't on the
air
no that's not
possible right now
but maybe you
could tell us when
that particular
program is on
okay
Saturday night
at 9 p.m.
till 10 p.m.
okay
I have made
quite a
quite great
efforts to tell
my family and
friends about it
because I think
it's a great
show I just
discovered it
last week
okay
it's a great
show
hopefully people
will listen to
it after hearing
your announcement
this evening
okay thank you
thanks for calling
bye
it's nice to
get calls like
that occasionally
let's see what
else we have out
here good evening
you're on
hi I have
some stuff about
tone dialers
tone dialers
okay
yeah right
this is um
well I tried to
call last week
remember that guy
who was asking
about tone dialers
last week
yeah
um
well
there's a company
out in Van Nuys
California
called All Electronics
and they specialize
in a lot of
surplus stuff
and their catalog
right now
has a tone dialer
for $3.75
really
now what kind
of tone dialer
is this
all right
I've never seen
the thing
so I can't
tell you all
that much
I can tell you
what the ad
says
it says
touch tone
phone dialer
originally designed
to enable customers
to access
long distance
phone service
this pocket
touch tone
dialer
has one number
programmed into it
which can't be changed
however it will
remember the last
number dialed
so it could be
used as a
16 digit memory
redialer
or just as a
touch tone
generator
so I mean
I guess if you
want a DTMF
dialer maybe
for cocots
or could
I mean it says
it can do
it can redial
the last number
so you could
maybe change
it to try
to turn it
into a red box
but the timing
might be off
in fact I'd say
it probably would
be off
well I don't
know about that
but what's
this number
that can't
be changed
I don't know
I mean
the reason
it's probably
surplus
is because
the company
that made
them probably
goofed
I mean it's
got this one
number here
that you can't
change
but it says
it'll remember
your last
number dialed
and redial it
so everybody
gets a touch
tone dialer
with a number
in there
they can't
change
and they
don't know
what that
number is
I pity the
person that
belongs to
that number
that's going
to be interesting
well I mean
for the price
I guess it's
certainly worth it
if you need
a touch tone
pad but I
wouldn't count
on turning
it into a
red box
do you want
me to give
out that
number
sure go
ahead
all right
they're
1-800-826-5432
and I mean
they're good
for all kinds
of electronic
stuff dirt cheap
okay thanks
for the information
one more thing
yeah
I just
was thinking
about red
boxes
thinking about
making a red
box without
starting with a
tone dialer
just from scratch
okay
I don't think
that's all that
difficult a thing
to do
I think I mean
you could use
a 555 timing
IC to control
the burst
and every
elementary
electronics book
has a circuit
for tone
generators
so I think
if you just
slap two of
those together
with a timer
I think it
wouldn't be all
that hard
to make the
thing
well I think
fiber might
have something
to say on
that
yeah you
might check
the past
two issues
of 2600
uh-huh
take a look
at that
yeah but
there is
something
similar in
that
oh yeah
yeah
all right
well thanks
a lot
okay
have a good
night
good night
great minds
think alike
hey
well we'll
have to see
how that goes
but what do
you think about
being able to
modify that
particular dialer
you think that's
well I think
it's a shot in
the breeze
not knowing
what's inside
the guts
of the dialer
you have to
know a lot
more about it
and a lot
of people
modified the
radio shack
dialers because
they knew a lot
about those
things
okay let's go
to another
phone call
good evening
you're on
oh okay
thanks
one way you
can help
people who
don't want to
dial up for
30 rings and
then get cut
off is to
simply pick up
to everybody
and put them
on hold
and then take
them when
you're ready
yeah well
that's good
except that we
don't have a
hold mechanism
here embarrassingly
enough at this
particular console
there is no way
to put somebody
on hold
you can tell
Mike Edel
no longer
works at the
station
a couple of
things
actually I
remember a
possibly apocryphal
story about that
at BAI when he
was the engineer
and the phone
service was cut
off and he
came in and
he says you've
got phone service
now I don't
know how long
it'll last
and someone
called out and
after three
minutes someone
broke in and
said for the
next five minutes
deposit ten cents
and he looked
at the handset
inside BAI
and said well
I know where
Mike got the
line but I
don't know how
I'm going to
deposit that
extra five cents
anyway a couple
of things if you
can give out the
information on
those remaining
companies that
still have the
950 access
I had a couple
of unpleasant
experiences with
pay phones in
New York
one of them is
the pay phone in
the basement of
what used to be
the speakeasy in
the village where I
went to call
someone locally
noticed that it
was not a 9x phone
so I decided to
call and charge
it to my home
phone number
discovered when I
got the bill that
the local access
company charged
about two dollars
and seventy five
cents for a call
from Greenwich
Village to the
Lower East Side
my mother was so
upset by that that
she took umbrage
and called up the
company and yelled
at them and they
dropped about two
and a half dollars
of the charge and
apologized to her
the other was a
call in a local
health clinic made
on a phone which
swore that it was a
9x phone and that
all long distance
was handled by AT&T
and I needed to
make a long
uninterrupted call
so again I
charged the call to
my home number
using my AT&T and
9x access card
figuring it would
cost me a little
more but at least
I wouldn't have to
worry with the
change so I
dialed the number
using the zero
and the 10 AT&T
or whatever and
I got not the
thank you for
using 9x or
AT&T but I got
an interrupt from
a different company
called Encore and
I immediately
hung up called
their number I
think I called
information I
don't remember
how I found
them and
what I got was I
got a live human
being from Encore
that's what
happened and I
said who are you
and why are you
interrupting my
local call in New
York City from New
York City and he
said well we have
a long distance
contract for that
phone and anytime
you dial long
distance access you're
going to get us
and I said I
didn't dial long
distance access and
got transferred to
their customer service
and got the name
and the information
and yelled at them a
bit and then I
called up I
believe I called
up AT&T's business
office and I still
have not complained
to the public
service commission
about who is
legally responsible
for changing the
plaques on the
phone but I was
told that to get
my local service I
had to dial the
zero zero and not
dial anything further
and I got a live
operator from 9x told
her what was going
on and she took
great umbrage at
this and said
they're pulling
something fishy
and they did not
be even able to
interrupt and
intercept those
calls
bad as 9x is
at least they're
dependable as far
as what they are
going to charge you
and they don't pull
any of the sleazy
stuff as far as
charging you 250 or
275 for a local
call
now every
every coca which
is the kind of
phone that you
you came up against
customer owned
coin operated telephone
every one of those
is required to be
able to connect you
to a local operator
that is a new york
telephone 9x operator
and at the same
time you can also
get AT&T if you
can't get AT&T
directly you can
dial their 800
number which is
1-800-321-0-ATT
and that will allow
you to place a
calling card call
what you have to
be careful with
though when you
talk to these
operators is that
you don't get the
operator assisted
rate because that's
much more expensive
you must tell them
that it's impossible
for you to dial them
direct and they will
charge you the
regular rate
right AT&T used to
have an 800 number
I don't know if they
still do for
that just said
1-800-call-AT&T
which I used to
use and give out
to people all the
time as a way to
do that
but in order to go
back to what you
used to be able to
do with Sprint and
MCI to call on a
pay phone to a
950 number and be
able to call from a
pay phone and get a
lower rate or at
least call for 25
cents which you can't
do with these new
as you say the
owned local pay
phones is there a
way to get around
paying those companies
when they own the
phones
there's always a way
to get around it
it's not easy
as far as avoiding
their wrath
because if I'm
calling from a
phone that is not
a 9X phone but I
want to have 9X put
the service through
I'm not aware of a
way I can do that
well yeah they are
required to put you
through to an
operator a 9X operator
they will not do that
well then they're
breaking the law
well what do they
care they're in
Florida or they're
somewhere else
most of these
companies are not
New York City based
okay but the
person that owns
the pay phone should
care because odds
are they're in New
York and they're the
ones that can be
charged with a crime
for having a phone
that is accessible to
the public for
instance there's a
law that says you
have to access 9-1-1
all right I'm not in
the habit of going
around testing 9-1-1
and all the pay
phones I assume they
work but if there
was one that didn't
the person in charge
of that establishment
would be in a lot of
trouble same thing
goes for operator
services they have to
allow you access to a
local operator if they
don't they're breaking
the law
all right because I
think when I spoke
to that to to the
9x operator they're
not the 9x operators
are not aware of that
they say well they
only call and it goes
through their wires
not our wires and they
charge you and we have
nothing to do with it
there's no way you can
if they don't put you
connect you to us we
can't bill you they're
the ones who bill you
for using their phones
right but you see there's
a bit of hypocrisy there
too because it is 9x that
winds up billing you in
the end they act as the
billing agent for those
companies and you get it
on your 9x bill if you
just got a bill from this
crazy company somewhere
and it was a separate
sheet included with the
AT&T and the 9x and
everything else it was
on there stationary for
that one call right it's
a separate sheet but it's
part of your 9x bill now
if you just got a bill
from some crazy company
you could ignore it you
could fight them one on
one but this way they
drag 9x into it and it
becomes a whole big
bureaucratic mess and
9x kicks and screams
don't call us we're just
legally responsible for
giving you the bill but
we don't handle it call
them call them right so
everyone points to
finger what you're going
through is being gone
through by a lot of
people most of them
don't know what to do
about it but really the
thing to do is to
complain talk to the
public service commission
talk to your phone
company as well maybe if
enough people complain
they'll stop acting as
billing agents
oh I'm also going to
scream to my health
clinic and say why the
hell did you take the
service away and you
realize what you're doing
to the people who have to
use that and to the I
can't even remember the
name of the place that
took over the old
speakeasy bar and grill
right
but you were saying
Metro Media and one of
those other services
yeah two companies
Metro Media long
distance and cable and
wireless if you call
800 information you can
get numbers for both of
them
and they still have
the 950
well they do but it's
hard to get you got to
ask for it and you got to
be kind of persistent
unfortunately
all right thanks a lot
thanks for calling
and that's my method is
generally I don't know
about you fiber but what I
do is if I find a pay phone
I don't like I just leave
it off the hook you know
just let it dangle there
for a while and that sort
of gets it all confused and
upset
well I commonly warn people
and point out the
differences between a real
New York telephone pay
phone and a cheap lowly
coke hunt
yeah but I mean coke
cuts could be good if
they if they were
programmed better if they
provided different
services there's there's
one series of coke cuts
that allows you I think
25 cent per minute
access anywhere in the
country and that's not a
bad service if you make a
one minute call for 25
cents to California it's
better than paying 9x is
what $2 and 50 cents for
that first minute so they
can provide services that
are useful and not a rip
off but it's those few
companies that are ripping
people off that are making
it bad for everybody else and
the coke cut industry should
really do something about it
as well because they're the
ones suffering and we're all
going to suffer now because
we're out of time
this has been off the hook I
want to thank everybody for
listening and for calling in
we'll be back again next week
with another edition of this
program stay tuned now for the
WBAI evening news this is
Emmanuel Goldstein for
Fiber Optic good night
the telephone keeps ringing
so I ripped it off the wall
I cut myself while shaving
now I can't make a call
it couldn't get much worse
but if they could they would
Bumbin' Le Bump or the best
expect the worst
I hope that's understood
Bumbin' Le Bump
good evening in the news
tonight defense secretary
Les Aspen resigns
an historic declaration
between Britain and Ireland
but Sinn Féin says it doesn't
go far enough
a look at GATT and its effect
on the environment and U.S.
workers
and in New York
the city exposes massive fraud
in last May's school board elections
with these and other stories
I'm Amy Goodman in New York
with Verna Avery Brown in Washington
and this is the news for
Wednesday December 15th 1993
defense secretary Les Aspen
has announced his resignation
Aspen told reporters
that it was time for him
to take a break
after his efforts
to upgrade the military
President Clinton said
he accepted the resignation
with real sadness
Clinton expressed hope
that Aspen would accept
other assignments
in his administration
the president praised Aspen
for providing solid leadership
and Clinton said
Aspen led the defense department
with character
intelligence and wisdom
the president listed
Aspen's achievements
during his short tenure
as defense secretary
including the way
he's handled the downsizing
of America's military
Aspen's year as defense secretary
was marked by policy
and health difficulties
Clinton concluded
his remarks by saying
he would always be
very very grateful
to Aspen
Aspen is expected
to remain in the cabinet
at least until January 20th 1994
the first anniversary
of the administration's
taking office
the president said
Aspen would stay
even longer
if necessary
to assure a smooth transition
now to Verna Avery Brown
with other top stories
delegates of 117 countries
approved by consensus today
the long negotiated
GATT treaty
French foreign minister
Alain Joup
whose country was responsible
for much of the drama
and brinkmanship
in the trade talks
said he never wants
to hear about GATT again
197 Palestinians
exiled to a South Lebanon
no man's land
returned home today
one year after their expulsion
Daoud Kutab reports
the return of the deportees
who were arrested temporarily
marks the implementation
of an understanding
reached between Israel
and the U.S.
following international
condemnation of Israel
last year
for expelling
more than 400 Palestinians
half of those expelled
were allowed to return
last September
and today's return
marks the end
of a controversial chapter
of Israeli collective punishment
the implementation
of the Israeli promise
to return the deportees
is viewed positively
among Palestinians
who are worried
about Israeli delays
for the beginning
of the signed peace agreement
some analysts however
suggest that the Israeli action
is aimed at showing
the PLO
that Israel
might consider dealing
with the Islamic Hamas movement
if the PLO leadership
does not accept
Israeli suggestions
for the peace agreement
from the
soul
of the