Four Percent
A new study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project revealed that "only" four percent of Americans have used the Internet to buy prescription drugs — and even fewer do so through foreign pharmacies. Given that most of the solicitations to buy drugs online are spam and that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration […]
Spyware
A story in the New York Times this morning described how the Federal Trade Commission is going after a former fax spammer who is now allegedly using "spyware" to track our activities on the web, push us to various marketing programs, barrage us with advertisements, and otherwise make our Internet experience less than positive. I […]
Long Distance – No. 9: Epilogue
When I said yesterday that there may be some further financial challenges ahead for the "traditional" telecommunications companies, I did not realize that on that same day AT&T Corp., the nation’s largest long-distance carrier, announced a plan to eliminate 7,000 jobs and write off $11.4 billion in assets. The Wall Street Journal reported that the […]
Long Distance – No. 9: feedback from readers
There are many people who know much more than I do about telecommunications and I am really pleased that a few of them at IBM offered some feedback on my latest story about "long distance". First, thanks to Mike Nelson, formerly Director of Technology Policy at the Office of Plans and Policy at the FCC, […]
Long Distance – No. 9
The Verizon phone bill for last month’s service at the lakehouse was $16.11. It seems like a reasonable amount until you look at the detailed breakdown. The Touchtone Line was $5.68. And then there were the "other" charges. Federal line cost charge – $6.05. Local Number Portability Surcharge – $.21. Federal Universal Service Fund Surcharge […]