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The Teleputing Hotline
The Worldwide Network Letter
Volume 3 Number 83 -- October 23, 1990
215 Winter Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30317
FAX: 404-378-0794 Phone: 404-373-7634
MCI:409-8960 GEnie: nb.atl CompuServe: 76200,3025
Editor: Dana Blankenhorn
European Editor: Steve Gold
Associate Publisher: Lamont Wood
Correspondent: Masayuki Miyazawa
Sales Manager: Hiro Nakamura
AUSTRALIA: Privacy Concerns Rising
Paul Zucker writes for Newsbytes on a report from a New South
Wales privacy committee that it is being starved of funding while
the government ignores the erosion of personal privacy. It cites
the proliferation of computerized police records, crime
intelligence, tax and health recording systems, interdepartmental
data-matching systems, financial institutions own databases and
their obligations to report certain types of transactions, plus
many other situations.
Having read Paul's reports for some time, we note that Australia
has been more aggressive than even the U.S. in using computer
techniques to fight crime. Until now, the privacy problem has
been ignored. It will be interesting to see the result if
opposition politicians start using the privacy issue.
EQUIFAX CHARGING CONSUMERS TO BE IN DATABASE
Equifax, a U.S. leader in computerized credit reports, is testing
a program called Buyer's Market. Consumers pay to choose the
types of mailing lists they want to be on, and list those they
want to be off. This is the first time the company has tried to
become a consumer brand name. The program costs $10 per year, but
the company promises at least $250 in discount coupons to
members, for goods and services they want to buy. The first batch
of coupons are enclosed in the survey form which is part of the
program. Consumers who want to join Buyer's Market can call 1-
800-BUYRMKT, or 1-800-289-7658.
USSR: Private Communications Venture Launched
3 Moscow men have formed an enterprise to promote citizen band
(CB) radio in the USSR. CB was banned for years for security
reasons. Now you can get a permit but no equipment is available.
The new enterprise will develop and make antennas, transcievers
and other equipment and participate in projects related to
wireless data communication. "Current politics and economics
trends in the USSR cause us to worry about our future but we
still hope our business will survive," Peter Strezev told Kirill
Tchashchin of Newsbytes.
MCI OFFERS RESIDENTIAL 800 SERVICE
Following the lead of US Sprint, MCI announced a residential
toll-free service, called Personal 800 service. It becomes
available October 22, and will allow consumers to route calls to
their homes for a single per-minute rate, regardless of distance
or the number of calls made. Personal 800 will be offered as an
enhancement to MCI's PrimeTime calling plan. It costs $2 per
month for calls on weeknights and weekends. All 800 calls made
during plan hours are priced at $6.50 per hour, or 10.8 cents per
minute. Personal 800 calls made during daytime hours are priced
at 25 cents per minute, or $15 per hour. Consumers also get a
PrimeTime 10% discount, which applies to all 800 calls made
during non-plan hours.
BRITISH NEWSPAPER REPORTS ATTEMPT OF COMPUTER BLACKMAIL
The Independent, an English newspaper, reports on alleged
blackmailing attempts using computer systems. The report said
there have been demands of substantial sums of money made to 5
banks, who were told that in exchange for the money, they'd learn
how their high-tech security systems were penetrated. The article
further stated that, since May 1990, unknown persons using
computers "have gained access to the banks' central data systems
and hatched fears they could cause chaos by planting false
information or damaging computer programs." The story did not
identify the banks, all of whom, the paper said, either denied
they were victims or refused to comment.
CAMBODIA OPENS SATELLITE SYSTEM
Cambodia opened service from a satellite earth station in Phnom
Penh. It's part of an agreement between Australia's OTC and the
Directorate of Posts and Telecommunications of Cambodia, under
which further improvements will be made in Cambodian telecom over
10 years. Communications will be handled via the Intelsat
satellite system to Australia, then routed over OTC's
international network. Previously, limited amount of
international communications was handled by the Soviet
Intersputnik system. Initially, calls to and from Cambodia will
be connected by switchboard operators, but a digital telephone
exchange will likely be installed in Phnom Penh in November.
Capacity will also be increased over the next 2 years with the
installation of a larger earth station.
MOSCOW: NEW EXCHANGE TO SET UP COMPUTER SYSTEM
The Moscow Commodities and Raw Materials Exchange has decided to
build a computer system to handle its transactions. One exchange
official was quoted as saying, "We clearly understand that
without an electronic communication system we will die in just
months." A two-million-ruble contract was granted to Moscow-based
Kurchatov Institute of Nuclear Energy. The system it creates is
expected to be operational in three months. In the first stage
the computer system will be available for use by Exchange members
only. Further expansion plans call for the systems' public use,
writes Kirill Tchashchin of Newsbytes.
ONLINE FACTOIDS
900 PRO-HELP, a computer support line running on a caller-paid
900-number, added fax service. Its RapidFacts dispenses product,
sales and other information by facsimile to prospects of Western
Micro Market and Perceptive Solutions. Callers to the Value Page
of Western Micro Market pay $9.95 for the call while Perspective
Solutions callers are charged $4.95.
DIP, designers of the Atari Portfolio, released the Pocket Mac, a
communications module that links the Pocket PC to an Apple Mac.
It costs UKP 60-83.
EUROPE'S information technology market continues to grow twice as
fast as that of the U.S., says Compaq Chairman Ben Rosen, and
it's already a bigger market than North America. Rosen called the
Australian market very slow.
INFONET bought 67% of Osiware International. Its Hong Kong
director predicted OSI will let Asia "leapfrog" Europe and the
U.S. in data communications, as that region lacks proprietary
messaging networks.
PHOENIX TECHNOLOGIES announced a joint-development deal with
Intel which will let laptops use Phoenix basic input-output
systems with Intel chips. The company also adapted its VGA
graphics software to work with flat screens.
REFERENCE POINT delayed offering its international environmental
database until next year, due to a network design change.
CONTACT:
900 Support, Al Viera, +503-684-2826
DIP Systems, Peter Baldwin, +0483-301555
Equifax, John Ford, +404-885-8309
INEP, John Harris, +301-596-2740
MCI, John Houser, +1-800-289-0073
Moscow Commodities Exchange, Sergey Petrov, +7 095 924-7530
Newsbytes, Wendy Woods, +415-500-7334
New South Wales Privacy, John Stanton, +61-2-287 5760
Osiware Asia, John Daly, +852 526 9308
Phoenix, Michael Deutsch, +617-551-4184
RC&C, Peter Strezev, +7 095 143-5671