Received: by bu-cs.BU.EDU (5.58/4.7) id AA10879; Fri, 3 Feb 89 02:42:20 EST Message-Id: <8902030742.AA10879@bu-cs.BU.EDU> Date: Fri, 3 Feb 89 2:29:46 EST From: The Moderator Reply-To: TELECOM@bu-cs.BU.EDU Subject: TELECOM Digest V9 #44 To: TELECOM@bu-cs.bu.edu TELECOM Digest Fri, 3 Feb 89 2:29:46 EST Volume 9 : Issue 44 Today's Topics: Re: Phones in the movies and on TV Re: Phones in the movies and on TV David Letterman's Use of 900 Service Call Restricter Re: When DDD Began Wrong Number Problems Coming This Weekend [Moderator's Note: This is part two of two parts for Friday 2-3-89. PT] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: portal!cup.portal.com!David_W_Tamkin To: telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu Subject: Re: Phones in the movies and on TV Date: Thu, 2-Feb-89 19:23:15 PST Laura Halliday wrote: H> I saw something interesting in a TV show the other day. A lawyer, H> finding his client dead of a drug overdose didn't pick up the H> phone and dramatically say ``Operator, get me the police'' - he H> dialed 911 instead. This was the first time I've ever noticed a H> movie or TV character do this. Could this be the result of phone H> company pressure? I find it difficult to believe that producers H> would voluntarily give up a few seconds of drama unless they were H> forced to. Some comments: 1. The use of 911 got the attention of Hollywood in large part from Richard Dreyfuss's frantic "Call 911! Call 911!" in "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" when he discovers Nick Nolte attmpeting suicide in their pool. 2. The writers and producers of the show Ms. Halliday saw might be too young to remember days when one asked the operator for the police, even if they are old enough to remember dialing seven digits for them. 3. The lost "few seconds of drama" can be recovered easily by having the character search for the phone or get an uncooperative 911 operator. 4. 911 is so widespread now that asking the operator might seem anachronistic. Moreover, it might be that the particular scene was set in a large city with many viewers who would write in that there is 911 service there and that the character should have known it. 5. Maybe the days of 555-NXXX are going the way of KLondike 5 before it. On a recent episode of a syndicated sitcom (the sort of pap I thrive on), the lead character was trying to get through to a woman he had dated twice but who had been hanging up on him all week. His ex-wife was visting and offered to try calling her for him. The dialogue continued like this: Ex-wife: "What's her number?" Protagonist: "Press `redial'." David_W_Tamkin@cup.portal.com ... sun!portal!cup.portal.com!David_W_Tamkin ------------------------------ To: comp-dcom-telecom@rutgers.edu From: davef@brspyr1.brs.com (Dave Fiske) Subject: Re: Phones in the movies and on TV Date: 2 Feb 89 19:05:52 GMT In article , laura_halliday@mtsg.ubc.ca writes: > I saw something interesting in a TV show the other day. A lawyer, > finding his client dead of a drug overdose didn't pick up the > phone and dramatically say ``Operator, get me the police'' - he > dialed 911 instead. This was the first time I've ever noticed a > movie or TV character do this. Could this be the result of phone > company pressure? I find it difficult to believe that producers > would voluntarily give up a few seconds of drama unless they were > forced to. My guess would be that they figure 911 is universal enough now that people will understand what is being dialed. If the guy just dialed the regular number for say, the LA Police Dept., people not from LA might not realize it. Hence, "get me the police." Another technique for letting the audience know what is going on is that callers generally say "Hello, Police Department?" Of course, in real life, we wait for someone to answer on the other end before we say anything, plus a phone in any sort of office is usually answered with some identifying phrase (not just "hello") so the caller knows at once who they have reached. I also saw a comedian on TV recently who pointed out a bit of phone behavior in the movies. If someone gets hung up on, they always hold the receiver and give it a real puzzled or disgusted look. Has this ever been observed in real life? -- "FLYING ELEPHANTS DROP COW Dave Fiske (davef@brspyr1.BRS.COM) PIES ON HORRIFIED CROWD!" Home: David_A_Fiske@cup.portal.com Headline from Weekly World News CIS: 75415,163 GEnie: davef ------------------------------ To: comp-dcom-telecom@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU From: decvax!decwrl!apple!denwa!jimmy@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Jim Gottlieb) Subject: David Letterman's Use of 900 Service Date: 1 Feb 89 04:11:26 GMT In article , kg19+@andrew.cmu.edu (Kurt A. Geisel) writes: > Pretty soon, they may try to get us to pay to find out how the story > ends. The one that makes me maddest is the way they go about using (900) service on "Late Night With David Letterman." They use AT&T's mass announcement (900) service with a feature that allows a small number of calls to be answered live. But since everyone is calling to get on the air, not to hear the "You didn't get through" recording, this feature shouldn't be used. The result is that people are charged 50 cents for each ATTEMPT. They should instead use a regular number or an (800) number, so that viewers do not have to pay for busies. -- Jim G. E-Mail: or ^^^^^^ V-Mail: (213) 551-7702 Fax: 478-3060 The-Real-Me: 824-5454 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Feb 89 10:21:50 EST From: harvard!cs.utexas.edu!cos.com!mgrant (Michael Grant) To: bu-cs.bu.edu!telecom@cs.utexas.edu Subject: Call Restricter Somone was looking for one of these a while ago to keep his kids from abusing the phone. I think this is probably what you need. Hello Direct in San Jose California is marketing a call controller which disallows calls to certain programmable numbers. Here's what it says under specifications: "Factory settings: Disallows: 976, 1 or 0 followed by 976, area code + 976. 900, 1 or 0 followed by 900. 1 + area code (long distance). 411; 1 followed by 411, 555; 1 or 0 followed by 555; 1 or 0 followed by area code and 555 (directory assistance)." "Major Features: - All factory settings are user reprogrammable - Single line unit: allows/disallows up to 23 idfferent phone numbers of 21 digits, or other combinations of phone numbers up to 484 digits. - Remote Programming with user-selectable security codes. - Time Limit set by user to limit calls from 1 to 15 minutes - 5-digit security passcode set or changed by user, remotely or on-site, protects Call Controller programming. - Override passcode: Confidential 4-digit code that your selected personnel enter to override restrictions on individual calls. - Touch-Tone or Rotary programmable." The single line unit is contained in a small unmarked box approximatly 1.5 x 2 x 1 inchs (4 x 5 x 2.5 cm). The price is $129 Quantity 1. They also have 30 line and 120 line capacity models which block even more numbers. Contact Hello Direct at 1-800-444-3556 or 1-408-435-1990 for more info. I am not connected with this company in any way. -Michael Grant ------------------------------ To: comp-dcom-telecom@decwrl.dec.com From: jbn@glacier.stanford.edu (John B. Nagle) Subject: Re: When DDD Began Date: 30 Jan 89 17:15:14 GMT As many telecom readers probably know, area codes and direct dialing were originally implemented so that the originating toll operator could set up the call and have it routed automatically, rather than manually dealing with distant toll boards to set up the circuit. But Direct Distance Dialing was only offered to subscribers after AT&T Long Lines had most of its system automated. Thus, when DDD did appear in a locality, one could generally call most places in the Bell System immediately. The accounting system for DDD originally involved paper tape punches (the "Automatic Accountant"), a very special purpose electronic calculator that took in the paper tape, computed the toll, and punched a standard IBM card, and large farms of IBM tabulating equipment to sort the cards and generate the customer bills. John Nagle ------------------------------ From: Kenneth_R_Jongsma@cup.portal.com To: telecom-request@xx.lcs.mit.edu Subject: Wrong Number Problems Date: Thu, 2-Feb-89 15:40:54 PST Recently, a company competing with our local operating company published a phone book. As an inducement to use the directory, they created a "free" service, similar to 976 service. That is, you dial a local number, wait for an answer, then dial any one of 1000 different codes to get a short recording with movie schedules, nationwide weather, tv schedules, etc. Today, the local paper reported that people are skipping the middle digits. Instead of 957-4468 1000, they dial 957-1000. This of course is driving the people with the more popular numbers (such as Joke of the Day and All My Children Update) up the wall. We are talking over 50 wrong numbers a day! Of course, the company has volunteered to pay the costs of changing the person's number, but noone wants to do that. I expect things will die down as people learn how this works, but for the time being, it's a real hassle. It's also funny, if you aren't on the receiving end: "A local casket company, for instance, has been getting errant calls from users looking for updates on "All My Childre." I talked to a man at the casket company, who didn't want himself or the business identified. But he told me, in so many words, that when he answers the phone, the line goes dead. I'm sorry. That's not funny." ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Feb 89 02:26:54 EST From: telecom@bu-cs.BU.EDU (TELECOM Moderator) To: telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu Subject: Coming This Weekend I have three excellent items planned for weekend issues of the Digest tomorrow. 1) MCI Horror Story: Is MCI in cahoots with a shady AOS secretly, without their subscribers knowing about it? 2) David Tamkin further evaluates Starlink, the new alternative to Telenet PCP. 3) Another round in the Judge Greene vrs. Telecom Moderator saga. Plus information on the AT&T 'rate cap' plan; and one user's response to rude telemarketing services. Distributed at various times on Saturday. Patrick ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest *********************