🚀 go-pugleaf

In reply to the posting that asked:

>>    I have interest to buy an answering machine which has the
>> capability to display the incoming telephone number before I pick
>> up the phone receiver.

John Moore of Anasazi Inc. in Phoenix wrote:

>	In some areas of the East Coast, you can now get ANI (automatic
> number identification) service by paying a service charge and buying
> a ~$40 box to display caller's number. As ISDN is installed (already
> available at many residences here in Phoenix), this service is automatic -
>  part of the ISDN protocol includes the caller's number.
> 
>	There have been some privacy flames about this in the news
> media, so its possible that ANI will be outlawed.

And I have this to add:

This strikes me as yet another instance of the backwards logic that seems to
ALWAYS get applied to technology in this country. Out of the clear blue sky
any podunk little scam artist can pick up a phone book and solicit me, yet
it is seen as an invasion of HIS privacy for me to know the number he is
calling from! I feel strongly about phone solicitation's legality. The claim
seems to be that when I allow the phone company to publish the number they
assigned to my phone, I am placing that piece of information in the public
domain and therefore anyone can use that information in anyway they want.
But since the scam artist chooses not to reveal his digits, he is entitled
to privacy! It's as if a guy can knock on my door wearing a mask and ask to
come in. I tell him I won't let him in unless he identifies himself, and the
law says that by doing so I'm assailing his constitutional right to not show
his face!

My counter to that is that I have no choice but to publish my number since
it is the default phone company action. I am required to purchase the
"special service" of NOT having it published if I want to avoid harrassing
solicitation. (Which I agree with John about: phone solicitation ought to be
outlawed.)

In my opinion, it is only a lack of imagination of the part of the phone
companies NOT to have been developing ANI as a normal, routine part of the
system. Obviously the information exists in the system, else how could the
connection be made? It seems to be only a matter of time before everyone has
call-screening hardware of some sort anyway, so why shouldn't the phone
companies take a leadership role rather than having to be carried kicking
and screaming (AHA! if they complain enough, they can charge more for it
when they finally relent!)

The telephone I want to see will not just display the number, but by the
end of the first ring, I want it to look up the number in the on-line phone
book database, too, and display the name of the party the number is assigned
to. The personal computer then can take a look at my "kill file" during the
second ring. If that party or number is in my personal "kill file", the
third ring never occurs, and the recorder says, "Sorry. The number you have
dialed is not accepting calls at the moment. Perhaps you'd like to try again
later?" An option for my phone would be to supress all rings until the data
is checked, meanwhile giving the caller a message, "Checking your access
privileges. Please be patient." Oh and the other option: that neato password
device that requires the caller to punch up a four-digit code before ringing
through. That exists already, and I think it's terrific.

Ah, kids, I tell you, the future is awfully bright!

I think that this is another argument in favor of the Free Hardware
Foundation -- to dispell myths among the general public about the difficulty
of doing technical wizardry that large companies like the phone co's like to
spawn so they can charge more for the "magic". (First book for FHF library:
How Things Work").

Sorry this got to be so long, but I sometimes get pretty wordy at 3 am...

What's the next step towards creating FHF? The idea has been batted around
enough, maybe it's time to start a mailing list for interested parties? It
would get the topic off the sci.electronics group, and focus discussion.
Is there anyone with a bit of time who knows how to manage a mailing list?
I'd volunteer but I'm a software neophyte and one with not much time to
contribute right now. Lots of energy and enthusiasm, though!

Gary Benson (inc@tc.fluke.com)
Publications Supervisor
John Fluke Mfg. Co. Inc.