msmith@topaz.rutgers.edu (Mark Robert Smith) (03/28/89)
I've just returned from Spring Break, and my dorm number has finally had
Caller*ID and Repeat*Call turned on. I picked up the Caller ID box from my
PO Box here, and here are a few first impressions:
Repeat*Call works well. I have used it both for local calls and intra-LATA
long distance calls. One feature that is not documented is that when you
get the Repeat Call signal that the line is free (two short, one long), the
Caller ID box displays the number that you are attempting to call. This is
useful because you can have several Repeat Calls running at the same time. My
only complaint (other than the large one below) is that the confirmation tape
you hear upon activating Repeat Call is very worn and of poor quality. Repeat
Call is activated by dialing *66 after the busy signal. All current Repeat
Calls will be disabled by dialing *86 (you can't disable one, you have to
disable all).
Caller ID works well also. After purchasing the 9-volt battery the box
requires (that was never mentioned before...), I hooked it up. After the
wrangling with NJ Bell (see below), it finally worked. The number appears
quite quickly, almost immediately after the first ring ends. It only
displays the last seven digits, but then I haven't gotten a call from out of
state yet. I haven't seen it yet, but according to the documentation, it
displays three question marks:
_ _ _
_| _| _|
| | |
when the number does not support Caller ID. When a call comes in, the unit
displays a NEW in the top right corner, and the number, preceded by an L
(it looks like it was supposed to show L for long distance, and nothing for
local, but that info was replaced by a page-size sticker in the docs). After
30 seconds, whether the phone was answered or not, the number disappears and
is replaced by the word CALL. The box has three buttons, Remove, Time of Call,
and Review. To review the calls (it stores up to 20, and then bounces the
least recent), you hit the review button, and the most recent call will be
displayed, then the next most recent... When you hit Time of Day, you see
DATE in the mid-upper left, the 2 digit day on the left, the 2 digit hour
(1-12) on the right, and AM or PM to the right of the hour. This time/date
comes over the line with the number, not from the box. If the same number
calls back, the upper right will show REPEATED CALL for that number,
and the Time/Date will be for the most recent call from that number.
To delete a number, you hit the Remove button twice, and the digits of
the number disappear one at a time from the right to left (a "dissolve").
There is also a low battery indicator BATT on the far left. Under the gray
square surrounding the LCD screen, there are two buttons in the bottom right
and left corners that are not marked, which when pressed simultaneously will
reset the unit and clear the numbers.
If there are no calls in memory when Review is pressed, nine's are shown. The
unit is 6" long, 4 3/4" wide, and slopes from 2.5" tall in the back to 2" tall
in the front. The phone cord plugs in the back, and there is a barrel socket
(like those used for DC adaptors) that is marked unused in the manual, and
unmarked on the unit.
I had to call NJ Bell repair today to get the service turned on (3/27). The
person who I called to establish the service said that the service would be
turned on on 3/20. I was locked out of the dorm for Break last week, so I
was not around on 3/20. I called the Business Office to see if the service was
actually on, as reccommended in the Caller ID box manual, and the person said
that it showed completed on 3/20. I then called the Manufacturer of the box,
and they said that they had been having trouble with NJ Bell saying that the
service was on when it wasn't. The service call was placed around noon, and
the service was on when I returned at 8pm tonight. When I called the Business
Office, I asked for a credit for the time that the service was not really on,
and the rep told me that I asked to have the service turned on on 3/20, and
that I should have checked then to see if it worked. I said that I was TOLD
when the service would start, with no choice in the matter, and that I was
locked out of my dorm last week and couldn't check on 3/20. She said that she
didn't want to argue and credited me for the week that the service was
supposedly on but really wasn't. Is this some kind of extra money-making plot,
or just ineptitude on the part of NJ Bell?
This is my first report. If anything exciting develops, I'll let you know.
Please feel free to direct questions about the rudiments of the service to me,
at an address shown below:
Mark
----
Mark Smith (alias Smitty) "Be careful when looking into the distance,
RPO 1604; P.O. Box 5063 that you do not miss what is right under your nose."
New Brunswick, NJ 08903-5063 rutgers!topaz.rutgers.edu!msmith (OK, Bob?)
msmith@topaz.rutgers.edu Copyright 1989, Mark Smith. All Rights Reserved.peter@taronga.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) (02/15/91)
For true answering machine freaks... Caller-ID hooked to something like Watson! A call from your boss: "Hi there, I'm not feeling too well, but if you leave a message I'll get back to you when I wake up." A call from your relatives: "Hi there, I'm at xxx-xxxx." A call from your buddy down the street: "Hi, if you're still on for cards I'll be ready around noon..." A call from your clients: "Frobozz consulting. If you know the extension please dial it now, or leave a message at the sound of the tone..." A call from any telemarketer number you've managed to snag: "I'm sorry, we don't accept unsolicited advertising at this line." The possibilities are endless... peter@taronga.uucp.ferranti.com
herbison@ultra.enet.dec.com (B.J. 15-Feb-1991 1359) (02/17/91)
In Telecom Volume 11 : Issue 116, Peter da Silva writes: > For true answering machine freaks... Caller-ID hooked to something like > Watson! > A call from your clients: "Frobozz consulting. If you know the extension > please dial it now, or leave a message at the sound of the tone..." > A call from any telemarketer number you've managed to snag: "I'm > sorry, we don't accept unsolicited advertising at this line." My first thought was large numbers of people exchanging lists of telemarketer numbers. My second thought was the problems caused when a telemarketer changes numbers and someone else gets the number -- someone who is a friend or a potential client. Or what if a residential number gets placed on the list as a joke or out of malice. The chance of a problem is slight, unless large numbers of people start exchanging telemarketer numbers. `Telemarketer' is a dirty word, be careful when you use it. B. J. [not a telemarketer]
peter@taronga.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) (02/18/91)
In article <telecom11.125.4@eecs.nwu.edu>, herbison@ultra.enet.dec.com (B.J. 15-Feb-1991 1359) writes: > My first thought was large numbers of people exchanging lists of > telemarketer numbers. My second thought was the problems caused > when a telemarketer changes numbers and someone else gets the number > -- someone who is a friend or a potential client. That's the user's problem. The simplest solution would be to expire numbers after a time period. That way you may eventually get called by that telemarketer again, but then you add it to the list and you're safe from bothersome calls for another six months. (peter@taronga.uucp.ferranti.com)
cyberoid@milton.u.washington.edu (Robert Jacobson) (02/20/91)
Telemarketers often use several rotating numbers, often with different base stations, so Caller*ID (even in its ideal form) provides little enough protection against telemarketing. The number you suppress today will be gone tomorrow. Bob [Moderator's Note: Except that what has been discovered thus far about the passing of the number, be it ANI, Caller*ID, Return /Screen Call or whatever is that quite frequently if a group of related numbers are all billed under one main number, then it is the main listed number which gets passed along. If the telemarketer has all of his phones associated with (let's say) the main number of his switchboard, then there is a likelyhood Caller*IO will pass the switchboard's main listed number. We've found that in some versions of the software, Call Screening will block every trunk on a PBX, even if the only thing entered by the recipient of the unwanted call was the listed phone number for the company. I've a feeling Caller*ID will respond in much the same way, with every telemarketing employee in their little cubicle sending the company's main listed number regardless of what actual outgoing trunk they seize. Obviously it won't happen that way in every case. PAT]
herring@evax.uta.edu (Erick Herring) (02/20/91)
In article <telecom11.128.4@eecs.nwu.edu> peter@taronga.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) writes: > In article <telecom11.125.4@eecs.nwu.edu>, herbison@ultra.enet.dec.com > (B.J. 15-Feb-1991 1359) writes: >> My first thought was large numbers of people exchanging lists of >> telemarketer numbers. My second thought was the problems caused >> when a telemarketer changes numbers and someone else gets the number >> -- someone who is a friend or a potential client. > That's the user's problem. The simplest solution would be to expire > numbers after a time period. That way you may eventually get called by > that telemarketer again, but then you add it to the list and you're > safe from bothersome calls for another six months. There is one thing about this issue that I don't understand. It is obvious when some organization is setting up a large amount of phones for the express purpose of out-dialing. I'm certain that some of you could describe such a setup in detail sufficient to pass legal muster. Why can we not demand that the telcos set aside a certain block of numbers for these out-calling operations, and further demand that they make these numbers public. That solves a whole group of problems. I mean if we're going to demand blocking, and block-blocking, and C*ID anyway... :-) Erick herring@evax.uta.edu [Moderator's Note: But see the previous message. If the telemarketer runs a nice efficient phone room he'll have all the phone lines billed on a master account anyway ... and as it appears, if that is the case then you block the listed number and you block them all. PAT]
cyberoid@milton.u.washington.edu (Robert Jacobson) (02/21/91)
Rather obviously, Caller*ID is a spurious solution to telemarketing nuisances (unless one rejects every unidentified call). In point of fact, telemarketers and others who rely on the telephone to collect and make commercial contacts are positively delerious over Caller*ID, which suggests a deeper motive in its offering. Bob Jacobson
wright@ais.org (Carl Wright) (02/25/91)
Regarding Caller*ID numbers from PBXs and companies in general, I
remember an article in {Business Communications Review} saying that
ANI (Automatic Number Identification) consists of CNI (Calling Number
Identification) or BNI (Billing Number Identification).
Caller-ID is normally going to give BNI permitting you to block all
numbers from a company location. I don't know what it will do with a
Centrex service where I'd like to know the CNI so I can get back
directly to a caller.
Since ANI was setup for telco billling purposes, I wonder if they use
both BNI and CNI or just one of them for their own billing. Does
anyone know?
Carl Wright | Lynn-Arthur Associates, Inc.
Internet: wright@ais.org | 2350 Green Rd., #160
Voice: 1 313 995 5590 EST | Ann Arbor, MI 48105