2600 Flash
Look Out for SIDNEY!
The city of New York has come up with a new way to fight parking scofflaws. It's called SIDNEY - Summons Issuing Device for New York. It's a handheld computer terminal that will be able to get information about license plate numbers that are "suspected" of being attached to scofflaws.
The device weighs less than five pounds and looks rather like a calculator. It would ask whoever was operating it to enter the color, make, model, registration expiration, location, time, and nature of violation. SIDNEY would then print out a waterproof parking ticket and at the same time check its 10,000-plate memory to see if the license plate belonged to a scofflaw or a stolen car. An appropriate message would then be flashed on the screen. Details of each ticket issued would be stored in the device and entered automatically into the main computer system each day.
There hasn't been much talk circulating about what will happen when these things get stolen and fake tickets are handed out by the thousands. It is expected that these creatures will be turned loose into the hands of meter-maids within two years. The contract for producing SIDNEY has tentatively been awarded to (((Citisource))) of New Jersey.
Bell to AT&T: Get Lost!
One of the so-called "Baby Bells" is displaying its independence from its former parent - AT&T. Southwestern Bell says it's chosen GTE Sprint to provide long-distance telephone service for its Houston operation.
By using GTE Sprint instead of AT&T, Southwestern Bell figures to save about fifty thousand dollars. Long-distance service from Houston currently costs the former Bell System unit about $300,000 a year.
GTE Sprint will replace AT&T in Houston in mid-August.
Five Arrested in Phone Fraud
Five Manhattan residents were arrested last month on charges of defrauding the New York Telephone Company by making more than 1,500 illegal telephone calls, mostly to the Dominican Republic, in a three-day period.
The Manhattan District Attorney's office said the suspects used "Blue Boxes" to make the calls. The five were charged with possession of burglary tools and theft of services. One was also charged with selling a stolen credit card number to an undercover investigator and using such numbers to make calls for other people. He could get four years for his trouble.
Supposedly, the suspects were offering neighbors low-cost long-distance calls, however they frequently charged more than the cost of legitimate calls!
An Official Crackdown on Hackers
According to Rep. William Hughes (D-N.J.), computer crime is increasing by leaps and bounds. Speaking on the House floor, Hughes said, "It's time we recognized that computer 'hackers' who intrude into data banks are not just mischievous kids looking for fun. They're engaging in illegal activities which pose potentially serious threats to our society."
He urged quick passage of the Counterfeit Access Device and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1984, being sponsored by him and eight other House members, including Democrats and Republicans.
The House Judiciary Committee took a step towards making it a crime for hackers to break into systems such as TRW by adopting an amendment by Rep. (((Dan Glickman))) (D-Kan.). His proposal would make it a misdemeanor to raid computer files containing private credit histories or banking information.
A subcommittee staff lawyer said the bill would close loopholes in existing federal and state laws by making it a felony offense to access a computer without authorization and with intent to defraud, if that act enables the perpetrator to obtain anything worth at least $5,000 over a one-year period or any classified government information.
The bill is expected to come before the full House either late this month or in early August.
Pay Telephones Deregulated
On June 15, the FCC decided to allow just about anybody to get involved in the pay phone business. Up until now, pay phones have been provided by whichever local company serves the area. But with this new ruling, all kinds of new companies will be seen. In fact, some phones may even have different prices! And, of course, it's to be expected that each of these new types of phones will have their own quirks and bugs. Look for Matrix, Tonka, and PayTel phones in the near future.
Of course, there will be disadvantages. Some phones will only be able to dial locally. Others won't be able to reach 911 or information. Many will probably be rotary and most will certainly break down more frequently. Still, diversity is what makes this entire field so interesting.
"You Must First Dial a One..."
As of July 1st, 3 million customers in New Jersey had to start dialing a one before area codes when calling long-distance. This leaves 202 and 516 as the last remaining areas in the country that don't have to do this.
Company officials say the new system was introduced to provide 152 more exchanges to meet increasing customer demand. Under the new system, New Jersey Bell will begin using certain area codes as telephone exchanges. They will avoid using area codes of neighboring states to prevent mass confusion.
Information News
Starting this month, MCI will connect subscribers to long-distance information just like AT&T does. And, like AT&T, MCI will offer two free information calls per month, provided their service is used for at least two long-distance calls in that same month. After that, they will charge for a call to information, just like AT&T does! So what's the difference? In the price, of course. AT&T charges a hefty 50-cents for each call to directory assistance, while MCI will be under-selling them with an affordable 45-cents. Good old (((capitalism))).
In another development, a computer program to help find a telephone number without complete information from the caller has been patented by Richard H. Boivie for Bell Labs. In cases where the caller can give the information operator the name of the person being sought, but is unsure about the spelling, the computer will trace alternative spellings. IT will also sort through different addresses for the most likely candidates.