DemENtoR - Slashdot User

Worry Over VZW, Sprint Phones' 911 Alarm 362

Posted by kdawson on Thursday November 22, 2007 @10:55AM from the not-so-loud dept.

[TheBORG] writes "An Austin woman who dialed 911 recently discovered what she said could be a fatal flaw in some new cell phones. She called for help when she arrived at some vacant property she owns in east Austin and found her security chain gone. She grabbed her new Verizon Wireless Casio G'zOne phone, which to her horror made an audible alarm when she called 911. Fearing vandals were still on the property, she hung up and hid, then put her hand over the earpiece and dialed again to muffle the sounds. A Verizon Wireless spokesperson says it's mandatory according to Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act. The FCC says Section 255 of the Telecommunications Code requires that phones let a caller know a 911 call is underway, but does not require an audible alarm. This thread on Howardforums.com mentions that the alarm is present on new Sprint phones too."

Submission + - Amazon Gives Thanks for Joke of a Patent System

Submitted by

theodp

on Thursday November 22, 2007 @01:41AM

theodp writes: "By changing the word 'a' to 'the' and adding the phrase 'purchasable through a shopping cart model,' lawyers for Amazon.com have apparently managed to reinstate two of CEO Jeff Bezos' 1-Click Patent claims that were rejected a month earlier. 'Patent Owner's Rep was informed that the proposed addition to the claims appear to place the claims in condition of patentability,' writes the USPTO in its Ex Parte Reexamination Interview Summary of the 11-15 conference call that was held with five representatives of the USPTO and patent reformer Amazon."

Submission + - New Air Traffic System to Rely on AT&T Cell To (popularmechanics.com) 1

Submitted by

longacre

on Thursday November 22, 2007 @12:51AM

longacre writes: "The FAA has awarded the long anticipated first contract for development of its NextGen air traffic control system: a $1.8 billion deal with ITT Corporation, beating out bids from aerospace heavyweights such as Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. Interestingly, and perhaps frighteningly to anyone who has ever suffered shoddy cell phone reception, ITT's design will make use of hundreds of duties specially modified AT&T cellular phone towers which, in addition to their normal communications duties, will relay an aircraft's position to air traffic controllers and other aircraft in real time. The initial contract is only enough to wire and test the so-called ADS-B system in the Philadelphia area and around the Gulf of Mexico — hooking up the rest of the country will take an estimated 20 years with a $20 billion price tag."

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