The Math Must Work

Verizon won't waive a $30 fee, so they lose the long term revenue stream worth much more than that. On the face of it, this makes no sense. I can only assume for every person that leaves Verizon there are more than enough people that will just pay the $30 to offset the other lose. It is tough being one of the few that want to fight against silly policies that are not logical, but may make financial sense to Gigantic Corps.

Voice-Mail

We have a hundred year old voice-mail system at work. The one feature I really, really want in a new system is for it to automatically delete hang-ups. I get tons of calls everyday from unknown numbers. I suspect they are sales calls, so I don't answer. The calls go to voice-mail. They stay on the line long enough so that I get to hear them typing (or other background conversations when they are in a call center), but then hang-up without really leaving a message.

I want the new system to zap those without me ever having to check them. Do any voice-mail systems do that today?

Skype Illegal in France

So France may declare that Skype is illegal, because it isn't a registered telecom. Since it isn't registered, they aren't paying taxes. Taxes which support things like phone books and payphone booths. (I've added those last links for my younger readers that may not be familiar with antiques from the early days of telephony.) Nothing like disruptive technology to mess with tax codes and morals! For technology is no longer disruptive once people have figured out how to regulate and tax it.