The Teleputing Hotline The Worldwide Network Letter Volume 3 Number 83 -- October 23, 1990 215 Winter Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30317 FAX: 404-378-0794 Phone: 404-373-7634 MCI:409-8960 GEnie: nb.atl CompuServe: 76200,3025 Editor: Dana Blankenhorn European Editor: Steve Gold Associate Publisher: Lamont Wood Correspondent: Masayuki Miyazawa Sales Manager: Hiro Nakamura AUSTRALIA: Privacy Concerns Rising Paul Zucker writes for Newsbytes on a report from a New South Wales privacy committee that it is being starved of funding while the government ignores the erosion of personal privacy. It cites the proliferation of computerized police records, crime intelligence, tax and health recording systems, interdepartmental data-matching systems, financial institutions own databases and their obligations to report certain types of transactions, plus many other situations. Having read Paul's reports for some time, we note that Australia has been more aggressive than even the U.S. in using computer techniques to fight crime. Until now, the privacy problem has been ignored. It will be interesting to see the result if opposition politicians start using the privacy issue. EQUIFAX CHARGING CONSUMERS TO BE IN DATABASE Equifax, a U.S. leader in computerized credit reports, is testing a program called Buyer's Market. Consumers pay to choose the types of mailing lists they want to be on, and list those they want to be off. This is the first time the company has tried to become a consumer brand name. The program costs $10 per year, but the company promises at least $250 in discount coupons to members, for goods and services they want to buy. The first batch of coupons are enclosed in the survey form which is part of the program. Consumers who want to join Buyer's Market can call 1- 800-BUYRMKT, or 1-800-289-7658. USSR: Private Communications Venture Launched 3 Moscow men have formed an enterprise to promote citizen band (CB) radio in the USSR. CB was banned for years for security reasons. Now you can get a permit but no equipment is available. The new enterprise will develop and make antennas, transcievers and other equipment and participate in projects related to wireless data communication. "Current politics and economics trends in the USSR cause us to worry about our future but we still hope our business will survive," Peter Strezev told Kirill Tchashchin of Newsbytes. MCI OFFERS RESIDENTIAL 800 SERVICE Following the lead of US Sprint, MCI announced a residential toll-free service, called Personal 800 service. It becomes available October 22, and will allow consumers to route calls to their homes for a single per-minute rate, regardless of distance or the number of calls made. Personal 800 will be offered as an enhancement to MCI's PrimeTime calling plan. It costs $2 per month for calls on weeknights and weekends. All 800 calls made during plan hours are priced at $6.50 per hour, or 10.8 cents per minute. Personal 800 calls made during daytime hours are priced at 25 cents per minute, or $15 per hour. Consumers also get a PrimeTime 10% discount, which applies to all 800 calls made during non-plan hours. BRITISH NEWSPAPER REPORTS ATTEMPT OF COMPUTER BLACKMAIL The Independent, an English newspaper, reports on alleged blackmailing attempts using computer systems. The report said there have been demands of substantial sums of money made to 5 banks, who were told that in exchange for the money, they'd learn how their high-tech security systems were penetrated. The article further stated that, since May 1990, unknown persons using computers "have gained access to the banks' central data systems and hatched fears they could cause chaos by planting false information or damaging computer programs." The story did not identify the banks, all of whom, the paper said, either denied they were victims or refused to comment. CAMBODIA OPENS SATELLITE SYSTEM Cambodia opened service from a satellite earth station in Phnom Penh. It's part of an agreement between Australia's OTC and the Directorate of Posts and Telecommunications of Cambodia, under which further improvements will be made in Cambodian telecom over 10 years. Communications will be handled via the Intelsat satellite system to Australia, then routed over OTC's international network. Previously, limited amount of international communications was handled by the Soviet Intersputnik system. Initially, calls to and from Cambodia will be connected by switchboard operators, but a digital telephone exchange will likely be installed in Phnom Penh in November. Capacity will also be increased over the next 2 years with the installation of a larger earth station. MOSCOW: NEW EXCHANGE TO SET UP COMPUTER SYSTEM The Moscow Commodities and Raw Materials Exchange has decided to build a computer system to handle its transactions. One exchange official was quoted as saying, "We clearly understand that without an electronic communication system we will die in just months." A two-million-ruble contract was granted to Moscow-based Kurchatov Institute of Nuclear Energy. The system it creates is expected to be operational in three months. In the first stage the computer system will be available for use by Exchange members only. Further expansion plans call for the systems' public use, writes Kirill Tchashchin of Newsbytes. ONLINE FACTOIDS 900 PRO-HELP, a computer support line running on a caller-paid 900-number, added fax service. Its RapidFacts dispenses product, sales and other information by facsimile to prospects of Western Micro Market and Perceptive Solutions. Callers to the Value Page of Western Micro Market pay $9.95 for the call while Perspective Solutions callers are charged $4.95. DIP, designers of the Atari Portfolio, released the Pocket Mac, a communications module that links the Pocket PC to an Apple Mac. It costs UKP 60-83. EUROPE'S information technology market continues to grow twice as fast as that of the U.S., says Compaq Chairman Ben Rosen, and it's already a bigger market than North America. Rosen called the Australian market very slow. INFONET bought 67% of Osiware International. Its Hong Kong director predicted OSI will let Asia "leapfrog" Europe and the U.S. in data communications, as that region lacks proprietary messaging networks. PHOENIX TECHNOLOGIES announced a joint-development deal with Intel which will let laptops use Phoenix basic input-output systems with Intel chips. The company also adapted its VGA graphics software to work with flat screens. REFERENCE POINT delayed offering its international environmental database until next year, due to a network design change. CONTACT: 900 Support, Al Viera, +503-684-2826 DIP Systems, Peter Baldwin, +0483-301555 Equifax, John Ford, +404-885-8309 INEP, John Harris, +301-596-2740 MCI, John Houser, +1-800-289-0073 Moscow Commodities Exchange, Sergey Petrov, +7 095 924-7530 Newsbytes, Wendy Woods, +415-500-7334 New South Wales Privacy, John Stanton, +61-2-287 5760 Osiware Asia, John Daly, +852 526 9308 Phoenix, Michael Deutsch, +617-551-4184 RC&C, Peter Strezev, +7 095 143-5671