“They all have inferiority complexes ... they don’t feel they can run with the Internet deer.”
-- Scott McNealy, chairman of Sun Microsystems Inc., speaking at a NXTcomm invite-only lunch on June 18, about telcos' need to overcome their fears and give the over-the-top players a run for their money by becoming destination sites on the Internet.
License to Steal
Do you know who invented conference calling? Walter T. Shaw does; it was his dad, Walter Shaw Sr. But the younger Shaw said while his father invented and patented several telephonic breakthroughs, including the speakerphone, conference calling, call-forwarding and even the “Red Phone” used by the Eisenhower White House to contact the Kremlin, he was robbed of the ability to market these inventions by corporate America and the mafia.
Shaw’s book, “A License to Steal,” and the subsequent film of the same name, chronicle the life of his father as a systems engineer for Bell, the most powerful monopoly at the time. The author said seeing this recognition and fame stolen from his father drove him to become a thief himself. He eventually became one of the country’s most famous jewel thieves, having taken an estimated $70 million from the rich and famous along the East Coast.
Ugly Called
Ugly called – it wants its phone back. Business telephone equipment provider MVD Communications is holding a beauty – or lack thereof – contest for phones. The “Ugly Phone Contest” celebrates those old, worn-out, unsightly and plain ugly phones that usually end up in the bottom drawer, the back of a closet or the trash. Entrants in MVD’s operating area of Cincinnati, Indianapolis or Orlando, Fla., can submit a photo of their “looker,” along with an explanation of why it’s the ugliest phone, to win a free phone system from MVD.
The contest, which is being held in honor of MVD’s 16th anniversary, runs through Sept. 30 and the winner will be announced Oct. 1. Official rules, entry form and submission procedures can be found at the MVD Web site.
