the query column

A Digital Consumer Report

In March, "The Query Column" reported that NTT was producing a CD-ROM version of its Townpage English telephone directory. This seemed, at first, a terrific idea. Since NTT's telephone directory assistance is next-to-useless for obtaining the numbers of non-Japanese entities (even if you can speak the local language), a CD-ROM directory like the kinds available in other countries seemed a great format for a phone book.

by Thomas Caldwell

NTT... groan!
Like myself, however, many people were disappointed with the product they received in the mail. While the Townpage 1997 CD-ROM is a snazzy piece of multimedia software (provided you have enough computer power to run it) and has some of the "useful" phone numbers (like how to contact NTT), it is not the directory of phone numbers that you might expect. In fact, the only business numbers it carries are those of companies who paid for a classified ad.

As a result, this CD-ROM has pitifully few phone numbers (only eight airlines are listed, for example). In short, the thing is little more than a toy, a demonstration of how good NTT software programmers (think they) are. It's not even close to being a replacement for a phone book or directory services.

This isn't to suggest that you can't use your PC to get phone numbers in Japan. Adding insult to injury, the Townpage CD-ROM will connect you to a website (http://townpage.pearnet.org/ jtd/) if you want to search for a phone number. Neat trick, huh? Instead of making a phone call to get a number, NTT now has your computer making a phone call to get a number.

There is some logic in this effort: a website can be updated regularly, whereas a paper phone book can't. But then, why produce the CD-ROM in the first place? Well, we've come to expect this sort of thing in Japan, haven't we?

Daffy Ditto drives
The Ditto drive, as well as other Iomega products, have been big sellers in Japan. I myself own a unit, and until very recently was quite pleased with it. That is, until the tapes started to become unspooled during a rewind. Having your important backup tapes suddenly become useless can be an unnerving experience.

For those out there who have experienced tape rewinding problems with the Iomega Ditto tape backup system (2GB model), the problem lies not with the unit operating in Japan, but with the tapes that were initially sold here. It seems that tapes made during 1995 had a defect in the prism the laser uses to monitor the tape. Many defective tapes were sold in Japan, as recently as early 1997 (I know, I bought a few). Some work, some don't; others work for a while and then despool.

Buying newer tapes fixes the problem. Before you purchase a tape, check the back of the tape cartridge for the date it was made. The newer tapes are also colored dark red, as opposed to clear plastic.

As of this writing, I have received no word back from the company on whether or not they will replace the older, defective tapes. Given their reasonable price (less than ¥3,000 each), the postage would probably cost more than it would be worth. If you bought the tapes from a Japanese retailer, the store may offer to replace them. Just be sure to degauss the tapes before handing your data over to a stranger. For more information on Iomega products and support, check out their website at http://www.iomega.com.

PGP 5.0i has arrived!
Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is the encryption software standard. It fact, it is so good that the US military, National Security Administration, CIA, and other like-minded groups didn't want to see it exported.

Well, somebody did export the earlier versions of PGP's source code via the Internet, in clear violation of US law. The mayhem that followed almost landed several people, including the software's original author, in prison.

Yet the newest, most powerful version of the software has now been legally exported from the United States and is available to everyone. How was this done? Well, it seems that there are US laws in place that forbid the export of encryption programs and/or their source code. However, given the wonderful American tradition of free speech and freedom of the press, there is no law that forbids the export of books from the United States.

You guessed it! Somebody in the good ol' US of A printed the source code of PGP 5.0 in book format, then mailed the books overseas. The books were then scanned, the source code compiled, and voila: PGP 5.0i (small "i" for "international"). No news yet on what the feds in Washington think about this interpretation of the US Constitution. This one should be interesting to watch.

PGP 5.0i is supposed to be a real nice piece of work. Unlike earlier versions that needed to run in DOS mode, it's designed to work within the Windows 95/NT environment. Great stuff for staying one step ahead of the cyberspooks. Check it out at the International PGP website (http://www.ifi.uio.no/pgp/).

You can reach Thomas Caldwell at caldwell@gol.com.

Back to the table of contents