This is a common concern that stems from the fact that people no longer buy "A COMPUTER", but buy a system that needs upgrading at frequent intervals. CTI (Computer-Telephone-Integration) is only one aspect of this trend. In the USA, the FCC has a program that allows for "Component Registration", UL has just launched a new advisory group to make recommendations to that effect and CSA in Canada can already do it.
All this will help, but the back-alley operator is not going to worry too much about marking and we probably will see that we will have to design the parts so that anybody can put them together, no matter how you misconnect them. The legal position of the purchaser is different in every jurisdiction. In some places it is unlawful to "make" things without a mark, in others it is unlawful to sell things without a mark, yet in other places there is nothing unlawful about either, but it is unlawful to connect unmarked equipment into a wall socket. I believe that what we see is a defacto drive for change in regulatory practices. There is no way that you can recall the products put out by the back-alley operators (by the way, some are VERY GOOD and VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE) and prosecution will probably only drive them a bit deeper underground. Current regulatory practices won't touch these people, so new and innovative means will have to be developed to control the situation. Regards, Vic
