February 2007 Archives

Sales of consumer electronics are growing at a record pace this year as online sales revenue is expected to reach the trillion dollar threshold by 2012. Online retailers are seeing the largest percentage of growth as Internet shoppers are looking for ways to save money as well as time. More and more buyers are looking to Internet malls for their everyday shopping needs. Online merchants who provide a variety of products, reasonable prices as well as fast and reliable delivery options are best positioned to lead the way now and for years to come.

Leadpile.com says online commerce to pass $1 trillion potential and make up 25 percent of all sales in the United States by 2012. Leadpile.com predicts that new "Younger Super Internet Consumer" will lead the way.

"Consumer electronics products will contribute a large part to the overall growth estimates," says Daniel Arque, President of www.GoodBuy4you.com, "which is why we have added many new products to our Web Store like digital cameras, plasma and HDTV units, computers, home theater systems, car navigation and entertainment and much more."

Growth will not be limited to Internet retailers. The National Retail Federation is forecasting that holiday retail sales will rise 5 percent over last year. That means that registers will ring up more that $435 billion in transactions. Sales last year were up 6.7 percent from 2003 levels. If recent trends continue, it is very likely that shopping centers and stores will be looking a lot like Christmas long before Thanksgiving.

"Consumers won't have to wait until the last minute to get the best deals this year because retailers are expected to be aggressive in their pricing strategies throughout the entire holiday season," said Tracy Mullin, NRF president. "Stores are planning for holiday sales and promotions, so discounted prices won't have a negative effect on profits."

For more information on the trend, check out this press release.

The New York Times Company and Monster Worldwide Inc. recently announced a strategic alliance, combining the Times Companys market-leading news and local Web sites with Monsters leading online recruitment expertise and services. Under the terms of the deal, 19 of the Times Companys newspaper Web sites, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and its award-winning newspapers throughout the southeast and California, will co-brand their online recruitment advertising Web sites with Monster. The companies say the alliance will create a new presence with local relevance and broad online reach in the careers market, supported by the combined brand recognition and marketing strength of both companies.

The enhanced and expanded New York Times Company-Monster co-branded career sites will provide job seekers and employers with the features and functionality of the Times Companys existing online job sites, combined with Monsters collection of innovative, market-leading career tools and content. In addition, recruiting professionals will now enjoy both local and national job posting capabilities through Times Company and Monster sites, along with access to the worlds largest resume database, which grows by more than 40,000 resumes each day. The co-branded sites will begin to appear in March.

"The combination of technology, reach and expertise created by this strategic alliance is extraordinary," said Janet L. Robinson, chief executive officer, The New York Times Company. "Together with Monster, The New York Times Company will significantly increase our presence in the online recruitment space as we continue to provide quality solutions and considerable value for employers and job seekers."

"This new relationship between Monster and The New York Times Company combines two world-class brands to jointly deliver greater value for both career-seeking consumers and for employers seeking talent," said William Pastore, president and chief executive officer, Monster Worldwide. "The alliance significantly advances Monsters strategy to provide highly localized online recruitment and career services, allowing Monster to leverage its expertise and full range of solutions in conjunction with the Times Companys award-winning local news outlets and powerful distribution presence."

The alliance will create the overall online recruitment leader in Boston, where Monster will join with BostonWorks.com, the recruitment Web site for Boston.com, New England's leading news site and one of the nation's biggest regional Web sites, with four million unique visitors each month (Source: Nielsen // NetRatings, December 2006). The new BostonWorks.com-Monster site will combine BostonWorks.coms leading 16 percent share of the Boston market's online job postings with Monster's 9 percent share (Source: Wanted Tech). In New York, The New York Times-Monster site will capitalize on NYTimes.com, the number one most-visited newspaper Web site in the U.S. (Source: Nielsen// NetRatings, December 2006). Monsters significant Web traffic will complement the Times Company, which is the ninth most-visited parent company on the Web in the U.S., with 44.2 million unique visitors per month (Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, December 2006).

The Best of The New York Times Company and Monster for Both Job Seekers and Employers

The co-branded sites will be designed to help employers and staffing organizations better target and more efficiently place recruitment advertising to reach both local and national talent. Recruiters new to Monster will benefit from its suite of tools designed to streamline and expedite the hiring process. Monsters existing recruiting customers will also have the opportunity to cross-advertise in the Times Companys print properties. To enable this, Monster will introduce a new "click-to-print" feature that will provide current online recruiting clients with a simple method to reverse-publish their job listings as print ads in Times Company newspapers.

On the consumer side, more job candidates will be able to take advantage of Monsters advanced search and match technology, enabling them to identify both local and national opportunities. Monsters new capabilities allow seekers to easily expand their searches using the new "More Jobs Like This" feature, or fine-tune searches based on criteria such as salary range, years of experience or the distance of jobs from a targeted ZIP code. The new co-branded sites will also feature local employment news and information, career advice and guidance, and more.

For more information, check out the New York Times press release.

Netflix, in association with its Red Envelope Entertainment division, announced it has acquired worldwide rights to produce and distribute a new documentary exploring and celebrating the life and career of the legendary recording artist and concert performer, Tony Bennett. "Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends" will be directed by Bruce Ricker ("The Last of the Blue Devils," "Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows"), with Clint Eastwood serving as executive producer.

Tony Bennett is beloved as one of the premiere interpreters of the Great American Songbook. The new documentary will follow Bennett's more than 50 years in the music and entertainment industries against the backdrop of a changing America. Weaving seldom seen archival footage with never before seen excerpts of Bennett's recent premier performance at the Monterey Jazz festival -- highlighted by an on-camera interview conducted by Eastwood that explores the essence of Bennett's artistry -- the film will present an exceptional man in a rare way: a living legend through his life, times and music.

This cinematic portrayal of Tony Bennett caps a year-long celebration of a singer who celebrated his 80th birthday last August. Bennett's most recent chart topping CD, "Tony Bennett Duets: An American Classic," has also reached another milestone for the singer, becoming the biggest selling album of his career. "Duets" was awarded three Grammy Awards last Sunday in the categories of "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album," "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals" and "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)."

The documentary project was brought to Netflix and Red Envelope Entertainment by Danny Bennett, president of RPM Productions, on behalf of Tony Bennett and Clint Eastwood. Netflix is committed to providing consumers with access to the widest variety of films available and, in association with Red Envelope Entertainment, will fully finance the production. An innovative release plan will include DVD rental and sale, online and TV distribution, as well as an event-driven premiere and theatrical release this summer. The film is currently in production at locations around the country, including Astoria, Queens in New York City, where Bennett was born, as well as Hollywood, California.

"The coming together of Tony Bennett and Clint Eastwood -- two enduring and iconic figures in the world of American entertainment -- is a cultural flashpoint," said Ted Sarandos, Netflix chief content officer. "Netflix spearheading this prestigious project showcases our abilities to bring unique content to our subscribers and, in this case, a global audience."

"'Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends' is an historical record of an American icon," said director and producer Bruce Ricker. "We wanted the film to reach the widest audience possible and Netflix achieves that goal."

Read more in the Netflix press release.

If you are looking for ways to cut back on the amount of electricity you use to save money and reduce your home's impact on the environment, a new campaign has launched to help. The 18Seconds movement, a network of organizations and individuals committed to a common goal of energy conservation, launched a nationwide effort recently to raise awareness about global warming and demonstrate how one small action—taking 18 seconds to change a conventional incandescent bulb to an ENERGY STAR labeled compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL)— can significantly reduce environmental impact.

"This movement is about empowering the individual—to say to every person in America that with one easy step, they can become part of a movement that will literally change the world," said Lawrence Bender, network member and Academy Award-winning producer of the Oscar-nominated documentary An Inconvenient Truth. "I believe the CFL is the Trojan horse into the minds of the American public. Once you get somebody who feels good about making a difference and at the same time saving money, you have them thinking about what else they can do."

The 18Seconds network is a group of companies, government entities, non-governmental organizations, religious groups, academic institutions and individuals who want to educate Americans about the electric cost-savings and environmental benefits of CFLs, which require 1/3 the energy of traditional bulbs to provide the same amount of light. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a member of the network, if every American swapped just one bulb for an ENERGY STAR labeled CFL, it would collectively save them more than $8 billion in energy costs, prevent burning 30 billion pounds of coal, and keep two million cars worth of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere.

"When we reach our goal of getting all 300 million Americans to switch to at least one ENERGY STAR CFL, the energy saved would be enough to meet the electricity needs of 1.5 million homes—thats enough electricity for all the residents of Delaware and Vermont combined," Paul Dickerson, chief operating officer, Department of Energy. "With nearly 20 percent of all home electric costs stemming from lighting alone, ENERGY STAR labeled CFLs can have tremendous benefits for any consumer wishing to save on their energy bills, but especially low-income families."

Converting one conventional 60W bulb to a 13W ENERGY STAR labeled CFL can save: $30 or more in electric costs over its lifetime; five or more conventional bulbs from being produced, transported and discarded in a landfill; 110 lbs. of coal from being burned; and 450 lbs. of greenhouse gases from reaching the atmosphere. The average home has more than 30 light fixtures, and since ENERGY STAR labeled CFLs last an average of five to seven years, that means even more potential savings.

In conjunction with the launch of the movement, the network officially unveiled the Web site, www.18seconds.org. Built by Yahoo!, the site is a tool you can use to see updated sales data for CFL purchases nationally and locally. During a visit to the site, you can see the amount of CFLs sold across the country, in your city or state based on per capita purchases. Beyond the sales data, provided by AC Nielsen and received from most grocery store, drug and mass merchandise retailers, the site offers a way to see the impact your purchases are having by showing the amount of money, energy and greenhouse gas emissions saved in your area on a daily basis. As more large retailers submit data over the coming months, the site will improve in accuracy and become more valuable to grassroots organizers.

"The mounting evidence for global warming is so sobering that it may be difficult to imagine how individual actions can make a difference," said David Filo, Yahoo! co-founder. "With 18seconds.org, we're using technology to illustrate that small lifestyle changes can indeed add up to having a tremendous collective impact on our planet—city by city, state by state, nationwide."

The Web site was previewed earlier this year at the U.S. Conference of Mayors 75th Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. At the meeting, Bender challenged the mayors in attendance to commit their cities to the 18Seconds goal. Currently, 12 mayors have expressed interest in starting their own campaigns with more joining the movement to promote energy-saving CFLs every day.

"Raising awareness about ENERGY STAR labeled CFLs helps consumers be smarter in how they live while helping reduce global warming at the same time," said Kathleen Hogan, director, Climate Protection Partnerships Division, EPA. "The reality is we dont have to wait 10 or 12 years down the road to make changes that have a profound impact on our environment. Every American can do it right now in just 18 seconds."

For more information, check out the press release or visit www.18seconds.org

Covad Communications Group Inc. recently announced that Renaissance Las Vegas, a AAA-rated 4-Diamond hotel in downtown Las Vegas, has selected Covad's wireless broadband service for their business needs.

The Renaissance Las Vegas chose the NextWeb HiCap service—with up to 100 Mbps of bandwidth— which was originally ordered to supply bandwidth to the hotel. Hotel General Manager Tom Xavier, however, was so satisfied with the service that he decided to keep it on a permanent basis.

"We require a large amount of bandwidth on a 24-hour basis for our business to function and meet our guests' needs," said Xavier. "Covad was easy to work with and quickly implemented the successful broadband solution."

"We are pleased the Renaissance Las Vegas chose Covad for its business needs," said Pat Bennett, Covad executive vice president market development. "Our competitively priced service offerings are simple to understand and easy to implement, which can result in immediate cost-savings. Ultimately, our solutions enable business owners to focus on growing their businesses instead of worrying about technology choices."

Covad offers high-speed broadband wireless to over 3500 businesses in five markets nationwide: Chicago, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Orange County and San Francisco.

For more information, check out the press release Renaissance Las Vegas Chooses Covad High-Speed Wireless Broadband.

Cox Television announced recently that it has selected Harris Corporation's OSi-Traffic™ application to manage the traffic, sales, accounting and reporting components of its business. Cox Television owns and operates 15 television stations and one cable news channel, and is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, one of the nation's leading media companies.

A longstanding Harris customer, Cox TV will be able to use OSi Traffic™ to seamlessly integrate other Harris products across multiple business lines. For example, Cox can integrate its Harris® ADC™ Playout Automation solution with OSi-Traffic applications. The tight integration between traffic and automation allows Cox to increase revenue by controlling inventory utilization selling, and optimizing available spots closer to airtime.

The relationship between OSi-Traffic™ and Harris applications like Medialine and Repline also creates integrated local and national sales tools for Cox Television. As one of the top national television advertising sales firms, this integration helps Cox Television develop efficient conduits between stations and agencies—increasing efficiency and decreasing errors.

"The team at Cox feels with OSi-Traffic, we're moving to a provider who understands the demands of the television business today and into the future with an emphasis on greater speed and access to information," said Bruce Baker, executive vice president, Cox Television. "The synergy of Harris systems with our stations is unique and gives us confidence that we'll not only operate better, but also more efficiently—all with a focus on better serving our viewing and advertising customers."

Harris also provides Cox with an organized migration path from its previous Harris® BMS traffic system, giving the company an uninterrupted view of historical data. Cox Television will enjoy a smooth and integrated transition process to an economical and efficient centralized traffic system. The centralized architecture also enables Cox to track broadcast revenue streams from disparate locations.

Read more in the press release Cox Television Selects Harris Corporation's OSi-Traffic™ to Manage Traffic, Sales, Accounting and Reporting.

XM Satellite Radio and SIRIUS Satellite Radio announced yesterday that they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine in a merger of equals with a combined enterprise value of approximately $13 billion. The companies will continue to operate independently until the transaction is completed and said they will work together to determine the combined company's corporate name and headquarters location prior to closing.

"We are excited for the many opportunities that an XM and SIRIUS combination will provide consumers," said Gary Parsons, Chairman of XM Satellite Radio and Hugh Panero, CEO of XM Satellite Radio, in a joint statement. "The combined company will be better positioned to compete effectively with the continually expanding array of entertainment alternatives that consumers have embraced since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) first granted our satellite radio licenses a decade ago."

"This combination is the next logical step in the evolution of audio entertainment," said Mel Karmazin, CEO of SIRIUS Satellite Radio. "Together, our best-in-class management team and programming content will create unprecedented choice for consumers, while creating long-term value for shareholders of both companies. The combined company will be positioned to capitalize on SIRIUS and XM's complementary distribution and licensing agreements to enhance availability of satellite radios, offer expanded content to subscribers, drive increased advertising revenue and reduce expenses. Each of our companies has a strong commitment to providing listeners the broadest range of music, news, sports and entertainment and the best customer service possible. We look forward to sharing the benefits of the exciting new growth opportunities this combination will provide with all of our stakeholders."

The transaction is subject to approval by both companies' shareholders, the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory review and approvals, including antitrust agencies and the FCC. Pending regulatory approval, the companies expect the transaction to be completed by the end of 2007.

Read more in the Houston Chronicle article XM and Sirius to combine; hurdles loom.

Experts at SophosLabs™, a global network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have warned of a widespread worm posing as a Valentine's Day greeting which is spreading fast across the Internet

The W32/Dref-AB worm has been deliberately spread via e-mail in readiness for office workers and home computer users to find the malicious Valentine e-mail in their inbox first thing in the morning. Since the beginning of the holiday, the Dref-AB worm has accounted for 76.4 percent of all malware sighted at Sophos's global network of virus monitoring stations.

Subject lines used in the attack are many and varied, but all pose as a romantic message. Some of them include "A Valentine Love Song", "Be My Valentine", "Fly Away Valentine", "For My Valentine", "Happy Valentine's Day", "My Lucky Valentine", "My Valentine", "My Valentine Heart", "My Valentine Sunshine", "Send Love On Valentines", "The Valentine Love Bug", "The Valentines Angel", "Valentine's Love", "Valentine's Night", "Valentine Letter", "Valentine Love Song", "Valentine Sweetie", "Valentines Day Dance", "Valentines Day is here again", and "Your Love on Valentine's".

Attached to the e-mails are files called flash postcard.exe, greeting postcard.exe, greeting card.exe, or postcard.exe which contain the worm.

"This new Valentine attack is spreading hard and fast across the Web, accounting for over three quarters of all the malware we've seen at e-mail gateways around the globe since Feb. 14 began," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant. "People will be truly love sick if they let the virus run on their PC."

Opening the attached files on a PC activates the worm, which then sends itself to other e-mail addresses found on the now infected computer. Sophos analysts believe that the worm code is designed to attempt to download further malicious code from the Internet designed to take over the PC, convert it into part of a zombie network, and use it to send spam on behalf of hacking gangs.

"Cynical hackers are using the theme of Valentine's Day to conquer innocent people's computers and use them for their own money-making purposes," continued Cluley. "Your PC and the data on it is precious, and it needs to be protected. No-one should be blinded by the excitement of Valentine's Day into opening unsolicited attachments or clicking on links to unknown websites, as you could be falling deep into a hacker's trap. The best defense is common sense, combined with up-to-date anti-virus software and e-mail filtering at your gateway."

For more information, check out the Sophos press release.

Since Presidents' Day is one of the 62 days in the year when online movie renters can't receive movies by mail, Blockbuster is celebrating the upcoming holiday weekend by extending to Netflix subscribers the in-store benefits of BLOCKBUSTER Total Access™. When there's no mail, BLOCKBUSTER Total Access gives its online subscribers the option of exchanging their DVDs at a participating BLOCKBUSTER® store for free in-store movie rentals.

From Feb. 15 through Feb. 21, including two days when post offices are closed, current Netflix members can bring the tear-off address flaps of their Netflix rental envelopes to any of the more than 5,000 participating U.S. BLOCKBUSTER stores. In exchange for every flap they present, they will receive an on-the-spot free movie rental.

"With this Presidents' Day offer, we're celebrating freedom of choice for American movie lovers, who no longer have to wait for the mail to get DVDs," said Nick Shepherd, president, Blockbuster North America. "Tens of thousands of customers are joining BLOCKBUSTER Total Access every day because no one else provides the convenience of online rentals backed by in-store services which enables consumers to access the movies they want 365 days a year."

Netflix subscribers who wish to participate in the program can tear off the address flaps they normally discard when mailing back their DVDs and turn them in at any participating BLOCKBUSTER store to receive a free in-store movie rental. They can continue to bring in their envelope flaps and exchange them for free in-store rentals for the duration of the promotion, which runs from Thursday, Feb. 15 through Wednesday, Feb. 21. Netflix customers do not need to subscribe to Blockbuster's online program to participate. To utilize the free store rentals, Netflix customers need to have a Blockbuster store membership, which they can sign up for on the spot. Store membership is free.

The name on the Netflix tear-off flaps must match the name on the holder's Blockbuster membership account. In-store movie rentals are subject to store rental terms, including due dates, and must be returned to the store from which they were rented.

For more on this promotion, check out the Blockbuster press release.

According to a recent Nielsen//NetRatings survey, Web traffic to the blog pages of the top 10 online newspapers grew 210 percent in 2006, while the the overall unique audience growth to these online newspapers was only 9 percent for the same time period. Unique visitors to blog pages accounted for 13 percent of their Dec. 2006 Web traffic, up 9 percentage points from 4 percent in Dec. 2005.

"As Web 2.0 becomes a predominant online consumer model, traditional publishers are adopting interactive forums like blogs," said Carolyn Creekmore, senior director of media analytics, Nielsen//NetRatings. "It makes perfect sense for online newspapers, where responding to a blog posting is like writing an instant letter to the editor," she continued.

The overall unique audience to the top 10 online newspapers skewed male, with 60 percent men and 40 percent women. Among newspaper blog pages, this skew intensified, with 66 percent men and 34 percent women. But both men and women are contributing to the unique audience growth, with men increasing 226 percent and women increasing 183 percent.

"Men tend to be both early adopters of new technologies and avid consumers of news," said Creekmore. "That having been said, women make up slightly more than half of the active Internet universe and we can expect them to play an increasingly significant role in blog consumption."

For more on this trend, check out the press release Online Newspaper Blog Traffic Grows 210 Percent Year Over Year, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.

DO U LIKE ME? TXT 1, 4 YES; 2, 4 NO

If you can decipher that message, you may have a better chance for romance this Valentine's Day. According to AT&T;'s new survey, short, to the point, and sometimes discreet love notes aren't just for candy hearts anymore. Now they're sweetening up wireless text messaging between cell phones. Thirty-three percent of people surveyed say they communicate with their date or mate via text messaging in 2007, an increase of six percentage points from last year. Twenty-eight percent of users also report using text messaging to flirt. Looks like Cupid has tapped into the text messaging craze.

For the fourth year, Cingular Wireless, part of the new AT&T;, has commissioned a survey of adult cell phone users to determine how cell phones have affected their romantic lives. The survey was conducted in January 2007 by ICR (International Communications Research) among 1,006 wireless users and reveals that SMS and MMS-based communication between partners is on the rise.

"Text messaging has become part of the social fabric of dating in America," said Jennifer Bowcock, director of consumer public relations for Cingular Wireless, the new AT&T.; "People can text one another to make plans or even say 'I love you' when they may not have the time or ability to make a voice call. It is definitely a discreet and simple way to stay connected."

Also significant in the survey results, 59 percent of active daters use text messaging to communicate with their dates, while only 30 percent of those who are married, in a committed relationship or not dating do the same with their partners.

Need a little help bringing the romance? AT&T; has some suggestions to help you out this Valentine's Day:

• Text messages allow you to let your loved one know you are thinking about them, even if you're at work or a public place where a voice call isn't appropriate. Say I LOVE U or HEY CU T whenever the mood strikes.
• Consider using your camera phone to snap a picture of a vase of fresh flowers or a hand-made heart drawn on paper and then use multimedia messaging to send the romantic image to your sweetheart. If you want to add a little heat to the fire, tap out a love note to include with the photo using text messaging. That's sure to make even Cupid smile.
• Ready to take your love to the next level? Show your favorite guy or girl that you've set their picture as your phone screen's background.
• If you are expecting a call during a date, let your date know in advance that you might have to take it, that way he or she won't take you out with the trash.
• Lastly, always be sensible and remember that a dinner or movie date is no place for a ringing phone if you want to live happily ever after.

If you need a little more help, check out the AT&T; press release for details on how to bring a little more heart to your cell phone use this month.

Confused about what movies to rent for a romantic night at home this Feb. 14? According to Blockbuster, when it comes to Valentine's Day, you should skip the movies from Mars and films from Venus and go for Cupid's middle ground. To help you make the right choices, Blockbuster is offering Cupid's Picks for Valentine's Movies, featuring romantic films that both men and women name as favorites.

Romantic movies aren't just for women, as a recent survey by Blockbuster Inc. shows. Ninety-eight percent of those surveyed indicated they watch romantic films, including 99 percent of women and 96 percent of men, showing the sexes have more common ground on watching love stories than many think.

Men and women do differ on how often they watch romantic movies. More than half of women watch them frequently compared to just 19 percent of men. Most men—close to 60 percent—prefer to watch romances just once in a while.

But, there is a surprising amount of room for compromise if you are looking for a good Valentine's date movie. Romantic comedies are a safe bet, with 86 percent of men watching them and 92 percent of women, and any great film with a romantic storyline rating high with both sexes. Perhaps the most unexpected discovery in the Blockbuster survey is that close to a third of men said they like a story that's worth a good cry. Fourteen percent of men said they'll watch any love story and that they're a romantic at heart.

To help the lovestruck find a good date movie for Valentine's, Blockbuster asked men and women about their favorite romantic movies and identified a handful of movies that emerged as top choices among both sexes.

Cupid's Picks for Valentine's Movies

• Braveheart
• Ghost
• Pretty Woman
• Sleepless in Seattle
• Titanic
• When Harry Met Sally

For the date who's truly dedicated to making Valentine's special for his or her sweetheart, Blockbuster also released separate lists of men's and women's favorite romantic films.

Men wooing their women should pick up The Notebook, starring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling in a tale of love that triumphs over divisions of class, time and distance. More than a quarter of women name the film as their personal favorite romantic movie. Other women's favorites include Bridget Jones' Diary, The Wedding Singer and Serendipity.

Women, on the other hand, might want to stage a screening of Casablanca, Good Will Hunting, What Women Want, Jerry Maguire or Mr. & Mrs. Smith for the men in their lives. All were named as top romantic favorites by men in the Blockbuster survey.

Read more about these Valentine's Day suggestions in the Blockbuster press release.

AT&T recently announced that Frost & Sullivan selected AT&T Homezone(SM) service as the 2007 North American Consumer Communication Services Product of the Year.

The Frost & Sullivan Award for Product of the Year recognizes the company that has demonstrated excellence in new products and technologies within its industry. In selecting AT&T for this award, Frost & Sullivan noted, "AT&T has incorporated a coherent product strategy to retain its competitive position in the consumer services space and to provide customers with an integrated home-entertainment experience."

"AT&T's Homezone services builds on the company's reputation as a reliable network provider and a consumer services innovator," said Jeff Weber, vice president, AT&T Product and Strategy. "This award from Frost & Sullivan recognizes the original thinking and careful planning that went into bringing this service to market and that our mission to connect with customers via the three screens they value most—the TV, the PC and the wireless phone—is working."

With AT&T Homezone services, the company became the first national telecommunications provider to offer seamlessly integrated video content and TV entertainment to the "digital living room," through both broadband and traditional satellite networks via a single set-top device.

AT&T Homezone integrates AT&T Yahoo!?? High-Speed Internet, AT&T | DISH Network satellite television and AT&T Home Networking services. It features digital videorecording, movies on demand, photo and music sharing, storage for both, and remote Web-based access to the system. It will soon also include remote access to the system through wireless devices. The service is available across most of the company's traditional broadband footprint.

"With its Homezone service, AT&T has demonstrated a commitment to delivering consistent growth in the future as it has in the past," said Piyush Arora, Frost & Sullivan analyst. "This service builds on AT&T's existing infrastructure and video delivery strategy to combine satellite TV programming with new levels of integration and on-demand content via broadband. It's a real homerun for consumers and AT&T."

For more information, check out the AT&T press release.

XM and American Honda Motor Co. Inc. recently launched a satellite radio trial program for Honda Certified Used Cars with factory-installed XM Satellite Radio.

Under this new program, all certified pre-owned Honda models equipped with XM Satellite Radio will be available with three months of complimentary XM service and a waived activation fee. Honda models equipped with XM include the Accord, Accord Hybrid, Civic, Civic Hybrid, CR-V, Element, Odyssey, Pilot, and Ridgeline.

XM and Acura recently announced a similar program that introduces XM to customers who purchase an Acura Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle equipped with XM Satellite Radio. Combined with the Acura program, XM's partnership with American Honda Certified Programs will make XM available in more than 35,000 of these certified vehicles in 2007, and grow to more than 55,000 vehicles in 2008. The XM marketing program for certified pre-owned vehicles will continue to expand with the increasing availability of factory-installed XM Satellite Radio across both vehicle model lineups.

"XM's program for previously owned Honda models introduces XM to a new and growing category of car buyers, as more Honda vehicles are equipped with XM each year," said Marisa Uchin, Manager of Remarketing, Automotive, XM. "Honda Certified Used Car buyers can now conveniently experience XM's 170 plus channels of music, talk, sports and entertainment."

"Honda customers have increasingly come to expect the availability of XM satellite radio in their vehicles," said Dan Crowe, Automobile Remarketing Manager for Honda. "This program offers Honda Certified Used Car customers added value, and further differentiates certified used cars from run-of-the- mill used cars."

For more information on the program, see the press release XM and Honda Launch Satellite Radio Program for Honda Certified Used Cars.

Verizon is expanding its global reach through a new business unit called Verizon Business India. According to an article in today's Wall Street Journal, Verizon is filing for a long distance license in India that will make it a more powerful competitor, along with rival AT&T, in offering telecommunications and high-speed Internet services to multinational companies doing business in South Asia.

India's economy is growing at an astounding pace. With more educated English speakers than the entire U.S. population, Indian citizens enjoy a better than usual advantage in global trade. It's not just about outsourcing U.S. call center operations or off-shoring computer code writers: it's about India moving onto the world stage as both a marketplace and an economic power. With an economy that's already larger than Japan's, India's phone is about to start ringing.

Continuing in its commitment to provide consumers with a safe Internet experience, EarthLink has added "zero-day protection" in the fight against spyware, Trojans, keyloggers and other threats with its upgraded Protection Control Center with Attack Shield.

Traditional antivirus solutions take a reactive approach to detecting and eliminating new viruses: they wait for an attack to infect a computer before arming consumers with updates that protect them from the latest threats. However, EarthLink's "Attack Shield" technology is proactive: by utilizing Sana Security's award-winning multi-behavioral security engine, the application is able to monitor in real-time the consumer's PC to detect potential behaviors to determine if an installed program is malicious and remove it without requiring definition updates.

Why Upgrade to the Protection Control Center with Attack Shield?
Online security has typically required an Internet user to manage each protection application individually on a desktop or laptop computer - a time consuming and frustrating process. According to EarthLink, it's Protection Control Center and Sana's anti-malware behavior technology will give consumers a single, easy-to-use consumer interface that simplifies the task of securing a computer against online threats and nuisances that can compromise personal identity and data.

In addition to the Attack Shield upgrade, the Protection Control Center 2.0 also includes the following enhancements:

• Improved active defense technology that detects more spyware and viruses before they can get onto a consumer's PC
• Better system performance
• Enhanced user interface
• Firewall lockdown that allows consumers to shut down all Internet traffic with one click if they think their computer is under attack
• Enhanced Firewall
• LAN Detection that allows consumers to set up trusted networks to which they connect to most

More on Viruses & Malware
According to the Anti-Spyware Coalition, a computer virus is code that recursively replicates a possibly evolved copy of itself. Viruses infect a host file or system area, or they simply modify a reference to such objects to take control and then multiply again to form new generations. Definitions for spyware, Trojans and other forms of malware can be found at http://www.antispywarecoalition.org/documents/glossary.htm. For more information on the Protection Control Center with Attack Shield or to sign up, visit http://www.earthlink.net/software/pcc/. For EarthLink's Podcast about the Protection Control Center with Attack Shield, please go to: http://www.earthlink.net/about/.

XM recently announced that XM Radio Online will be included in Microsoft's new operating system, Windows Vista.

Released to the public at the end of January, Windows Vista will offer XM Radio Online as part of its digital music hub. XM Radio Online delivers more than 80 radio channels, including commercial-free music, the Oprah & Friends talk and lifestyle channel, "The Bob Edwards Show," "Opie & Anthony," stand-up comedy, and children's programming.

Web users can sign up for a free, three-day trial of XM Radio Online. Unlimited listening is available for $7.99 a month. Those who subscribe to XM Satellite Radio for the car, home, or portable listening can enjoy XM Radio Online for no additional charge.

"XM is pleased to be extending its strategic relationship with Microsoft with the inclusion of XM Radio Online in Windows Vista," said My-Chau Nguyen, XM senior vice president for marketing programs and operations. "By working with Microsoft, we are expanding the availability of XM Radio Online, which provides an extraordinary variety of music choices, talk radio options, and exclusive programming such as 'Oprah & Friends.' The integration of XM Radio Online further enhances the music and entertainment experience offered by Windows Vista."

"Microsoft is pleased to be working closely with XM," said Mike Sievert, corporate vice president, Windows at Microsoft Corp. "We are thrilled with XM's support and excitement for the launch of Windows Vista and the 2007 Office system."

For more information, check out the XM Satellite Radio press release.

AT&T Inc. and A&E Television Networks today announced a comprehensive multiyear distribution agreement to deliver AETN linear, High Definition (HD) and on-demand programming as part of the AT&T U-verse^SM TV channel lineup.

Under the agreement, AT&T will deliver the following AETN brands to AT&T U-verse customers: A&E Network, The History Channel, The History Channel En Espa??ol, The Biography Channel, History International, Crime & Investigation Network and The Military History Channel. AT&T U-verse will also carry A&E Network in HD. The AT&T U-verse video-on-demand (VOD) library will also feature several hours of AETN VOD popular programming each month, including "Dog The Bounty Hunter" and "Intervention" from A&E and "Digging for the Truth" and "Dogfights" from The History Channel.

"AT&T is thrilled to bring AETN's exceptional entertainment and educational programming to our U-verse channel lineup," said Dan York, head of programming, AT&T Operations, Inc. "Customers will experience history and connect with the some of the world's most fascinating people through AETN's compelling programming."

"AETN is pleased to deliver its entire portfolio of high-quality programming over AT&T's advanced video platform," said David Zagin, executive vice president, distribution, AETN. "By adding our innovative and widely viewed networks, including HD and VOD, AT&T is giving its U-verse customers access to some of today's most desirable content."

You can read more in this AT&T press release.

Start-up airline Virgin America recently announced that EchoStar Communications Corporation will be the airline's primary live in-flight satellite entertainment partner. Pending government approval, the airline hopes to introduce domestic U.S. service in Spring 2007.

The agreement will provide Virgin America's guests with an variety of EchoStar's DISH Network satellite TV programming. In addition to live DISH Network satellite TV, the airline will offer customers 'pay-per-view' movies, audio music entertainment that includes the ability to compile individual audio playlists, a selection of popular electronic games, and even meals on-demand.

"Once the Department of Transportation says we can fly, we'll be ready to offer our guests an incredible entertainment experience and DISH Network is a major component of that," said Charles Ogilvie, Virgin America's Director of Inflight Entertainment & Partnerships. "Our interactive entertainment system is more than just a channel line-up in which our guests will immerse themselves. We believe they'll find it to be an exciting, customer-friendly experience overall."

"We are delighted to be part of this innovative airborne entertainment offering," said Charlie Ergen, Chairman and CEO of EchoStar's DISH Network. "DISH Network is focused on securing and delivering exciting, timely and appealing content to Virgin America guests as well as our 13 million-plus subscribers throughout the United States."

For more information on the new partnership, check out the press release Virgin America to Offer EchoStar's DISH Network at Every Seat on Every Flight.

Verizon announced at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that FiOS Internet customers in five states will be experiencing online connection speeds of up to 50 Mbps (megabits per second) downstream and 5 Mbps upstream, as the company continues to raise the speed of its super-high-speed, all-fiber Internet service.

Massachusetts and Rhode Island recently joined New York, Connecticut and New Jersey as states where Verizon has increased the maximum connection speed of both its mid-tier and top-tier FiOS Internet services.

The mid-tier maximum connection speed in those markets was increased from 15 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream to 20/5 Mbps, and the top-tier service was increased from 30/5 Mbps to 50/5 Mbps. The company plans similar FiOS Internet speed increases this year in some of the 11 other states where the service is available. Verizon says that specifics will be announced at a later date.

"Today's digital family relies on an increasing number of consumer electronics for their communication, their entertainment and their overall productivity," said Brian Whitton, executive director of access network design and integration for Verizon Telecom. "Digital cameras, high-def TV, remote-monitored home security, wireless networks, online multiplayer gaming systems, telecommuting connections, MP3 players, multiple PCs and more are increasingly commonplace at home. Broadband is the powerful thread that optimizes these devices and ties them all together."

Verizon is currently the only major U.S. telecommunications company building an advanced, all-digital, fiber-optic network on a mass scale all the way to customers' homes. Verizon is the first and only major telecommunications company to be certified by the independent Fiber to the Home Council as providing customers with 100 percent fiber-optic service, the ultimate communications and entertainment technology.

The company says that more than 6 million homes and businesses in parts of 16 states are now passed by Verizon's all-fiber network, and Verizon expects its new network to pass about 18 million premises by the end of 2010.

Verizon offers FiOS Internet service in more than 1,600 communities across parts of all 16 states where the company's new network is deployed: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia and Washington. The company currently offers FiOS TV service in parts of ten states: California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.

To see if Verizon FiOS Internet service is available in your home, visit the Verizon page and enter your address.

The Communications Workers of America recently released a new policy paper as part of its "Speed Matters" campaign, a multi-million-dollar, strategic effort that they say will help bring affordable, high-speed Internet to all Americans and to create 21st century, quality jobs.

The report spotlights the critical need for a comprehensive national high-speed broadband policy if the United States is to bring the benefits of the telecommunications revolution to all.

"High-speed networks are the infrastructure of the 21st century and the U.S. needs a national policy to get all of us there," said CWA President Larry Cohen. "This is a critical public good and where markets are slow to deliver, we need to find ways to create financial incentives to speed up private sector build out. In addition, we need to ensure that all regions of the country have access to service???including rural areas and urban communities. That's why we need a national public policy that will make sure that all Americans can benefit from high-speed Internet and other 21st century advances."

The report also points to ways that government can create financial incentives to speed up the build out of high-speed networks, including accelerated depreciation of investments and making low interest loans available to carriers in order to go forward with build out.

CWA's campaign involves working with policymakers in Congress and at the state and local levels and is building support among other public interest groups and organizations for ensuring universal access to high-speed broadband networks.

For more information, read the press release CWA's 'Speed Matters' Campaign to Press for High Speed Internet for All or visit www.speedmatters.org.

Contemplating life without my TiVo is a scary prospect but the Yankee Group says that might just happen in the near future. The technology research and consulting firm recently announced that their research shows that the standalone DVR product category will cease to exist by 2010, and its dissolution will result in the end of TiVo as we know it.

According to the Yankee Group Report, Technology on Fast Forward: 2006 to 2011 US DVR Forecast, even as DVR growth accelerates, TiVo will struggle to remain relevant in the market. They conclude that TiVo will begin to shed subscribers during the forecast period while service providers will continue to capitalize on the emerging technology and no entry cost hardware to incrementally up-sell subscribers to new services.

"The five year outlook for the DVR in the home is one of unmitigated growth and opportunity. As new technology emerges, it is important that advertisers, service providers and broadcasters remember that taking away [consumer's] ability to skip commercials is not an option," said Joshua Martin, Yankee Group, Consumer analyst. "The answer lies in innovation and evolution to reach the mass and niche markets moving forward because the era of the 30-second spot is fading away for all age groups and demographics."

During the forecast period, DVRs will become commoditized, resulting in the end of TiVo. However, according to Martin, "TiVo has incredible brand value that resonates with customers and it will be an asset to any service provider, increasing the likelihood of an acquisition."

For more information, check out the press release.

Qwest announced that the company and its employees and retirees have shown their Spirit of Service to the Denver, Colorado, community by pledging $1.3 million to Mile High United Way in 2007. Qwest's commitment is the largest corporate gift to Mile High United Way for the current 2006-2007 fundraising campaign.

"Qwest has a long history of giving generously to the communities it serves across the Western United States, but this year's gift to Mile High United Way is tremendous," said Brian Gallagher, president and chief executive officer of United Way of America.

Qwest says its priority in the community is to improve the quality of education for children and teens from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The company's $1.3 million gift will also help support Mile High United Way's School Readiness and Youth Success Initiatives.

"Investing in education is a core part of Qwest's commitment to communities," said Teresa Taylor, executive vice president and chief human resources officer for Qwest. "We believe in the power of education to change lives and communities, and we have confidence in Mile High United Way's ability to maximize our gift to make sure young children are ready to learn when they begin kindergarten and that all students can successfully graduate from high school."

Qwest's $1.3 million pledge is an increase of more than 40 percent over its gift to Mile High United Way last year. Nationally, Qwest's giving to local United Way organizations increased from $3 million last year to $4 million this year. In addition to its financial gift, Qwest employees and retirees volunteered more than one million hours of community service in 2006 with a primary focus on pre-K through 12th grade education.

For more information, read the Qwest press release.