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A cable TV start-up has filed a suit against Comcast and Time Warner over the Adelphia deal. According to the article Time Warner, Comcast sued over Adelphia plans, the suit claims that the huge communication companies are "trying to keep independent networks off the air as they prepare to acquire smaller rival Adelphia Communications Corp." The Time Warner, Comcast deal to buy out Adelphia is slated to close on July 31 of this year.
Sirius payed CBS Radio $2 million to own the master tapes of Howard Stern's past shows. This deal serves as a settlement to the suit that CBS Radio brought against Stern in February that I wrote about in the an earlier post. You can read the article Sirius buys classic Stern moments for $2 million to find out more about the settlement.
Service Magic is available nationwide and matches customers with up to four prescreened home related contractors that will assist the customer with their home service needs. You can get three different types of services from Service Magic through WhiteFence: Interior Home Services, Installation Services and now Exterior Installation Services.
Exterior Installation Services offers customers assistance with services such as adding sunrooms or patio enclosures, building or replacing decks, painting, varnishing, or staining exterior surfaces, home additions, hiring an architect, and landscape design. Service Magic offers installation for all their exterior services, such as: glass doors, screen doors, window tinting, hot tubs/spas, multi-level decks, and sprinkler systems. You can see this blog post to find out more about Interior Home Services and Installation Services.
According to the article Symantec repairs flaw in antivirus software, Symantec released a repairing patch this weekend to fix a serious flaw just revealed last week by researchers. The flaw effected the latest corporate versions of the Symantec AntiVirus software. The security problem allowed hackers to delete files, steal data and implant malicious programs. If you need the patch, it is available via Symantec's LiveUpdate technology.
E-mail messages can come back to haunt you. As more and more people become comfortable with their computers and the Internet, they forget that e-mail correspondence is more permanent than verbal conversation. E-mails, even if deleted off your personal computer, can often be recovered. Several civil and criminal cases recently have used e-mail records as evidence, including the antitrust case against Microsoft in the 1990s. To find out more about why you should think carefully before you send that next e-mail, you can read the article Perspective: Getting nailed by e-mail.
EarthLink announced on Friday that it has received approval to build a Wi-Fi broadband network in the Crescent City. The Wi-Fi mesh network will provide affordable, high-speed Internet access for residents, businesses and visitors in New Orleans. EarthLink will provide a free service tier and a paid service tier.
"EarthLink is doing its part to help rebuild the Crescent City and enable residents, visitors and the thousands of workers to stay connected with low cost broadband service," said Donald Berryman, executive vice president of EarthLink and president of the ISP's municipal networks unit, in an EarthLink press release.
For more information, you can check out Earthling, EarthLink's Blog.
According to the article Cable Competition Creates Jobs, it will. The article sites research that came out last week that says cable competition would create a minimum - that's right, a minimum - of 110,000 jobs. This study, conducted by Stephen B. Pociask, president of TeleNomic Research, showed research that cable competition would additionally lower cable rates by 23 percent on average. Considering this research, cable competition has the potential to benefit a great deal of people.
Jeff Halpern from Bernstein Research has estimated that 5.5 million people will subscribe to IPTV by 2010. Although this may seem like a high number, Berstein Research has actually lowered its estimations. It had previously projected that IPTV subscriptions would reach the lofty number of 5.5 million by 2009, an entire year earlier than now estimated. Halpurn attributes the lowering in subscription projections to "slower franchise approval process, greater technological challenges and slower deployment into residential MDUs than originally forecast," according to the article Analyst: 5.5 Million Telco Video Subs in 2010.
Atlanta-based Cox Communications, Inc. is among the nation's largest broadband communications companies, serving six million customers in more than 20 states. Digital video, local and long-distance telephone and high-speed Internet access services are currently offered through WhiteFence. Local Telephone is now available in Oklahoma City along with all the other great services from Cox that are offered through WhiteFence.
With the upcoming release of Nintendo's Wii, gamers worldwide have been spreading the rumor that the gaming console will support VoIP. Though the rumors have not been confirmed nor denied by Nintendo, Nintendo officials did say that the Wii has "additional capabilities" that will be announced upon its release. To read more about Wii's possible VoIP capabilities, you can read Will Wii Do VoIP?
On Wednesday, Sirius Satellite Radio reaffirmed its guidance of more than 6.2 million subscribers by year-end 200. This represents an 87 percent increase over the company's subscriber base at the end of 2005. Sirius expects to add more than 2.8 million net subscribers during the year. Sirius's CEO Mel Karmazin said that Sirius continues "to experience dramatic growth and strong demand for our service."
Changing cities means changing local newspapers. If you want to get a great price on local newspapers across the nation, you should go to WhiteFence. WhiteFence has more than 130 newspapers available for subscription at extremely discounted prices.
Today, Verizon Wireless announced that more than 95 percent of the handsets being used by Verizon customers are able to be located by 911 operators, once those local emergency systems have upgraded their technology to receive the location information transmitted by phones, PDAs, smartphones and other wireless devices. Verizon Wireless is the first national service provider to meet the Federal Communications Commission's requirement for wireless Enhanced 911 handsets.
"To reach this milestone, Verizon Wireless employees remained focused over a period of several years on the 95 percent goal established by the Federal Communications Commission," said Steve Zipperstein, Verizon Wireless General Counsel, in a recent Verizon press release.
Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee voted to uphold net neutrality. They approved a bill that would require Internet providers to operate their networks in a "non-discriminatory" manner. This is a big win for companies like Google and Microsoft that have been lobbying for net neutrality for months. You can read the article, House panel votes for Net neutrality, to find out more. Also, the bill itself is accessible through the Library of Congress Web site.
XM radio brings you radio to the power of X. With XM Radio you can get:
You can choose from various subscription plans, including monthly, quarterly or yearly. You can go to WhiteFence to pick out which XM radio and plan that you want.
More than 500 people have been arrested recently for mass-marketing fraud. Since March 1, 2005, police in countries across North America, South America and Europe participating in "Operation Global Con" have uncovered a number of scams and have arrested 565 people to date. Almost three million people a year fall victim to mass-marketing fraud that can be carried out through the Internet, by telemarketers and through mass mailings. To read more about this story, you can read the article Hundreds arrested in mass-marketing frauds.
XM recently announced a new season of exclusive music content. The Dixie Chicks, Pretenders, David Gilmour and Rob Thomas will be some of the artists featured in the new season of XM's original music programming. To read more about the programming, you can read the article XM's New Season of Exclusive Programming or go to XM's Web site.
BellSouth released this week that they have made great strides to be prepared for the upcoming hurricane season. One of the most critical issues to BellSouth after a storm is providing power to its network in the event that commercial power is lost. This year, BellSouth has further increased its supply of generators to power the network immediately after a storm hits. In addition, many of BellSouth local digital loop carrier and switching facilities now house permanent generators, some of which are fueled by natural gas and do not require re-fueling.
"Over the past nine months, BellSouth has remained intently focused on restoration efforts in New Orleans and preparations for the 2006 hurricane season. We are enhancing our already robust storm-preparedness activities to ensure that communications services can be maintained, or restored quickly, after any weather-related events," said Bill Smith, BellSouth's chief technology officer.
If you're interested in what other phone providers are doing to prepare for Hurricane Season 2006, you can read these posts on Verizon and Sprint.
According to DisplaySearch, a consulting and display market research firm, global LCD shipments went up 135 percent year-over-year; however shipments fell 14 percent quarter-over-quarter. They ranked the top LCD TVs by unit share as well as by revenue. The top five LCD TVs by unit share were:
However, the top five LCD TVs by revenue fell in a different order. They were as follows:
To read more about DisplaySearch's findings, you can check out this press release.
Verizon Local Phone, Long Distance and DSL High-Speed Internet services are now available in bundles on WhiteFence throughout their coverage area, which includes: California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia. You can get great savings on you home essential services if you get a bundle with Verizon.
If you are nervous that your VoIP phone conversations are being overheard, Phil Zimmermann, an Internet security expert, has developed an encryption program that could put your mind at ease. David Louie's article Concerns Raised Over Security Of VoIP discusses the securtiy dangers that might exist with VoIP and how Zimmermann's program can prevent those security breaches. Zimmermann's program, Zfone, narrows the odds to one in a million that a hacker can intercept VoIP conversations. Check out the article to find out more.
Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Internet, is calling for net neutrality. Berners-Lee recently talked about the subject at the World Wide Web conference in Edinburgh. According to the article Berners-Lee calls for Net neutrality, author Jonathan Bennett said that although Berners-Lee does support net neutrality, he does not support a completely unregulated telecoms and Internet market. Read the article to find out more about Berners-Lee's opinion on net neutrality.
BellSouth demanded last week that USA Today retract the newspaper's claims that BellSouth provided phone records of its customers to the National Security Agency (NSA). Lawyers for BellSouth sent a letter to USA Today requesting that the newspaper to retract "false and unsubstantiated statements" made in a May 11 story. To find out more about this story, you can read the article BellSouth pressing for a retraction.
It is hard to get your pet accustomed to a new place after a move. They miss their old home just as much as you and your family does. If your pet is not helped along to feel comfortable in their new home, they can develop high levels of stress which may cause medical problems. This article details some ways that you can help out your cat or dog to get to know their new home.
As you know, using VoIP can save lots of money for people who make international calls. Mino Wireless sees the opportunity for the same money savings for cell phone users. They have begun a service that allows people to make VoIP calls using their cell phones. Mino Wireless requires their users to have a service plan from Cingular, T-Mobile or Nextel, a data plan and a phone that can run Java. With Mino Wireless, you can make international calls for 2.2 cents a minute to 40 countries. Since launching the company in January, they have gotten 20,000 users. To read more about this new VoIP venture, you can read the article Why VOIP is headed for your cell phone.
Verizon Wireless is ready for whatever this hurricane season might bring its way, according to a recent Verizon Wireless press release. Verizon Wireless has insured that their customers in hurricane prone areas will have service in the case of a hurricane through investments in network cell sites, switches and infrastructure throughout the years. Additionally, about 90 percent of Verizon Wireless' cell sites in hurricane prone regions have on-site back-up generators, which are routinely tested to ensure they are ready in the event the local electrical power source is knocked out.
To illustrate Verizon Wireless' readiness for the hurricane season, the Verizon Wireless drive tests done following Hurricane Katrina found the company's network averaged an impressive 90 percent call completion rate in impacted areas after the storm, compared to rates of 79 percent and lower among competitors. You can read the press release to find out more about what Verizon Wireless has done to make sure their gulf coast customers can keep in contact with their loved ones in the case of a hurricane.
According to the article Does HDTV Matter Yet?, analyst Doug Shapiro of Bank of America Securities has found that consumers have not fully embraced subscription HD packages, with only 25 to 50 percent of homes with HD-compatible sets subscribing to a high definition package with their cable or satellite company. Research like this is important for cable and satellite providers to be aware of, since both are trying to beat the other out in the HD wars. Check out the article to find out more about Shapiro's findings.
Things are heating up in congress about net neutrality. Carol Wilson from Telephony Online wrote a good update recently on what is going on in her article, Net neutrality heats up again. You should check it out to keep up with the situation, since what happens has the potential to greatly affect how we use the Internet.
If you want to get a trial user's opinion on AT&T's venture into the world of IPTV, you can check out the SAtechBlog. Blogger Alan Weinkrantz, president of a high tech PR firm in San Antonio, volunteered to test out AT&T's U-Verse IPTV service. He chose to chronicle his experience in the blog. It should be interesting to see how someone who is very familiar with technology enjoys the U-Verse service.
Do you always check out sites like RottenTomatoes to find out what the critics think before you go to a movie? Well, now TiVo will bring critics suggestions straight to your TiVo box. TiVo's Guru Guide™ will allow subscribers to discover exciting programming and automatically record great collections of shows, recommended by editorial experts at some of the nation's top consumer magazines and news sources.
Gurus from Entertainment Weekly, Star, Sports Illustrated, Automobile, Billboard, CNET and others will offer TiVo subscribers program recommendations based on popular television categories including sports, films, music, comedies, drama and more. As an added benefit, TiVo subscribers will be able to automatically record Guru Guide recommendations via the company's online scheduling feature.
Although the National Hurricane Center doesn't expect a repeat of the record-making 2005 hurricane season, they have predicted that their will be between four to six major hurricanes, with as many as 16 named storms. Additionally, Max Mayfield, the director for National Hurricane Center, suggests that everyone on the gulf coast prepare for a storm, since it only takes one hurricane hitting your town to make it a "bad season."
Along with putting together emergency supplies and learning evacuation routes, now is the time to check your insurance to make sure you are covered in the case of a hurricane. Once you know that a hurricane is on its way to your hometown, it is too late to buy additional insurance. If you find that you do need insurance, you can get renters insurance quickly using WhiteFence.
WhiteFence understands that not all consumers like to orders services through the Internet. Therefore, WhiteFence has established call centers to take orders and assist customers with any questions they may have regarding several of their Web sites. Current WhiteFence sites that offer order hotlines include:
Please refer to the home page on each of the above sites for the appropriate contact numbers and call center hours.Florida cities are asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to speed up the approval process of the ongoing Adelphia deal. Adelphia had sold its assets to Time Warner Cable and Comcast, but the deal will not be complete until the FCC approves the takeover.
According to the article Florida Cities Desperate for Adelphia Solution, some Floridians believe that the turmoil cause by Adelphia's legal problems have caused those who have Adelphia as their cable provider to fall behind in new technologies. Maurice Jacobson, mayor of South Palm Beach, was quoted in the story as saying "Adelphia's struggles during the years leading up to and including its bankruptcy are well known. During that period, Adelphia's focus seemed to shift from quickly bringing our citizens cutting edge technologies to merely surviving. Unfortunately, those years happened to coincide with the period in which many new applications and services were being rolled out by other cable operators throughout the country." Some residents in Adelphia's coverage area believe that this problem will be solved once Time Warner Cable and Comcast are allowed to take over.
Comcast is the nation's largest cable provider with over 21 million subscribers. Comcast offers a wide variety of entertainment products, including Digital Cable, high speed Internet and home telephone service. Comcast Cable television benefits include sports packages, digital video recording, high-definition cable television, Video-On-Demand, movies and parental controls. Comcast provides coverage in many of the country's major metropolitan areas. If you would like to see if Comcast services are available in your area, you should go to WhiteFence and enter your address.
There are several rules to follow when you are moving your pet either domestically or internationally. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has published several of the regulations and instructions on their Animal Care: Pet Travel site. Especially if you are moving overseas, this Web site can help you figure out how to get your pet ready for travel.
According to the article 'Blog Radio' Comes To Sirius, Sirius will launch a new radio music program, titled Blog Radio, that will be hosted by music bloggers. The program will debut on May 29 on channel 26, which is Sirius' indie and alternative rock station. "Blog Radio further solidifies Sirius' position as the leader in the discovery of new music and demonstrates our commitment to providing a vehicle for independent musicians and opinion makers to be heard," said Steve Blatter, Sirius senior VP of music programming, in the article.
DIRECTV has announced that they bought 15.5 million in common shares from the General Motors Special Hourly Employees Pension Trust and the General Motors Special Salaried Employees Pension Trust. The transaction is expected to be completed on May 24, 2006. Read this press release to find out more about the purchase.
Now, more than 40,000 households in Tampa can now get Verizon FiOS TV. After a unanimous decision on May 11 of the Tampa City Council that allowed Verizon a franchise to provide video service in the city, Verizon began taking orders Wednesday for the Verizon FiOS TV service in the Tampa area. You can find out more about the Verizon FiOS TV service in Tampa here.
Sprint Nextel is preparing for the 2006 hurricane season by expanding the scope of the Sprint Nextel Emergency Response Team (ERT). The ERT works with public safety agencies and other customers to coordinate communications during emergencies and other large-scale events and provide customers with three key resources - personnel, equipment and infrastructure - during disaster response and recovery efforts. To find out more about Sprint Nextel's hurricane preparedness efforts, you should read this press release.
Yesterday, EarthLink announced that they have launched www.scamblockers.com to give consumers another source of information on how to avoid being scammed. On the site, you can learn how to spot a phisher, read an Internet Security FAQ or take a "Spot a Scam" Quiz. Also, you can download the EarthLink Toolbar which includes the EarthLink Scamblocker. The EarthLink Scamblocker alerts users to possible scam Web sites. According the Scamblocker Web site, "in addition to the list of our known list of phisher Web sites [Scamblocker] automatically block, ScamBlocker also analyzes each page you visit, according to a set of security rules.
DISH Network is leading the way in providing the best satellite TV entertainment experience at incredible prices. Current promotions include great savings for a wide variety of programming options including local, family, sports and Spanish channels. Starting as low as $24.99 a month for 50 channels, new DISH Network customers also receive a free Digital Video Recorder (DVR) upgrade. With free equipment, free installation and 100 percent high quality digital signal, plus High Definition (HD) possibilities, DISH Network isn't just another option, it's a great option for your family's entertainment dollar.
The Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO) has voiced their support for Senator Ted Stevens work with the "Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006."
According to the article Rural, Small Telco Interests Praise Stevens Bill, John Rose, the OPASTCO President, said that "this is a good bill, and it is obvious that Sen. Stevens worked with many others to ensure that the USF is a sustainable resource for consumers everywhere. Sen. Stevens is to be commended for including provisions on video access that will not only provide consumers with more choice, but will also make deployment of broadband services by rural telephone companies easier." Work on the bill began today.
Want to find out if your new city is on the list of most dangerous cities as researched by Morgan Quitno Press? You can go to this link to find out what cities made their list. Morgan Quitno Press used the 2004 FBI statistics to create their list of the safest cities and the most dangerous cities. This list can help you decide what precautions you might want to take in your new city.
Just a day after DIRECTV launched four additional local HD market, DISH Network has done the same, launching local HD channels in 11 cities. These cities are:
DISH Network, which expanded its HD channel lineup in 2006 and
launched the new DishHD programming packages, now offers local HD
channels to customers in 24 cities. With the addition of new national
HD networks including ESPN2 HD and Universal HD, along with five new
original VOOM HD channels, DishHD offers the most comprehensive lineup
of HD programming in the pay-TV industry. You can read this DISH Network press release to find out more about DishHD.
DIRECTV has launched local HD programming in four additional cities: Milwaukee, Pheonix, Salt Lake and St. Louis. By 2007, DIRECTV plans to have the ability to deliver 1,500 local HD channels and more than 150 national HD channels. You can read this press release from to find out more about DIRECTV's local HD rollout.
Have you been thinking about buying a new LCD television but are unsure how to evaluate your choices? The experts at ViewSonic have developed a few guidelines for you to follow to ensure you are making an informed purchase:
To read more tips, you can read the article LCD Envy: Five Steps to Making an Informed Purchase.
An article posted today on CNET gives very good advice to those shopping for high speed Internet - Beware of broadband speed overkill. Although speed is definitely good when it comes to choosing your Internet service, not everyone using the Internet needs 30Mbps downstream/5mbps upstream, which is the highest speed the Verizon FiOS service offers. Someone who uses the Internet for simply sending email and surfing the Internet doesn't need anything that fast. The consumer would end up paying a high price for a service he or she does not even make use of. So, before you opt for the highest speed possible, make sure that you need it. In many cases, the lowest or mid-level high speed Internet service offered will be enough speed for you and your family.
As of Monday May 8, Cox customers in Midland, TX now have a new cable provider - Cebridge Connections. Cox has sold cable systems in several Texas cities to Cebridge, including Lubbock, Amarillo, Abilene, San Angelo, Big Spring, Andrews, Sweetwater, Snyder, Plainview, Canyon, Floydada, Shallowater and Wolfforth. To find out what this means for the Cox customers in West Texas, you can read the article Cox completes sale of cable system to Cebridge.
According to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, there are 110.2 million television households in the United States. Cable companies (large and small) account for 65.4 million households. The two largest satellite providers (DIRECTV and Dish Network) account for another 25.7 million households. Other television households options include over-the-air television households, c-band satellite households (large dishes), private condo/apartment master antenna systems (known as SMATV), and other telecommunication company's video offerings (most notably AT&T's uVerse and Verizon's FIOS).
The biggest cable companies like Comcast and Time Warner get the majority of the media attention, but did you know that there are over 7,900 individual cable systems that service those 65.4 million cable customers? Companies like Comcast are known as Multiple System Operators or MSOs, because they hold multiple local cable system franchise rights.
The 15 largest MSOs by subscribers are as follows (source: NCTA website from Kagan Research):
It should be noted that Adelphia (#5) is in the process of being sold off in pieces due to their bankruptcy proceedings to Time Warner and Comcast. Also, Cebridge (#11) has moved ahead of CableOne with their announced (but not yet completed) acquisitions of several Cox and Charter systems.
DIRECTV received the highest score for customer satisfaction among satellite and cable TV companies rated by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). In addition, DIRECTV had one of the highest scores in the overall communications sector, which includes phone and wireless providers.
"DIRECTV's top score for overall customer satisfaction in this year's ACSI survey demonstrates a continuing commitment by all DIRECTV employees to provide our 15.4 million customers with the best television entertainment experience, backed by strong service," said John Suranyi, president, DIRECTV Sales and Service, in a DIRECTV press release. The ACSI survey scores companies based on customers' overall satisfaction with the service.
This fall, Sirius plans to launch a Catholic-themed station that will broadcast talk and music programming as well as daily Mass from St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. The station is being created by Sirius with the exclusive participation of the Archdiocese of New York. It will feature programming only available through Sirius.
The Catholic Channel, as the station is to be called, also will include human interest stories and inspirational themes, shows offering counseling and guidance, educational programs and musical content. A detailed schedule with specific programs and hosts will be announced prior to the launch of the Catholic Channel.
Buckeye CableSystem has a state-of-the-art fiber optic network that can bring you clear pictures, superior sound and reliability, all backed by unmatched service. Additionally, they have customer service representatives available to you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Buckeye Cable's services are available in areas of Ohio and Michigan. To find out what services are available in your area, go to WhiteFence and enter your address.
Stas and I have written about home networking on multiple occasions, but not everyone is familiar with the subject. Home networking is when more than one computer in a home is connected to each other. The easiest and most popular way currently to network your PCs is using wireless networking.
Once your computers can talk to each other through a network, you can have multiple computers share one printer, use a single Internet connection between multiple computers, and access shared files between computers. To find out more about the subject, you can check out this article on How Home Networking Works.
Although a recent report from USA Today claims that BellSouth gave customer data to the NSA, BellSouth denied this claim on Monday. According to the article BellSouth says it gave NSA no call records, author Walter Putnam quotes a BellSouth statement saying that BellSouth has "not provided bulk customer calling records to the NSA." This revelation is part of an ongoing inquiry into wiretapping allegations made public in recent months. To find out more about the situation, you can read Putnam's article.
In the article Controversial baby TV channel could be coming to the UK, author Jennifer Whitehead says that BabyFirstTV "has been greeted with skepticism by people, who see it as a free babysitting service for children that health campaigners say should not be watching television at all." DIRECTV recently launched the channel last week.
DIRECTV executives say the channel is not meant to be a babysitter for kids; it was developed so that babies and toddlers who would already be watching TV would have something suitable to watch. Also, DIRECTV says that all of the programming is monitored by child experts to ensure the programming is good for children.
Cox wants to help parents take charge of their children's online activities and television habits. The Take Charge! Web site, created by Cox Communications, has good information for parents, teens and kids. Some good pages for parents include: Chat Room Acronyms and Improving Family Communication. You and your kids should check the site out.
BellSouth and Samsung announced a partnership to explore opportunities to work together and co-brand broadband-enabled devices in consumer and business markets. According to the aricle BellSouth, Samsung partner, BellSouth and Samsung will "work throughout the year to identify opportunities to combine BellSouth's broadband services and Samsung's devices, and extend broadband usage to BellSouth customers."
According to report from the FCC, traditional phone use is on a decline. The telephone subscriber penetration rate was recorded at 92.9 percent, which is down from the 94 percent recorded in July 2005. You can read some of the additional statistics found in the report in the article FCC: Traditional Phone Use on Decline.
Bright House Networks provides cable television entertainment and high speed Internet access to more than 800,000 customers in a nine-county area of Central Florida. Cable television service, high speed Internet service and digital phone service are now available through WhiteFence.
AT&T has put together a group of engineers and technicians whose sole focus will be to better the experience of online gamers who use AT&T services. They will be charged with investigating new technologies to improve online gaming as well as helping with customer service inquiries involving online gaming. AT&T will provide 24/7 customer service to AT&T online gaming customers, which include Sony Online Entertainment LLC, and SOE's multiplayer online games, including "EverQuest," "Star Wars Galaxies" and "PlanetSide."
"Our online gaming clients have a critical demand for not only the bandwidth and network capacity on demand but also the special operations center for gaming customers," said Chris Costello, director of hosting and utility computing at AT&T. "This group has a multilayered level of networking expertise and offers exceptional managed services and monitoring."
You can read this AT&T press release to find out more about AT&T's online gaming support.
Nashville Gas, a Piedmont Natural Gas Company, provides reliable natural gas service to 920,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The Charlotte-based company is the second-largest natural gas utility in the Southeast. If you live in their territory, you can go to WhiteFence to sign up for their services.
DIRECTV is having a free preview from May 10 through May 31 of their new channel for babies. BabyFirstTV, which can be found on channel 293, is dedicated to programming for babies and toddlers. The DIRECTV Web site says that "BabyFirstTV is America's first and only channel dedicated to babies and toddlers and supported by leading child development experts.
You can read this article, DIRECTV rolls out channel for newborns, to find out more about the channel and its programming.
If you have not yet realized how prevalent crime is on the Internet, you should read the article The Net's not-so-secret economy of crime. Author David Kirkpatrick illustrates that not only is crime a real threat on the Internet, but it is also an organized industry. To do this, he uses the Raze Software Web site as an example. At first glance, this Web site, registered in Belarus, looks like any other business Web site. But this is not the case. The software that they sell is actually designed to help criminals keep track of stolen credit cards.
And unfortunately, according to the security firm RSA, this site is not the only one of its kind. Marc Gaffan, a marketer at RSA is quoted in the article as saying that "there's an organized industry out there with defined roles and specialties. There are means of communications, rules of engagement, and even ethics. It's a whole value chain of facilitating fraud, and only the last steps of the chain are actually dedicated to translating activity into money."
A recent study conducted by Cox Communications and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) shows that 14 percent of teens have met face-to-face with people they have met on the Internet. However, the study also found that parents can curb their child's risky Internet behavior. If parents or guardians show interest and give guidance about online dangers, children are less likely to conduct such risky behavior. Parents should be aware of some of the statistics reported by this study, including:
If you want to find out the most successful ways to guide your child to make smart decisions online according to the study, you can read the Cox press release about the study.
According to a Sprint Nextel press release, Sprint Nextel will complete the spin-off of its local communication business as of May 17. The company, to be called Embarq Corporation, is expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "EQ." To read more about the spin-off, you can read the press release about Embarq.
DIRECTV and Dodge are bringing DIRECTV consumers interactive advertisements. DIRECTV customers with interactive-capable receivers can tune in to channel 115 to get information about the Dodge Caliber. Along with the first ad campaign that was launched this weekend, similar campaigns will be launched May 22, June 12 and July 3. To find out more about the ads, you should read the article DIRECTV Delivers iTV Advertising for Dodge.
Are you worried that your child is not responding well to your recent move? There are several books out there that can help you help your child adjust. You should check out this link that list several books for you and your child that may help your child cope with your recent move.
According to an article in BusinessWeek, EchoStar's Q1 net income fell more than 50 percent due to the $74 million settlement with TiVo that I had posted about a few weeks back. EchoStar also reported a slowdown in new users, which EchoStar ascribed to increased competition. To read more about how EchoStar is doing right now, you can read EchoStar 1Q profit down on TiVo settlement.
As I mentioned in a post Lifeline can help out low-income families on Tuesday, the government has set up programs to help low-income families afford quality phone service. However, an article written last week, several of the families who qualify for the program do not make use of it. According to the article Low-income families can get phone bill aid through federal program, "only one in nine eligible Florida households take advantage of the discounts, according to the study by the University of Florida Public Utility Research Center. Hundreds of thousands in South Florida who qualify for the program never apply for it." If you believe you might qualify for the program, you should go to the Web site for Lifeline Support to find out more information.
Right now, if you order a Verizon Freedom phone package from WhiteFence, you will get a $20 American Express gift card. If you add Verizon Online DSL to your Freedom phone package order, you will get a $50 gift card.
In just the first quarter of 2006, digital television sales grew 100 percent according to Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronic Association (CEA). Some statistics released from CEA include:
To read more Shapiro's speech, you can read the article DTV Sales Grow Over 100 Percent.
If you live in Georgia and are looking for a safe, reliable natural gas provider, you should check out Shell's current offer through WhiteFence. Shell Energy Services provides reliable natural gas service to homes
and businesses all across Georgia, including metro-Atlanta. Shell offers a
variety of rate plans so you can pick one that is best for you. Get
quality service, a great price, and easy payment options with Shell.
For a limited time, when consumers sign up with the Flex Plan through WhiteFence, consumers will get a $50 credit to their account. The Shell Flex Rate Plan provides you with a
competitive price per therm that will change each month based on
natural gas market conditions. You do not have to agree to a long-term
contract so there are no exit fees if you change your mind.
One of the first things on your agenda when you get your own place should be to get renter's insurance. Why is that, you may ask. It is because it takes only a few dollars a month to protect all your personal belongings that it has taken you years to accumulate. Your landlord's insurance only covers damage to the apartment building. If anything happens, like a fire or water leak, that damages your personal property, you will have to pay the bill to replace or repair your property.
To look into buying renter's insurance, you can go to GetRentersInsurance. This site, which is powered by WhiteFence, can help you find the coverage you need. Additionally, you can read Renter's Insurance is a necessity for college to find out more reasons why you need to protect yourself with renter's insurance
According to the article AT&T Eyes Fiber, Alternatives for Delivering Services, AT&T CEO Ed Whitacre said in a speech before the Detroit Economic Club that AT&T will use their new fiber network as well as wireless and satellite technologies to get advanced communication into their territories. These new technologies will help bring advance communication to rural and low-income populations.
"The technologies hold strong promise for delivering broadband services in remote, rural and hard-to-serve areas, many of which have no DSL or cable broadband services today," said an AT&T representative in the article. To find out more details about AT&T's plans, you can check out the article.
DIRECTV, along with IGN Entertainment, Microsoft's XBOX, Mountain Dew, Best Buy and Fox Entertainment Media, will be launching The Championship Gaming Series (CGS) in 2007. The new professional video gaming league will have televised league play that takes viewers inside the game competitions.
According to a DIRECTV press release, "the CGS concept is unique to the industry because it
consists of an on-going series of competitions as opposed to the
scattered gaming events that are currently available today. Throughout
the season, teams across the country will battle each other for the
coveted 'Dew Cup.' Details about the Dew Cup will be unveiled by
DIRECTV and Mountain Dew later this year, along with information about
the unprecedented prize money that will be up for grabs in CGS
tournaments."
It looks like we will have to stay tuned to find out exactly what the CGS will bring to the viewers as DIRECTV releases more details about the gaming league. Three gaming tournaments will be televised exclusively on DIRECTV in 2006 as a warm up for what's to come from CGS. You can catch the first of these tournaments on June 21, 2006.
On two separate occasions, I have posted about the Netflix settlement (see Update on the Netflix settlement and Netflix settlement postponed). After much debate, it appears the matter has finally been settled. A judge last week approved the settlement for the class action lawsuit against Netflix. You can read the article Judge approves Netflix settlement of 'throttling' case to find out more about the final settlement.
Deepak Chopra will host a weekly radio show on Sirius that will debut in summer 2006. The program, titled 'Deepak Chopra's Wellness Radio,' will focus on health, spirituality, relationships and success. You will be able to hear Chopra every Saturday morning on channel 102.
"Deepak Chopra's exceptional success as a doctor, author and teacher has touched the lives of millions of people. Deepak is leading the field of mind and body medicine and is changing the way we look at our health," said Scott Greenstein, Sirius' President, Entertainment and Sports, in a Sirius press release. "We are excited to add Deepak Chopra's Wellness Radio to our already strong line-up of lifestyle programming."
Are you worried you cannot afford to connect or maintain your phone line? You may qualify for aid on your telephone bill through the Low Income Program of the Universal Service Fund, which can help you pay for your local telephone costs.
If you qualify for the program, which is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), you will be able to get quality telecommunications for fair, affordable rates. The Low Income Program is comprised of the Lifeline, Link Up and Toll Limitation Service (TLS) programs. Rules for program support were established in 1997 by the Federal Communications Commission.
Lifeline support reduces the cost of local telephone service. It can apply to either a wireline or a wireless service (though only one line per family can qualify). Non-tribal customers can get up to $10 off of their bills, while those who live on reservations or tribal lands can get up to $25 off. Lifeline support does not cover any taxes, surcharges or mileage charges that you can incur through your phone service.
Link Up support lowers the price of the one-time costs of connecting your phone service. Also, with Link Up support, customers qualify for a deferment program in which customers can defer up to $200 of the costs of connecting your phone line. You only can qualify for Link Up support one time per residence. Non-tribal customers can qualify for up to 50 percent of their installation charges or up to $30. Tribal customers can qualify for up to 100 percent of their installation charges. TLS allows customers to block all or some toll calls from their number.
All three of these services work together to insure that everyone can get fair prices on their phone service, even if they maintain a low-income household. If you are interested in finding out if you qualify for assistance for your phone service or to find out more details about the programs, go to the Web site for Lifeline Support.
Helio, a joint venture between SK Telecom and EarthLink, was release in the United States last week. The hip phone service designed with the 20-something in mind has been talked about ever since the partnership between SK Telecom and EarthLink began. You can read more about the Helio U.S. launch in this press release from Helio.
Verizon is expanding even further. According to the article, Verizon Buys Stake in Gaming Company, Verizon has acquired an equity stake in a privately held provider of online gaming technology, Super Computer International, Inc. Verizon bought the stake in "an effort to expand its presence in the online video gaming market. Verizon and SCI will work to create an online game browsing and messaging platform called PlayLinc, which will give gamers more control over their multiplayer gaming interactions."
As I mentioned in a post last week, AT&T together with WhiteFence has established the AT&T Mover's Advantage program. Through this site, consumers can connect all their utilities on one site. I have found this article, AT&T forms new partnership to help take the sting out of moving, so you can read more about this service from AT&T and WhiteFence. Also, you can check out the AT&T Mover's Advantage FAQ section to find out all about the new service.
In the past few months, I have directed you to several calculators or tools that can help you when you move. I've recently found a site that has several of these moving tools all in one place. You will be able to find moving checklists, moving planners, salary calculators, etc. If you are a bit scattered and are unsure what you need help with, this site can help you focus and figure out what tools can help your move go smoothly.
Last week, Skype hit the million-user mark. Skype, as you may know, is a VoIP service where you can call other Skype users for free - meaning the more people who have Skype, the better the benefit that Skype offers. You can also call people without Skype from your Skype service, but it costs a fee. To read more about Skype's growth, you can go to this article about Skype.
When you choose RCN, you connect to more than just a premier cable TV, phone and internet service provider. You connect to people committed to helping you get the most out of your communication, information and entertainment experiences. Not only can you get all these services through WhiteFence, but you can also get them bundled and save. If you want to see if you can get RCN in your area, go to WhiteFence and enter your address.
According to Jupiter Research, 53 percent of people with DVRs skip through advertisements. If these consumers skip through advertisements 100 percent of the time, advertising revenue could drop by $8 billion. According to the article Study: Commercial-Skipping Could Threaten $8B in TV Ads, Jupiter Research suggests "television networks and advertisers rethink programming and advertising strategies to cope with how DVRs are being used."
Another interesting find made by Jupiter Research is that they found that most households with DVRs don't watch any more TV than households with DVRs. So, if you are holding off getting a DVR because you are afraid that it might make you and your family couch potatoes, you should go ahead and get a DVR.
To find out more about this research, you can go to Jupiter Research's Web site.
Finding a good child care provider is tough, especially if you are in a new city. There are dozens of questions you should consider about potential child care providers, including:
If you want to see a comprehensive list of questions you should ask yourself when visiting a potential child care provider, you check out this child care checklist. As your child may spend several hours a day at their child care provider, you can't be too careful when picking which one to send your child to.
Cox Communication and A&E Television is partnering with Soaringwords, a non-profit public charity, to provide New Orleans children affected by Hurricane Katrina with SoaringQuilts' and SoaringPillows'.
"Since the devastation of the storms we see children accepting the current challenges in their lives so bravely and confronting them with unbelievable determination," stated Brad Grundmeyer, Manager of Public Affairs, Cox Communications New Orleans. "The Soaringwords program is another way to help comfort and inspire children during the rebuilding process."
Walt Disney announced yesterday that its cell phone service set to be released in the United States in June, will also be available in Britain some time this year. Disney Mobile, as the service is to be called, is intended for children and will allow parents to moniter their childrens cell phone usage. To read more about Disney Mobile, you can check out this article.
Many advertising industry executives have voiced their concern about the proposed name change of Cingular Wireless to AT&T Wireless. In an article in AdWeek, author Richard Williamson quoted Judy Neer of consulting company Pile and Co. in Boston, that ""what's happening [with the mergers] is blurring the lines of the business and that causes confusion for the consumer. To the real techies, they get it and they understand it. But to the average consumer, it's very confusing."
Only time will tell if AT&T will be able to successfully communicate their new brand message for AT&T Wireless. Considering the time and money put into the Cingular brand, it will be hard to erase the brand from consumers' minds. To read more about the name change, you can read the article Cingular Brand Set to Vanish.
On Monday, AT&T announced that it is launching its AT&T Mover's Advantage program through a business partnership with WhiteFence. As you may know, WhiteFence is the nation's leading one-stop comparison shopping marketplace for essential home and move-related services.
AT&T Mover's Advantage will provide a one-stop moving solution to millions of AT&T customers, who can now easily create their own AT&T bundles for voice services, high-speed internet, satellite TV and Cingular wireless, as well as set up their other utilities and other home services in one simple stop. You can read AT&T's press release or WhiteFence's press release to find out more about the AT&T Mover's Advantage program and its services. If you would like what you find out and would like to use the services provided by the AT&T Mover's Advantage program, you can go to www.att.com/move or call 1-800-MOVE-ATT.
Charter Digital Cable serves up more than the best value in home entertainment with up to 260 channels of crystal clear digital quality picture and sound. You'll also enjoy the clarity of true digital quality picture and sound on your TV and access to thousands of movies every month on Cinemax, HBO, Showtime and Starz.
Charter's unique programming packages let you pick what you want to watch at a price that fits your lifestyle. Plus, the convenience of our new interactive programming menu makes it easy to choose from hundreds of channels of news, sports, comedy, movies and children's programming.
Touch of a Button, a European design and installation company, says television at work is not just a good thing, it can actually inspire people to come to work. As the FIFA World Cup approaches, many companies in Europe are getting nervous about how many of their employees will skip work to watch the soccer games. Touch of a Button founder Will Levy suggests that companies not just allow their workers to watch the games, but employers should provide a state-of-the-art media room to watch the games in to ensure their workers will come to work.
According to the article Euro-Installation Company Offers Clever Solution, Touch of a Button created media rooms can offer "full cinema surround sound with low frequency effects from a 'room-shaking' subwoofer, high-def picture from a flat screen display and a professionally calibrated amplifier for optimal performance. Packages start from GBP4950 ($8,859), include professional installation and are adjustable to suit the customer's requirements."
I think Touch of a Button might have a good idea here. Why would anyone sit at home and watch the game on the small screen when they can go to work and experience the game like they were in the stadium? My question would be - how will the employers who install the media rooms get their workers to leave work?
Satellites have become integral to our society, but there was a time not to long ago when satellites were unheard of. If you are interested in the history of satellites and satellite TV, you should check out the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) site on the history of satellite TV systems. Although the page was created for children, it offers good information for interested parties of any age.
Thinking about what TV to buy next, especially with the hard date for the switch to digital television fast approaching? According to research conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), it appears several consumers are seeing a flat screen TV in their future. In the article Report: Half Say Next TV Will Be Flat, Sean Wargo, CEA's director of industry analysis, is quoted as saying, "The current TV market is in the midst of a massive upgrade cycle. Flat panel shipments now comprise 36 percent of total revenues and growth is assured reaching 63 percent of revenues by 2009."
So, when your old TV starts showing its age, you maybe should think about upgrading to a flat screen, as it truly seems to be the future of television.
Cats are finicky animals, even during non-stressful times. If you are planning on moving with a cat, you should check out this article on moving with cats. It has some very helpful suggestions on how keep your move as stress-free as possible for your cat.
Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, called on movie studios to release their upcoming films in both HD DVD and Blu-ray formats. Hastings is worried that a long battle between the two formats will only accomplish one thing - late adoption of either of the new formats by consumers.
According to the article Hastings urges end to high-def war, Hasting said in Netflix's first quarter conference call that "protracted competition will hurt the adoption of high-definition DVD." Hastings believes that "if all studios were to embrace both formats
agnostically, consumers would be more comfortable making a format
decision based on hardware pricing and features."
Hastings solution might help consumers feel more comfortable buying movies in the new formats; however, producing films in both formats will be costly for the movie studios. That said, Warner Home Video and Paramount Home Entertainment do plan to release their movies on both formats.
As mentioned in this blog before, young adults between the ages of 18-29 are most likely to be targeted for identity theft. Qwest, in their effort to raise awareness about identity theft, hired an individual who knows personally that this statistic is true. Zach Friesen of Denver, Colo., was actually first a victim of identity theft at age 7, though he didn't know about it until he tried to get his first job at 17. After seeing Friesen lobbying the Colorado State Legislature on the issue of identity theft, Qwest executives chose to hire Friesen to speak to high school kids about the dangers of identity theft. To find out more about Friesen's story, you can read Child victim shares ID theft tale.
I found a good article in PC World about VoIP providers. If you are interested in the benefits of VoIP, you should check out James A. Martin's article VoIP Alternatives. In this weeks article Martin focuses on Skype, but next week he will continue his look into VoIP by writing about services that offer unified messaging - as in voice, e-mail, and fax in all one place.
According to Richard Parsons, Time Warner's CEO, consumers are liking Time Warner bundles. In a recent conference call about Time Warner's first quarter results, Parsons said that Time Warner's cable revenue increased 15 percent during the quarter to $2.6 billion. He attributed this growth to Time Warner's marketing of bundles. In the article CEO: Consumers liking bundled telecom services, Parsons is quoted as saying that "the obvious conclusion is that the triple-play bundle is working. This ability to offer a bundled package gives us the opportunity to go back and resell services to customers who didn't buy from us the first time." Parsons' statements support the research by Leichtman Research Group that I wrote about in the post Bundles growing in popularity.
DIRECTV has announced 14 more markets that it will offer HD local programming later this year. Once these markets are added, DIRECTV will have HD local programming in 50 major metropolitan markets.
The cities that will get DIRECTV HD local programming will be:
Can't find the information you need on C|Net? Want another opinion on that Sony BRAVIA that you are thinking about getting? Then you should check out Yahoo! Tech, the new technology advice site from Yahoo! The site will have both expert and user-created reviews, and will feature information on all types of consumer electronics, including televisions, MP3 players, laptops, cell phones, WI-FI and several more. You can read about the new site in the article Yahoo unveils new tech advice site or you can just go to Yahoo! Tech to check it out.
According to an article recently published in Advertising Age, AT&T plans to do away with the Cingular brand by 2007. Although $4 billion was spent to make Cingular a household name, AT&T plans to rename its wireless brand AT&T Wireless. Several advertising agency executives believes that the name change is a bad move, as the name AT&T wireless does not communicate the youthfulness of the Cingular brand. To read more comments from advertising execs on the Cingular name change, you can read AT&T Plans to Kill Cingular Brand.
Have you gotten a job in a new city, leaving your spouse to look for a new job in your new, unfamiliar town? Or, has your spouse recently found a position in a new town and you are trying to find a position quickly as well? Some tips on how to get employment include:
Though this may be a stressful time for both parties, it is important to keep trying. These tips should help you or your spouse find employment relatively quickly.
In New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Verizon FiOS customers are getting a free upgrade in their services. A basic package that previously offered customers 5 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps usptream now offers 10 Mbps/2 Mbps. For the Verizon FiOS Broadband top tier service, consumers will get an upgrade to 30 Mpbs downstream and 5 Mbps upstream. You can see this article on the Verizon Broadband FiOS upgrade here.
On Monday, Ted Stevens, the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, released a draft telecom bill that touches on several hot topics of today. According to the article Net neutrality missing from sweeping telecom bill, Stevens said in a statement that the bill "attempts to strike a balance between competing industries, consumer groups and local government."
Some of the important points made in the new bill include:
These and other changes will be enacted by this bill if it is passed into law as is. According to the article Senate Telecom Reform Bill Surfaces, the senate committee will hold two public hearings about the bill as well as an executive session after Memorial Day to mark up the bill.
The looming deadline for the switch to digital television has some in the TV industry sweating. Just as you may be worried about having to spend $1000 or so on a new HD television, small production companies and television stations are worried about the cost to them. Just one HD camera can cost $80,000, a price that will quickly add up. You can check out this article TV industry frets over high definition to find out how the TV industry is dealing with the change from analog to digital television.
As someone who did not pack their electronics very well in her last move, I speak from experience when I write that packing your electronics correctly is very important. To find out how to pack your electronics to avoid damage, you should check out the article 10 Tips for Stashing Your Electronics. One of the tips that you can put into practice well before your move is that you should keep the original boxes of your electronics. Though this may take up a lot of room in your closet, when you do move, you will be thankful for the safety that they original packing material provides for your expensive electronics.
Hopefully, if you follow these instructions, you won't arrive at your new home with a cracked LCD on your flat panel TV, like I did.
Now, WhiteFence users in Maryland, Delaware, Washington D.C., New York and Virginia can get bundled Verizon offers through WhiteFence. Consumers can get a discount when they order Verizon Local Phone, Verizon Long Distance, and Verizon DSL High Speed Internet services together through WhiteFence.
Have you heard about VoIP, but aren't quite sure what it is or how it works? If you are interested in finding out answers, you should check out the Howstuffworks.com article "How VoIP Works." In it, you will find topics like: an introduction to How VoIP Works, the Standard Phone System vs. VoIP and the pros and cons of VoIP.
A new article in Money Magazine highlights several actions you can take to lessen your monthly phone bill. The author Janet Paskin suggests that you take a hard look at your phone bills and check for these four signs that you are paying too much:
You can check out the article Pay (a Lot) Less for Phone Calls to find out how you can spot these signs and what you can do about them to lessen your phone bill.
