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APRIL FOOL!
Definitely
one of my favorite "Holidays",
although not one
of the kind where you get a day off work, but in
the same category as Halloween (but you don't
have to dress up in some silly costume) or
Groundhog Day - but it is one day to have some
serious FUN especially with your kids or
grandkids!
And since March
seems to have been kind of a slow "News" month,
I have chosen a collection of April Fools day
sites with really, really good ideas to make
your day as the "Top News" for this edition of
the Kenton Group newsletter.
And for those of
you that are NOT inclined to be the JOK-ER but
(like me) usually end up as the JOK-EE you may
just want to refresh yourself with things
to be AWARE of - (so you don't get a "Kick Me"
sign on your back!
Have fun (but
don't forget to peruse the March Telecom news,
too! (I'm
assuming that you are reading this while at
work, right??? (and watch your back - the "day"
is on Sunday this year and may come a day early
- or late)
Editor Jim
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The ultimate list of
harmless
April
Fool's pranks and practical
jokes...for
April
Fool's Day and all year
long.
-
Apr 01, 2011 · Like
every year, Google doesn’t stop at
one
April
Fools’ trick; almost every
one of its teams has the liberty to
create their own elaborate
joke, and ...
-
April
Fool's Day practical
jokes, gag gifts and
holiday pranks are featured along
with some funny stories and humorous
tomfoolery.
-
Jokes,
gags, and
pranks for
kids, the office, and
more with these great
sites.
bing.com/editors-picks
-
The
April Fools Jokes Site; the
best
April
fools practical
jokes of the past, hoaxes
that worked,
jokes to try and more
-
-
List of
April
Fool's Day
jokes; Pigasus Award, a
tongue-in-cheek honour presented on
April 1 in the field of
"Paranormal fraud". Sizdah Bedar,
the last day of two-week ...
-
April
Fools' Day has gotta be one
of the best holidays. You get to
play nasty pranks and practical
jokes on people - and get
away with it! Kidzworld has put
together ...
-
A reference guide to
hoaxes, pranks, practical
jokes, frauds, tricks, and
other forms of deception.
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CenturyLink's Qwest sets $500 million in debt buyback
CenturyLink's Qwest unit has made a move to reduce its
interest payments and refinance existing debt by
offering to buy back up to $500 million in debt series
due in 2015 and 2016, the company has announced. Qwest
said it will finance the offering with either existing
cash or using a revolving credit facility to raise
money.
The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires
(3/21)
ESPN, Verizon offer app for "March Madness" basketball
tourney
FiOS TV subscribers will get to closely follow the NCAA
basketball tournament on their phones, PCs, tablets and
televisions through a free "Tournament Challenge"
application being offered by ESPN and Verizon
Communications. The app was developed by Ensequence.
ESPN attracted almost 6.5 million entries last year in
its annual "Tournament Challenge" contest.
Multichannel News
(3/14)
The Magic of Doing One
Thing at a Time
Why is it that between
25% and 50% of people report feeling
overwhelmed or
burned out at work?
It's not
just the number of hours we're working,
but also the fact that we spend too many
continuous hours juggling too many
things at the same time.
HBR Blog Network By Tony Schwartz (3/14)
AT&T will spend $250M in grants to help keep students in
school
AT&T today will announce an initiative in which the
telecom will contribute $250 million to schools in the
way of $100,000 to $300,000 grants to reduce the number
of students dropping out of school. The company said it
decided to launch AT&T Aspire after hearing calls for
greater corporate giving, adding that the carrier
targeted student dropouts because it is an increasing
national concern. "What this is and what we hope it to
be is a real wake-up call," said Ken McNeely, president
of AT&T California.
San Francisco Chronicle
(3/19)
Amazon and Google stream movies before they reach
theaters
Amazon Instant Video is offering video-on-demand
customers a 48-hour rental of "The Hunter" for $9.99, a
few weeks before the movie hits the big screen. Google
is doing the same with the film and another, "Dark
Tide."
Home Media Magazine
(3/16)
Utah ruling sets new standard for
taxing cloud services
States
are discovering that the mass transition to the cloud --
and the e-commerce that has accompanied it -- are
diverting millions of dollars in tax revenue into the
limbo of cyberspace. A handful of states have sought to
rectify the issue, but analysts say a new ruling in Utah
could represent a paradigm shift in the way taxes are
levied on Internet-based services elsewhere. In
February, the state ruled that all fee-based Web
services are subject to sales tax, regardless of whether
the software was downloaded or accessed via a cloud.
Network World
(3/28)
Telecoms tell Congress: No new regs to fight
cyberthreats
Telecom executives testified Wednesday that new
regulations contained in proposed legislation aimed at
fighting cyberthreats were not necessary. Witnesses from
AT&T, CenturyLink, MetroPCS and Research in Motion told
a House subcommittee that instead of imposing new rules
on ISPs, lawmakers should ease regulations to allow
companies to share information about cyberthreats and
provide incentives to ISPs to develop security
procedures. "I don't think there's an agency in a
position to solve a problem that we can't solve
ourselves," said Edward Amoroso, AT&T's chief security
officer.
Government Computer News
(3/7),
Verizon, NEC push data speed to 21.7 terabits per second
Verizon Communications and NEC Corp. of America reported
that they were able to transmit data at up to 21.7
terabits per second under field conditions. The
successful trial was conducted on 934 miles of standard
single-mode field fiber, using Verizon's network in the
Dallas-Fort Worth area, the companies said.
Vision2Mobile.com
(3/13),
More employers warm to telemedicine as home care drives
growth
Technologies that enable patients to receive remote care
in their homes will represent the fastest-growing
segment of the telehealth industry, according to a
recent study from BCC Research that forecasts the
so-called telehome segment will expand at an annual rate
of 22.5% through 2016. A separate survey from the
consulting firm Mercer found that telemedicine is
getting a boost from the business community, with 11% of
large employers reporting that they have embraced remote
care as part of their employee health packages, and an
additional 38% saying they are looking into doing so.
iHealthBeat
(3/19),
Cisco CEO: We're committed to video
Cisco Systems' leaders are assuring employees and the
network-gear industry that it intends to propel its
video strategy forward and has made a "huge commitment"
to advancing its technologies. "This is right now our
sweet spot for where we want to go," CEO John Chambers
said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
(3/24)
Innovation drives a path to the modern power grid
The time has come for the traditional grid to be
replaced by one that is more intelligent, efficient and
flexible, writes Ivan Gatchev of STMicroelectronics in
this technical article, noting that utilities and
governments alike are embracing the idea. Gatchev
discusses the vitality of such technologies as automatic
meter reading, automatic meter management and the power
line modem.
EE Times
(3/5)
USDA advances $25 million in grants for rural smart-grid
projects
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide $25
million in grants to rural electric cooperatives in
eight states to help further their smart-grid projects.
The funding -- which is earmarked for utilities in
Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico, North
Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota and Tennessee -- is part of
a $250 million commitment from the USDA to promote
smart-grid technologies.
San Diego Business Journal
(3/18)
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The National Broadband Plan turns 2
On the second anniversary of the release of the
National Broadband Plan, Telecompetitor
interviewed Blair Levin, who led the $20 million
effort to produce the document. He noted that
Congress has authorized the Federal
Communications Commission to conduct a voluntary
incentive auction of broadcast spectrum for
mobile-broadband use, a proposal first contained
in the plan. On the other hand, the difficulties
of LightSquared have shown the challenges
inherent in trying to reclaim existing spectrum
for mobile broadband, according to Levin.
Telecompetitor.com
(3/15)
Broadband players turn to caching
Broadband providers are delving deeper into
caching technologies as a way to reduce costs
and save on network bandwidth given increasing
data loads primarily from video content.
Frontier Communications is adopting new cache
technology to cut backhaul traffic while also
boosting the user experience.
Telecompetitor.com
(3/28)
FairPoint expands broadband base
FairPoint Communications reported an increase in
broadband Internet subscribers for the fourth
quarter of 2011 -- a total of 24,000 -- as its
penetration of its high-speed service increased
to 30.4% of its voice-access lines in use.
Fourth-quarter revenue slipped slightly to
$254.2 million from $268 million in the
comparable year-earlier period.
American City Business Journals/Charlotte, N.C.
(3/8),
Sprint walks away from LightSquared deal
Sprint has pulled out of a $9 billion deal with
LightSquared. "Due to ... unresolved issues ...
Sprint has elected to exercise its right to
terminate the agreement announced last summer,"
said a Sprint spokesman, who noted the company
would be open to future agreements with
LightSquared if it managed to rectify these
issues.
CNNMoney
(3/16)
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VoIP provider MagicJack is said to be ready to
enter black
MagicJack VocalTec is expected to report its
first profit this week, according to analysts
who predict consumers are turning to VoIP
providers as part of cost-cutting moves in a
still-recovering economy. "They're going from
losing money last year to starting to generate
good cash flow this year," said John Gualy, of
Eagle Global Advisors.
Bloomberg
(3/11)
TDS advances its IPTV market-expansion strategy
TDS Telecom has debuted an all-digital,
240-channel IPTV service in Tennessee, and
that's just the start of a plan to add 18
markets in the future.
Telecompetitor.com
(3/20)
All eyes are on Netflix as original programming takes
root
Hollywood's movers and shakers are closely watching the
progress of Netflix as the online content provider moves
closer to becoming a true industry powerhouse, but how
fast the company will get there and what will happen
when it does remain something of a mystery. The
streaming provider -- which spends more money each year
to license content and will owe about $2 billion in
licensing fees through 2015 -- is pushing ahead with an
original-programming strategy, but it says homegrown
content is still a very small portion of its overall
budget.
Variety (subscription required)
(3/20)
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Sprint sees possible 4G iPhone, is open to DISH spectrum
deal
Sprint Nextel may introduce an iPhone that supports
Long-Term Evolution service this year, Chief Financial
Officer Joseph Euteneuer said at an analyst conference
Tuesday, noting that Sprint's contract with Apple
contains no provisions related to minimum coverage. The
carrier plans to bring LTE to six markets by midyear.
Euteneuer also said Sprint would be open to an agreement
with DISH Network related to the cache of wireless
spectrum the satellite provider holds, either by buying
frequencies or by playing host to a DISH-branded
service.
Reuters
(3/27),
The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires
(3/27)
Verizon Wireless ready to answer Senate on spectrum deal
Verizon Wireless will defend its multibillion-dollar
spectrum buy and related marketing agreement with cable
companies before a Senate antitrust subcommittee in
which the carrier will argue that the deal would provide
the industry with an essential need -- spectrum --
without crimping competition. The telecom will also
likely face questions over the deal's cross-marketing
arrangements in which Verizon will resale cable service
in non-FiOS TV areas and the cable companies will sell
Verizon's wireless service.
Bloomberg
(3/21),
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