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For those of you that have AOL and broadband, AOL has lowerwd the price for bring your own broadband "BYOA" to $9.95 again.
DEMOCRAT: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful. You vote people into office that put a tax on your cows, forcing you to sell one to raise money to pay the tax. The people you voted for then take the tax money, buy a cow and give it to your neighbor. You feel righteous. Barbara Streisand sings for you.
SOCIALIST: You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor. You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.
REPUBLICAN: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So?
COMMUNIST: You have two cows. The government seizes both and provides
you with milk. You wait in line for hours to get it. It is expensive and sour.
CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.
DEMOCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. The government taxes you to the point you have to sell both to support a man in a foreign country who has only one cow, which was a gift from your government.
BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. The government takes them both, shoots one, milks the other, pays you for the milk, and then pours the milk down the drain.
AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one. You force the 2 cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses. Your stock goes up.
FRENCH CORPORATION: You have two cows. You go on strike because you
want three cows. You go to lunch. Life is good.
JAPANESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains. Most are at the top of their class at cow school.
GERMAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You re-engineer them so they
are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour. Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.
ITALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows but you don't know where they are. While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman. You break for lunch. Life is good.
RUSSIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You count them and learn you
have five cows. You have some more vodka. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 12 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka. You
produce your 10th, 5-year plan in the last 3 months. The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.
FLORIDA CORPORATION: You have a black cow and a brown cow. Everyone
votes for the best looking one. Some of the people who like the brown one best vote for the black one. Some people vote for both. Some people vote for neither. Some people can't figure out how to vote at all.
Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which is the best-looking one.
NEW YORK CORPORATION: You have fifteen million cows. You have to choose which one will be the leader of the herd, so you pick some fat cow from Arkansas.
BT today announced the appointment of Alison Ritchie as its first chief broadband officer.
The telecom provider has appointed a new chief broadband officer to its ranks; Alison Ritchie, the former BTopenworld chief executive
Ritchie -- currently the chief executive of BT's ISP, BTopenworld -- will direct BT's policy on broadband developments across the whole of the BT Group.
BT believes that having a member of the top management team solely focused on broadband is a "positive step that will ensure successful delivery of all broadband activities."
Its competitors may be curious to know how she can continue to head up BTopenworld while talking to other parts of the BT Group -- in particular BTwholesale -- about broadband without using the knowledge she has gleaned to give BTopenworld an unfair advantage over other ISPs.
BT's statement about this reads: "Alison will step aside from the day to day running of BTopenworld for regulatory reasons. Responsibility for managing that business will be handed over to John Butler, currently director of new services and strategy, supported by senior vice president, Duncan Ingram."
Ritchie said in a statement: "I am thrilled to be taking on this new role. To me there is nothing more exciting than broadband. I am looking forward to the challenge of uniting efforts across the whole group to make our offer to customers even better."
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2125707,00.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You the Man 427!
Thanks,
AL
There is a problem with this Country if M&M can have a opening weekend gross of 57 Million at the Box office.
"Step into Liquid" is a work of art and we could not get it out this summer.
It looks like people want to watch white trash and jackasses then to see a movie about real life, beauty and talent.
Riverstone to Supply Routers for Korea Broadband
11/11/02 12:00 PM
Source: Reuters
By Jim Christie
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Riverstone Networks Inc. said on Monday it would supply network routers to South Korea's largest telecommunications provider, KT Corp,, as KT seeks to connect more than 5 million broadband subscribers.
KT Corp. will use Riverstone's RS 8600 routers to deliver online education, gaming and other multimedia services over its urban-area network, Santa Clara, California-based Riverstone said.
Riverstone, which has been struggling amid a brutal telecom downturn that has slashed demand for telecom gear such as routers that direct network traffic, would not comment on potential revenues from KT, but it did say the contract would have a significant effect on its sales.
"It's one of our larger deals," Riverstone Chief Financial Officer Robert Stanton said. "What's unique about this project is that it goes beyond Seoul and into the other major areas."
South Korean telecom providers plan to invest $10.9 billion in broadband networks by 2005, a South Korean government ministry said last week.
Analyst Erik Suppiger of Pacific Growth Equities, in a research note, wrote that the KT contract and an earlier, October deal to supply Spain's Telefonica de Espana S.A.U. would lift Riverstone's November-quarter sales "significantly from last quarter's depressed levels."
Suppiger raised estimates for Riverstone's November-quarter revenue to $14 million from $11 million and per share loss, before charges, to 13 cents from 14 cents. Analysts had, on average, expected a loss of 16 cents per share and revenue of $11.29 million, according to Thomson First Call.
However, Suppiger maintained an "equal weight" rating on Riverstone. Suppiger wrote that his outlook remains guarded because Riverstone's primary market, the so-called "metro Ethernet market," will continue to suffer amid low carrier capital spending, especially in North America.
Riverstone in September posted a fiscal second-quarter net loss, compared with a profit a year earlier, as revenue from telecom carriers fell 81 percent.
Network equipment sales to carriers may not improve until well into 2003, or perhaps 2004, according to analysts.
Riverstone shares, which had traded as high as $20.44 in January, rose 4.6 percent, or 6 cents, to $1.37 cents in Monday afternoon trade on the Nasdaq market.
Hollywood: Hooray for Broadband!
November 11, 2002
By Beth Cox
The concept of watching movies on your computer has been around for a while, and finally the big Hollywood studios are making a play for this nascent market, launching an online movie rental service called Movielink.
The megabucks question for the studio moguls, however, is not so much whether the technology and broadband connections are up to snuff, but whether enough consumers will care.
The video-on-demand (VoD) industry is still in the early stages and already there is competition from file-sharing operations. The unwritten Internet rule seems to be that if somehow it can be copied, it will be copied and made available for all for free. That's pretty much what's been happening with online music, despite the lawsuits and the demise of Napster.
Still, the backers of Movielink -- a joint venture among Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal and Warner Bros. -- clearly think this is worth risking some of their recent box office hits.
"Video on demand is undoubtedly the future of home movie viewing," said Jupiter Research senior analyst Ken Cassar. "This will be a niche market in the near term, however, because broadband has penetrated only 20 percent of online households and because few consumers want to watch movies on their home computer, anyway."
Films available on Movielink at launch include "A Beautiful Mind," "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Ocean's Eleven," among about 170 contemporary and classic films.
The deal here is that consumers download the film (average file size of about 500MB) over their broadband connection, then watch the movie on RealNetworks RealPlayer 8.0 and Microsoft Windows Media Player.
Users are charged on a per-film basis, and cost is expected to run from $1.99 to $4.99, payable by credit card. Consumers don't need to buy a membership. After a customer pays, the consumer has 30 days to watch the movie. Once a buyer activates it, it's good for 24 hours.
Initial launch is somewhat in beta and limited to the United States. Movielink said that during this initial phase, it "will be testing various consumer preferences as well as product enhancements to ensure that the service meets the needs of savvy broadband subscribers."
"We hope video piracy isn't in the culture the way music piracy is," Jim Ramo, Movielink's chief executive, was quoted as saying.
Competition, in addition to the online swapping services, includes CinemaNow (claiming 650 on-demand movies), majority owned by independent-film producer and distributor Lions Gate Entertainment, as well as Intertainer Inc., which has shut down its streaming movie service and is suing some of the studios, claiming they stood in its way.
While the VoD market has still not fully caught on for even the most committed movie-watching fanatics, there are still high expectations that by 2006, movies delivered over the Internet or television will account for 25-35 percent of the $10 billion video rental business.
Ramo said that with 25 million broadband residences, "we believe the market is now ready..."
Not everyone agrees, however.
"While we are a few years away from this being a viable mass market business, there is undoubtedly potential among a niche audience," said Jupiter Research's Cassar. "Let's just hope that this niche audience isn't as abusive of the movie studio's IP as they were of the record labels' [IP]."
Movielink employs digital rights management technologies as well as "other protective measures" to protect itself. And clearly it had better be good because every script kiddie in the world is likely to take a run at it.
Videodisc burners are increasing in popularity (a quick search on Amazon.com turned up 11 references), and once a movie's encryption is broken, it can quickly become widely available on the P2P sites. And 321 Studios sells "All the software you need to copy your own DVD Movies" - for $49.99.
BT signs broadband deal with Dell
Thursday 7th November 2002 4:00pm
Should help broadband uptake, but is BT playing fair?
Hot on the heels of a far-reaching deal with Microsoft, BT today announced plans to work with Dell to get its no-frills ADSL product out to consumers and small businesses.
The success of broadband in the UK - easy definition, hard decision
The idea is that Dell will market ADSL to its existing customers, some of whom will already be broadband-enabled, and new customers - whether buying online or over the phone - will ultimately have an 'add BT Broadband' option as they configure their PCs.
Simon Calver, VP UK and Ireland, Dell Home and Small and Medium-sized Business, said: "The end vision is seamless point of sale inclusion of broadband."
However, he stressed that the end service, while enabled by Dell's build-to-order model, is not yet fully set up.
Pierre Danon, CEO of BT Retail, said the move will help drive take-up of broadband. "There is every reason to be optimistic about the future of BT Broadband and the number of ADSL connections it will generate."
However, the deal is also likely to provoke some bad feeling. AOL had a similar, exclusive relationship with Dell for 12 months, a period which expired recently. So Dell could make a similar move with other ISPs BT is likely to announce similar arrangements with other PC sellers.
A spokesman for AOL said: "Lovely to see [BT] following us as usual."
Companies such as AOL and Freeserve, plus dozens of smaller UK ISPs, have long said BT has an unfair advantage when it comes to offering ADSL. BT says its BTopenworld ISP gets no preferential treatment from its Wholesale division. However attracting ADSL users outside of the BTopenworld unit - which does have its own broadband offering - may seem unfair to many providers who don't have such an option.
Separately, cable company Telewest today announced broadband user figures which show that within its franchise areas 80 per cent of home broadband users sign up to its blueyonder service. It now has 235,000 broadband customers.
Graham Hayday contributed to this report
For related news, see:
Broadband to be rolled out to EVERY South Korean home
www.silicon.com/a56282
Microsoft and BT form broadband alliance
www.silicon.com/a56278
The Ovum View: Cable as DSL competitor? No, says the EC
www.silicon.com/a56167
Broadband have-nots stirred by 'local heroes'
www.silicon.com/a56168
Tony Hallett
http://www.silicon.com/bin/bladerunner?REQUNIQ=1036740561&REQSESS=8469776&14001REQEVENT=&...
BT, Microsoft, and Dell: Broadband revolutionaries?
Thursday 7th November 2002 5:30pm
Yesterday, BT and Microsoft made a big hoo-ha about their new broadband alliance. Britain's incumbent telco and the software giant are to contribute development teams to work on some 30 projects, covering areas such as mobile technology, web services, broadband portals and multimedia home computing.
And then today, Dell trumpeted that it too had joined the BT broadband party. The world's number two PC maker will market BT Retail's 'no-frills' broadband offering to home users, and BTopenworld business broadband to small and medium sized enterprises.
Dell will be targeting its existing and new customers who, whether buying online or over the phone, will ultimately have an 'add BT Broadband' option as they configure their PCs.
All very exciting in a land where broadband is still not a mass market phenomenon.
But just how exciting? Well, for a start we dont know precisely what BT and Microsoft are working on. One well-placed industry source told silicon.com that a lot of these projects are not really new, and that the timing of the announcement - just one day before BT's results were tipped to show disappointing broadband uptake numbers - was a tad suspicious.
And then there's the Dell deal. AOL had an exclusive, 12 month deal with the PC seller - but the exclusivity of that arrangement ran out recently, leaving Dell free to sign up whomever it likes. BT has joined AOL, with more ISPs almost certain to follow.
Moreover, this is not exactly a done deal. Even Dell stressed that the service, while enabled by Dell's build-to-order model, is not yet fully set up.
And there's more. Why is BTopenworld offering a service to SMEs, while BT Retail is the chosen one to target home users with its BT Broadband package, when BTopenworld has its own broadband offering?
Again, the sceptics among you might like to look at that in the context of today's financial results announcement, which showed pretty disappointing sign-up stats for BT Broadband. And did someone say brand confusion? The rumour mill will return once again to the thorny issue of a possible merger between BT Retail and BTopenworld. But that's another story.
To sum up, the BT/Dell deal is not revolutionary, nor is the BT/Microsoft pact - but the latter could be worrying. BT has a monopoly over the local loop; Microsoft has a virtual desktop software monopoly. It can also provide some of the 'frills' that BT's no-frills package lacks (email from Hotmail, content from MSN, for example, all based on .Net web services technology).
Microsoft will (presumably) charge for such things, making the 'cheap' BT Broadband access-only package more expensive than rival offerings from the 'traditional' ISPs. Which means there's not much in it for the consumer, and before you know it you're locked in to the biggest telco in the country and the biggest IT company in the world.
But the danger is that the combined marketing clout of BT and Microsoft will pull the eyes over the unwary and do a lot of damage to the smaller ISPs in the UK in the process. It's up to Oftel (and then Ofcom) to keep an eye on this. Let's hope the new regulator isn't afraid of a scrap.
For related news, see:
BT signs broadband deal with Dell
www.silicon.com/a56297
Microsoft and BT form broadband alliance
www.silicon.com/a56278
editorial@silicon.com
http://www.silicon.com/bin/bladerunner?REQUNIQ=1036740575&REQSESS=7136510&14001REQEVENT=&...
BT/Microsoft link up for broadband apps
By Ian Lynch [06-11-2002]
Alliance unveils major projects for home and business users
BT has formed an alliance with Microsoft to develop applications for business and residential broadband users.
Linking BT's infrastructure and Microsoft's .Net technology, development teams from both firms will work on around 30 projects in the areas of multimedia home computing, business productivity, mobile computing, portals and web services projects.
Microsoft will provide the additional pay-per-choice content for BT's no-frills broadband offering. BT already works with Microsoft in developing managed web services for enterprises.
"We are very excited about BT's broadband strategy and innovative no-frills product, which we believe is a great catalyst for broadband penetration," said Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer in a statement.
BT chief executive Ben Verwaayen added: "We want to do all we can to make broadband as attractive as possible."
The telco recently launched a multimillion pound marketing campaign to promote broadband connectivity.
Zeta Tsatsani, senior analyst at Ovum, indicated that similar deals are needed to successfully develop broadband applications.
"These kind of partnerships will have to increase in number and in depth for broadband applications to develop successfully," she told vnunet.com.
"Many more players need to become involved to make the internet the platform for applications such as e-learning, games and movies.
"This deal is not a surprise. Microsoft wants to be associated with leaders of broadband deployment in order to help its online services. There may be similar deal with cable companies."
However, AOL UK, which rivals Microsoft's MSN online service and BT's broadband and narrowband internet service provision, dismissed the deal as "window dressing".
Jonathan Lambert, head of media relations at AOL UK, told vnunet.com: "They've been talking of deals like this for six years. Where's the substance? I can't see how consumers are going to benefit from this."
Forums
Discuss 'BT/Microsoft link up for broadband apps' in the Communications forum
http://ad.uk.doubleclick.net/adi/bn.pcw.uk/network_infrastructure;sub=communications;cat=network_inf...?
Microsoft and BT form broadband allianc.
Wednesday 6th November 2002 2:43pm
BT is to team up with Microsoft to develop a wide range of broadband applications aimed at both residential and business customers.
BT shrugs off latest break-up speculation
The alliance between Britain's incumbent telco and the software giant will see both companies contributing development teams to work on some 30 projects, covering areas such as mobile technology, web services, broadband portals and multimedia home computing.
This deal comes at a time when BT Retail is spending millions of pounds promoting its controversial "no-frills" broadband package - called BT Broadband - which does not include services such as email, web hosting or broadband content.
BT has made no secret of the fact that it hopes to capture half of the UK's consumer broadband market with BT Broadband.
Some in the industry have claimed that BT Broadband is an attempt to unfairly dominate the UK's broadband market. Now Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, who cannot get broadband at his home in the US, has given his backing to BT's product.
"Microsoft is strongly committed to speeding up the adoption of broadband in the UK, and we are very excited about BT's broadband strategy and innovative no-frills product, which we believe is a great catalyst for broadband penetration," said Ballmer in a statement.
Ben Verwaayen, BT's chief executive, added that the alliance with Microsoft is intended to generate compelling broadband services that will tempt more consumers and businesses to upgrade to a high-speed connection.
"BT has accelerated on all fronts during the past year to make broadband available to more customers across the UK. Now we want to do all we can to make broadband as attractive as possible to potential customers, residential and business, by giving them the compelling applications that will deliver a superb online experience that meets their needs and aspirations," said Verwaayen.
http://www.silicon.com/bin/bladerunner?REQUNIQ=1036656423&REQSESS=13297459&3001REQEVENT=&...
BT and Microsoft in broadband pact
06 November 2002
- by Claire Woffenden
BT and Microsoft have joined forces to develop high-speed internet services for both home and business customers.
The companies have pledged to work together to "invent and revolutionise" communications over broadband internet connections.
Under the alliance, Microsoft and BT said they will focus on developing applications for multi-media home computing, mobile computing, for .Net and web services as well as for portals.
Steve Ballmer, chief executive of Microsoft, said: "Microsoft is strongly committed to speeding up the adoption of broadband in the UK, and we are very excited about BT's broadband strategy and innovative no-frills product, which we believe is a great catalyst for broadband penetration."
BT's chief executive Ben Verwaayen said the alliance is about making broadband as attractive as possible to customers by creating applications that will "deliver a superb online experience that meets their needs and aspirations".
Microsoft and BT are already working together on existing projects such as Xbox Live and web services.
http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?j51453013
- Actress Winona Ryder has been found guilty of grand theft and vandalism in a U.S. court. She was cleared of a charge of burglary.
This is the News I got from CNN 3 times today.
I don't care about that Non actor looser, Loosona Ryder trucking
[Suppressed Sound Link]
South Korea to invest $11 billion in broadband networks
06 November, 2002 12:04 GMT+08:00
SEOUL (Reuters) - Aiming to enhance its position as the world's most wired country, South Korea unveiled plans on Wednesday for telecom companies to invest 13.3 trillion won ($10.9 billion) in high-speed broadband networks by 2005.
South Korea, which is well beyond the rest of the world in broadband take-up, boasts that more than one fifth of the population currently has access to high-speed Internet services.
The Ministry of Information and Communication said that under the plan all households would be able to get fast-speed Internet access within the three-year framework.
"By 2005, all the households across the country will be able to access the Internet at a minimum rate of one megabit per second," the ministry said in a statement.
KT Corp 30200 , South Korea's largest telecoms company, and other Internet service providers (ISPs), will invest the money, which includes 258 billion won in government loans, through 2005, the ministry said.
The ministry did not provide a breakdown of the investments.
South Korea had 10 million high-speed Internet lines at the end of October, accounting for 21 percent of its total population of 48 million, the ministry said.
If slower dial-up modem Internet access is counted, then almost 60 percent of South Koreans regularly surf the Internet, the ministry said.
South Korea has spent 11 trillion won on building Internet infrastructure since June 1988 when Korea Thrunet Co KOREA , now the country's third largest ISP, launched a high-speed Internet service via cable network.
The ministry said the country would have 13.5 million subscribers of broadband Internet services by 2005, with an average data rate of 20 megabits per second.
At that rate, it takes one second to transmit the equivalent of 370 newspaper pages, the ministry said.
KT Corp, the country's largest ISP, had 4.6 million broadband subscribers, or 45.8 percent of the domestic broadband market as of October 10, the ministry said.
Hanaro Telecom Inc 33630 , the number-two ISP, had 2.86 million users, or 28.6 percent, followed by Thrunet, which had 1.3 million or 13.1 percent.
The ministry data included broadband subscribers of smaller regional ISPs, which offer high-speed Internet services using leased lines from larger operators such as KT.
[Suppressed Sound Link]
Nead some dough
[Suppressed Sound Link]
Never mind the Koolade EX
Have a nice refreshing Extreme DQ vanilla prozac cone
[Suppressed Sound Link]
Mover over SIL here comes the Storm!
Its like SIL but in a solid form.
http://www.warrenmiller.com/wmiller/
That's right Poorboy when Ray traveled to Transylvania to raise some funding for NV he stopped by a huge castle to see if there was any people with cash and a phone line. Somehow the guy inside had no idea what the Internet was.....
[Suppressed Sound Link]
This of course is a untrue story
Happy Halloween NVEI investors!
[Suppressed Sound Link]
Happy Halloween!
[Suppressed Sound Link]
Halloween cheer!
[Suppressed Sound Link]
Click this for a rocking tune, it gets better each verse. Crank it up!!!
http://isd.usc.edu/~barney/Pics/romance.swf
Oh, and Happy Halloween!!
[Suppressed Sound Link]
Congratulations Ernie!
"Last mile" with laser.
http://www.sciam.com/issues_directory.cfm
Click on the July issue.
Here is an interesting issue of Scientific American that talks about my wife's startup company's technology, "A new generation of drugs will be based on sugars."
Also there is an interesting article about the "Last mile" with laser.
Funny how my wife's and I interests are in the same issue!
COULD THIS BE THE NV BOYS?
LONDON (Oct. 29) - Scientists in Britain and the United States shook hands Tuesday.
No big deal, one might think, but the men in question were 3,000 miles apart, connected only by the Internet.
In a technological first, two scientists -- one in London and one in Boston -- picked up a computer-generated cube between them and moved it, each responding to the force the other exerted on it.
The devices allowing them to do it are called phantoms, which re-create the sense of touch by sending small impulses at very high frequencies via the Internet, using newly developed fiber optic cables and high bandwidths.
"The experiment went very well," said Joel Jordan, part of a team of scientists at University College London (UCL) teaming up with colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to conduct the experiment.
"You can actually feel the object being pushed against your hand," he told Reuters. "We can feel each others' forces."
They plan to conduct a second experiment across an even greater distance -- London to California -- later Tuesday.
UCL said the secret behind the technology is the speed at which the successive impulses are sent.
"In much the same way that the brain re-interprets still images into moving pictures, the frequencies received by the phantom are similarly integrated to produce the sense of a continuous sensation," a UCL statement said.
Not only can scientists feel the force being exerted by colleagues across the Atlantic Ocean, they can also feel the texture of the object they are feeling.
"You can feel how rough something is, or how springy the side of the cube is," Jordan said.
The implications of the experiment could be vast, said UCL, which described the event as the world's "first transatlantic handshake over the Internet."
For example, trainee surgeons could use it to practice operations via the Internet.
It also would have recreational uses, allowing people to touch and feel each other over the Internet.
"There are certainly strange aspects to this," Jordan said. "You can hit each other hard enough to leave little bruises, and there are bigger versions of the equipment we're using which could really cause some damage."
However, don't expect to find touchy-feely computer software in the shops before Christmas. "I don't think it'll be available to the public for years -- at least five years," Jordan said.
10/29/02 14:24 ET
Qwest to Restate More Revenue
Get Quote, Company Info: Q
.c The Associated Press
DENVER (Oct. 29) - Qwest Communications International Inc. plans to restate $531 million in revenue that was prematurely recorded and estimated it would write down the value of its assets by at least $35 billion.
The disclosures in a regulatory filing Monday evening by the Denver-based regional telecommunications service provider come amid a review of its accounting practices.
In Tuesday afternoon trading, Qwest shares fell nearly 7 percent, or 23 cents, to $3.23 on the New York Stock Exchange. The company is scheduled to release its third-quarter earnings Wednesday.
Qwest's adjustments essentially wipe the slate clean of accounting problems, giving investors a solid basis on which to make investment decisions, said Jeff Halpern, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein.
``It represents the end of what we've seen as a string of bad news,'' said Halpern, who owns no Qwest stock.
But significant challenges remain.
``Once they get all these accounting issues squared away and things firmed up on accounting, the issue is firming up the debt, and that'll be the real focus for the financial team,'' said Tom Morabito of McDonald Investments Inc. ``We're midway through the process.''
Qwest's debt stood at about $26.2 billion Tuesday.
After the markets closed Monday, Qwest said it would defer $531 million in revenue from cash sales of capacity on its fiber-optic network. Originally the company recognized the revenue immediately but now it plans to book the revenue over the term of the agreements, which can range from five to 30 years, Qwest spokesman Tyler Gronbach said.
Of that $531 million, $331 million was recorded in 2001 and $200 million was recorded in 2000.
Also Monday, the company said it estimated it would have to write down as much as $30 billion to reflect the reduced value of assets it bought in its 2000 acquisition of US West. The company said it had found $24 billion of goodwill impairment through Jan. 1, 2002, when the new accounting rule took effect, and might have to write off another $6 billion for 2002.
In addition, Qwest said it expects to book an $8.1 billion reduction in the value of its telephone network, global fiber optic broadband network and related assets and a $2.7 billion reduction in the value of assets related to customer lists and product technology.
Last month, Qwest reversed $950 million in revenue it had booked from swaps of capacity on its fiber-optic network and said the money from capacity sales also might have to be restated.
After consulting with its new auditor, KPMG LLP, Qwest said Monday it will treat cash sales of optical capacity as operating leases and recognize the revenue from these assets over the life of the agreement. Such sales this year will not be affected by the accounting change, Qwest said.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether the swaps helped Qwest artificially boost revenues. Qwest also is the subject of a Justice Department investigation.
10/29/02 12:26 EST
Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
SBC has long trail of broken broadband promises
Jim Pickrell
If SBC only had NVEI!!!
SBC Communications Inc., with its announcement of 3,000 Pacific Bell layoffs, has once again aroused California's regulators and consumer advocates worried about declining service.
As an Internet service provider, I am particularly concerned that SBC is not serious about making high-speed Internet access (or DSL) affordable and widely available. It's but the latest episode in a series of SBC Pacific Bell broken promises relating to broadband.
In 1993, Pac Bell boldly announced it would be investing $16 billion in wiring California for the future. The new statewide fiber network would provide voice, video and high-speed Internet access. California was going to be granted a new network that was to be "unmatched anywhere in the world."
In 1997, SBC, which had since bought Pacific Bell, came up with an innovative excuse to avoid following through. It announced that partly due to the high costs associated with merger-related layoffs, it was pulling the plug on its promise of an "unmatched" video-capable network.
In 1999, SBC announced a $6 billion upgrade of its high-speed Internet network it dubbed "Project Pronto." Making no mention of the previously promised $16 billion upgrade, it envisioned cost-savings that would drive the cost of DSL down to $30 per month for consumers.
During 2000 and 2001, more than 100,000 consumers waited weeks to get DSL from Pacific Bell. At the time, SBC executives blamed state regulators for not approving their entry into the long distance market for Project Pronto's premature demise.
As this was happening Pacific Bell quietly bankrupted competing ISPs by denying them access to the Bell-owned and ratepayer-subsidized copper wire network.
First, SBC Pac Bell charged other companies exorbitant prices to access the local phone network. It's no accident that the state's competitive DSL market collapsed during a time that Pacific Bell's wholesale prices made it impossible for an ISP to make a profit. Then, SBC transferred its broadband operations to an out-of-state unregulated subsidiary so it could simply cut competing ISPs off the California network.
As a result, SBC Pacific Bell controls 97 percent of the California DSL market. In 2000, it charged $39.95 per month for speeds of up to 1.5 Mbps. Today, DSL service with downstream speeds of 768 Kbps-1.5 Mbps costs $69.95. Compare this to the dial-up market, where prices fell precipitously and competition has flourished.
The Communication Workers of America says the Pac Bell layoffs could slow DSL expansion even more. In addition, SBC announced that due to its "dire" financial circumstances it was postponing another $2 billion in infrastructure investments.
SBC, however, appears to be the picture of financial health, making more than $1.8 billion in the last quarter alone. But California DSL customers have yet to see the benefit.
State government is starting to take notice. The California Public Utilities Commission fined SBC Pacific Bell $27 million for customer service violations. In September, the PUC gave SBC failing marks on its DSL performance.
This month, the PUC, blasting SBC for pleading poverty while raking in billions, announced an investigation of SBC's layoffs and the impact they may have on customer service.
There is no reason DSL shouldn't be widely available at a reasonable price. SBC and Pacific Bell owe California's consumers and regulators not just promises, but real results.
Jim Pickrell is president of Brand X Internet, an Internet Service Provider based in Santa Monica. He is past president of the California ISP Association.
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Get a look at this email! boy o boy!
I just wanted positive feed back for buying the product.
The Email....
When you have time is it possible if you could leave feedback on this
product?
Thanks,
AL
The response....
I apologize that I really don't have the time to do these things. My
company does over $100,000,000 a year and I have more personnel issues and
contractual issues that take my time. I have over 2,000 orders for the
puzzle and don't manage it but is done by my staff. I am sure that you
other feedbacks will give you the credibility you desire.
My response
Well, the time you took to write that email and to read this one, you would have plenty of time to give me the feed back, I am up top my neck in debt from my layoff from work earlier this year. Iv decided to buy your poster with the limited amount of moneys I have to cheer my self up. Its up to you if you want to leave the feed back but remember its the poor slobs like me that make you $100,000,000 a year and have a staff
This is in all good humor and I hope you understand :)
Thank you,
AL
His response...
I will leave your feedback as soon as I get to work on Monday. As far as being a poor slob, let me tell you that is no way to win friends. I grew up in abject poverty with no food in my house and no warm clothing. I am 61 years old and have struggled all of my life to make a success and become an educated man and an author. The only reason that your purchase was made thru my account was done by my IT staff that had to avoid a virus. Poor slobs don't give me their money. I earn and have earned every penny with creativity and hard work in the face of adversity. So please do not respond. I will get you your feedback and I wish you well.
Well, I thought my email response was in good humor I guess he can't take a joke, oh well....
Attack soon against railroads.
WASHINGTON (Oct. 24) - The FBI issued a warning to state and local law enforcement nationwide Thursday about a possible attack soon against transportation systems, particularly railroads.
Officials said the warning, based on information obtained from al-Qaida prisoners, suggested that terrorists may try to take out bridges, key sections of tracks or train engines in an effort to cause derailments and widespread damage.
''Information from debriefings of al-Qaida detainees as of mid-October indicates that the group has considered directly targeting U.S. passenger trains, possibly using operatives who have a Western appearance,'' the FBI said in a statement.
Intelligence officials continue to believe that al-Qaida plans to attack targets that would be readily recognized as representing U.S. economic interests, the FBI said.
Captured al-Qaida photographs of U.S. railroad engines, cars and crossings have increased concern about the threat, the FBI said.
Amtrak President David Gunn said federal transportation officials notified him about the warning. ''The threat, like a lot of others, is not specific,'' Gunn said. ''It's not targeted at anything per se.''
Gunn said the passenger railroad is taking steps to enhance security and passenger safety, but declined to describe them except to say they will not be evident to riders.
Amtrak has increased patrols and freight railroads have tightened security, the FBI said.
Around the Sept. 11 anniversary, Amtrak announced it intended to enforce tighter identification requirements, including random ID checks of passengers on trains. But Amtrak decided to reconsider that plan and has never implemented it.
Edward R. Hamberger, president of the Association of American Railroads, said the nation's rail system won't be a soft target. Since the terrorist attacks, railroads developed a security plan that includes a round-the-clock operations center linking railroad control centers with law enforcement agencies and increased surveillance.
The Office of Homeland Security was contacting key state and local officials to urge their help and vigilance in warding off any such attack, spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
''The American people should still ride our nation's rails and know that this warning has been provided to state and local law enforcement, and the appropriate security officials, so they can take the appropriate steps to increase protective measures,'' Johndroe said.
New York Gov. George Pataki said, ''There are threats and those out there who are looking to do us harm here in the United States.''
He said Ridge did not identify any specific target in New York. Even so, Pataki said, New York has ''put out an advisory across the state to make sure that the public is vigilant and we are vigilant in protecting public services and infrastructure points across this state.''
Separately, U.S. intelligence has learned that al-Qaida supporters may be planning strikes on ships in the Persian Gulf and nearby seas, said one official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
''Such attacks may be a part of more extensive operations against port facilities and other energy-related targets including oil facilities and nuclear power plants,'' the FBI said.
The threats are to military vessels and commercial shipping, the official said. Terrorists believed linked to al-Qaida attacked an oil tanker off the coast of Yemen earlier this month.
Johndroe said the homeland security office is coordinating an interagency effort to increase protection of possible targets.
AP-NY-10-24-02 2217EDT
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Broadband battle 'biggest since WWII'
By Rene Millman [23-10-2002]
UK needs to fight to compete with the Pacific Rim
The UK will have to keep its eye on Pacific Rim countries and not just Europe if it is to make broadband Britain a reality, according to the secretary general of the European Information Society Group (Eurim).
Speaking at the TMA 2002 conference in Brighton, hosted by the Communications Management Association, Philip Virgo said getting broadband to the masses was the most important project since World War II.
"Delivering a broadband Britain capable of competing with the Pacific Rim is the biggest and most urgent programme since the invasion of Normandy," said Virgo. "That was planned and delivered in 13 months using existing technologies in new ways."
He urged delegates to join the Broadband Stakeholder Group and for the industry in general to get its act together on rolling out the technology to businesses.
Virgo warned that ordinary people were being left out as businesses went after early adopters of the faster technology, and that this could result in a consumer backlash.
"Too many products and services are designed to impress enthusiasts and experts; only those who re-engineer their offerings for reliable use by ordinary human beings to meet common needs will survive," he said.
Virgo called upon communications companies to co-operate not just with customers but with competitors. He added that those failing to do so would "die next year".
He also told delegates not to expect politicians to respond to calls for more bandwidth.
Ya, andddddd How! I found out how to do it, and just ran away with it.... and never came back too....
NVEI testing in Maine ........... Well, when I went to Maine this weekend I did not see NV testing our Tech,I just ran in to Jebidiah and his 19 year young wife. They were asking for mikey.
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I still can't get in, anyone else have this problem?
Is chat down?
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Telecoms union calls for universal broadband
By Tim Richardson
Posted: 22/10/2002 at 16:17 GMT
Broadband should be available in every home and business in the UK, according to the Communications Workers Union (CWU).
In a blunt message the CWU was critical of the Government’s approach so far to broadband and called on it to be more proactive in the roll-out of high speed Net access in the UK.
Speaking at the TMA Conference in Brighton today Jeannie Drake, Deputy General Secretary of the CWU, said that the universal availability of broadband was essential to the future competitiveness of the country.
"Broadband has been a long time coming. We have been calling for it from the mid 1970s. [no you haven't - Ed] Only now are we seeing the beginning of a national broadband network," said Ms Drake.
"We want to push broadband up the political agenda. We want Government to be more proactive regarding the broadband agenda," he said.
The union admitted that it had a 'self interest' in the roll-out of broadband in the UK but maintained that it was too important for Government to ignore.
One seasoned industry insider told The Register: "Universal access? Not that old chestnut." ®
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/27727.html