Latest news on the pending Verizon Strike/work stoppage.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/aug/4/verizon-unions-far-apart-strike-looms/

latest comment I find ridiculously refreshing….

Union people is a like a commodore 64 compared to technology out there today. Adapt, the world is changing. Look at the old union from England, Germany they have changed to adapt to today’s environment. You don’t want to pay anything for medical? Who are you kidding; you know how many hundreds of thousands of people are without coverage or how many like management employees in many companies that work 50-60 hrs. a week no overtime and gladly pay 50% of their coverage. Who cares who and what Ivan gets paid who and how much taxes are paid by whom…that is not the issue being argued here. You all sound like little kids. If Verizon had any balls they would let you all strike and then replace your sorry a#$

The iPhone 4 on Verizon is a pretty big deal, especially for Verizon. The carrier has more than likely done everything they can think of to prepare for the masses that will jump onto the network to get the device. But, what you won’t find are Verizon employees with the device in their own hand, ready to show off. We’ve been informed that the iPhone 4 will not be carried by Verizon employees, because the carrier is preventing the phone from being added to employee accounts.

According to an unnamed source, Verizon will not allow employees to carry the iPhone 4 on their employee accounts. Furthermore, Verizon is actually taking the extra step and informing employees that if they do get an iPhone 4 and add it to their employee account, the number will be blacklisted from the account altogether. When asked for more details, the source was unable to provide any more, as they were not told much more.

The employees were also not given a date as to when they would be able to add the flagship device for Verizon’s network to their employee accounts. It seems odd that Verizon wouldn’t want the handset to be in employee’s hands, so that they could talk to customers about it. It would not be hard to imagine that some Verizon employees have never used the device, and having only one or two, maybe three demo models floating around a store wouldn’t seem good enough preparation for a major launch like this.

[thanks, Source: http://www.slashgear.com/verizon-employees-not-allowed-to-get-iphone-4-11125847/]

Verizon’s iPhone 4 announcement has captured the collective consciousness of the wireless nation.

That means AT&T is working hard to discourage its customers from switching to the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G network.

What’s its strategy? AT&T will go in areas they think are game-changers for customers.

Verizon will be prepared! Here’s is Verizon’s counter to common objections to switching!

Simultaneous Voice and Data Sessions
Verizon iPhone 4 customers can make a voice call on our network and browse the Internet over a public or home WiFi connection at the same time.

•The real question for customers is what is it “they” want to do because most features are supported on the phone.

•Some functions work simultaneously on our iPhone 4. Have these common examples in your back pocket:

◦If you’re using a navigation application and receive a call, the navigation pauses while you take the call and resumes when you hang up.

◦You can also check contacts and browse for items already on the phone while a call is in progress.

Global Communications
Our iPhone 4 will work in approximately 40 countries that use CDMA technology.

•Get to know the list of countries where Verizon has CDMA roaming, and make sure you have a few common business and vacation travel destinations ready to mention. CDMA roaming is available in over 40 countries – including Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, India and most of the Carribean Islands.

•In countries that use a GSM technology platform, Verizon offer a global program that loans customers a country-compatible device at no additional charge for up to three weeks.
•Customers can check out all the details at verizonwireless.com/global

3G Network – Speed & Reliability
Verizon has made a commitment to maintain and support our 3G network for many years to come, and Verizon continues to expand the 3G network even as 4G gets rolled out.

AT&T claims its data network is faster than our 3G CDMA Network.

Verizon Wireless has the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G network, and that means we believe customers will be very happy with both the voice and data service they receive.

•Here’s a great question to pose: “How many Gs do you need?”

•Customers are getting a great smartphone that provides a host of applications that help them manage their lives, stay connected to friends and family and much more.

•And if they truly want and need a real 4G experience, Verizon Wireless offers 4G LTE, with a host of consumer devices coming during the first-half of 2011.

I have been looking for an e-commerce template now for a little while. Personally, I was looking for shopping cart integration and the ability to make quick code changes on the fly without having to edit the template code too much. The choices out there are not vast and or cost effective for a business start-up scenario. I checked on www.Templatic.com and noticed their e-commerce options to be really manageable scalable and at the same time keeping the cost of the template/support down.

My daughter is starting her own little bottle cap/jewelry business with her best friend so I think we got the best solution for web site at this point. We purchased the E-commerce Kids store but all the others appear to be very good as well on their demo site. My daughter’s business is Cali Cat Bottle Cap Creations, www.ccbottlecapcreations.com, I am so proud because they already have two stores locally here wanting to carry her custom jewelry…good luck girls!!!! Love Dad!!

Out of the Box Wodpress Solutios

That is the question! Can it be done? I think it can, Motorola seems like the best option to supplant Apple as the top smartphone maker. With the Droid X and the Droid 2, the company has proven that it knows what it needs to do in order to be successful in the smartphone space. And going forward, it has far more potential than any other company (aside from Apple) in the market. So, while it will be difficult, Motorola has a shot at building the perfect iPhone killer. Here are the ways that it can achieve that goal.
* Stick with a Droid OS and build from there
* Capitalize on Apple’s mistakes, remember the antenna issue? Motorola should ensure a superior antenna design to avoid any such reception issues
* Motorola should offer the phone to more carriers not just Verizon.
* Appeal to corporate customers
* Ads, ads and more ads, saturate the market with advertisements!
* Leverage on Google’s relationship
* Where is Droid 2.2? and 3.0 software that runs smoother and faster is key
* Make users more productive and offer applications
* Last but not least, ignore Apple, who cares what they are doing, success will come….

San Francisco Chronicle (Online)

Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. mobile-phone company, will start selling Apple Inc.’s iPhone next year, ending AT&T Inc.’s exclusive hold on the smartphone in the U.S., two people familiar with the plans said.

The device will be available to customers in January, according to the people, who declined to be named because the information isn’t public. Natalie Kerris, an Apple spokeswoman, and Jeffrey Nelson, a Verizon Wireless spokesman, declined to comment.

The iPhone, which has been the sole domain of rival AT&T in the U.S. since June 2007, will give Verizon a boost in its competition for smartphone customers, UBS AG analyst John Hodulik said in an interview. Verizon customers, who numbered 92.8 million at the end of the first quarter, may buy 3 million iPhones a quarter, he estimates.

“Apple is going to dramatically increase the number of devices it sells in the U.S. when exclusivity at AT&T ends,” said Hodulik, who is based in New York and rates Verizon shares “neutral.” “It’s hard to ignore the quality issues that AT&T has faced.”

Verizon Wireless, which is building a high-speed fourth- generation network, plans to unveil several devices that will run on the new technology in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, Chief Executive Officer Lowell McAdam has said.

IPhone Gains

Verizon Communications Inc., which co-owns the wireless company with Vodafone Group Plc, slid 9 cents to $28.62 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading at 4 p.m. AT&T fell 49 cents to $24.46. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, dropped $12.13 to $256.17 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Peter Thonis, a spokesman for Verizon Communications, and Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman, declined to comment. Tenille Kennedy, a spokeswoman for Research in Motion Ltd., didn’t return a call seeking comment.

The iPhone has helped AT&T add subscribers even as the U.S. mobile-phone market nears saturation. There are enough wireless devices for more than nine out of 10 people, according to the CTIA wireless industry association.

In the first three months of this year, about a third of AT&T’s iPhone activations came from customers who were new to the carrier. Without those 900,000 new subscribers, the company may have posted a loss in contract customers that quarter, analysts said.

Still, Dallas-based AT&T has battled customer complaints about its wireless service, especially in New York and San Francisco, and dedicated an extra $2 billion to upgrading its network this year.

BlackBerry, Android

For Apple, a partnership with Basking Ridge, New Jersey- based Verizon Wireless is a victory over rivals such as RIM and Motorola Inc., whose smartphones are currently promoted by the carrier.

“For Apple it means a larger addressable market,” said Andy Hargreaves, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon. “It’s also good news for Apple in that it will spread the load on the wireless data networks, which will be good for their customers.”

Motorola, which makes Droid phones that use Google Inc.’s Android operating system, fell 27 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $6.80 on the New York Stock Exchange. Google dropped $17.82, or 3.8 percent, to $454.26 on the Nasdaq. RIM, maker of the BlackBerry, declined $3.22, or 6.1 percent, to $49.75.

Apple has sold more than 50 million iPhones since the phone’s introduction in 2007. The latest version, iPhone 4, sold more than 1.7 million units in the first three days after its June 24 debut, a record for the product. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs said the company didn’t have enough supply to meet demand. Many stores, including retailer Best Buy Co., sold out.

A release at Verizon in the first quarter will help Apple’s sales in the U.S. grow to at least 15 million units next year from 11 million in 2010, Barclays Capital analysts said in a note today. The company’s suppliers have been ramping up production of components for a phone on Verizon’s CDMA network, according to the research report.

Unless you have one of those 2tb HDD in your PC, space is something that one is always looking to clear on a computer. If you look deep enough you will found out that there are two files called pagefile.sys and hiberfil.sys that occupy over few GB of hard drive space. If you are the kind person that does not use Hibernate, then this article is for you.

When you turn off your computer using hibernate, the operating system needs to store all your current running program states onto hard disk so that programs can resume where they left off when you power up your PC again. To achieve this, the OS need to save all the information into a file called hiberfil.sys. Windows OS (7, vista, XP) usually stores this as a hidden file under your C directory or your main OS partition.

So if you never use hibernate, than its time for you to get your hard drive space back.

[Note: Hibernate mode is not sleep mode. When hibernating your computer completely shuts down, however, under sleep mode your PC is not completely shut down; it still consumes a small amount of power.]

The best way to delete hiberfil.sys or disable hibernate:

* Go to Start menu, type “cmd” open up command prompt
* Type “powercfg.exe -h off” [make sure you are an Administrator]
* ENTER
* Type “exit”
* ENTER

RESTART YOUR PC and you are all set

After restart you should be able to see more free space on your hard drive.

I have just purchased a gaming router but really have not purchased any routers over the past three years. Most home users think that the current technology is plenty fine 802.11g or n. Most home users are also set back by some of the complexity around setting up home networking. Cisco and Belkin are out there trying to get new customers, focusing on providing additional services in order to make the home/routing setup experience easier. Belkin has opted to make routing choices easier to grasp, like their Surf Line, Share, Play and Play Max wireless routers. Applications are also included to self healing or troubleshooting applications to detect and fix an issue for the user. The Print Genie also helps the users in order to setup printers etc. If you do a lot of downloads, torrent traffic, Xbox or gaming consoles on your network, go for the “Play Max Router” from Belkin.

Cisco also is in the game with their easy Valet service router line. Two versions are available from Cisco. The Valet Cost and the Valet Plus. The cost is aimed at Home with most wireless clients. The Plus is geared toward mixed wireless/wired environment. The Valet comes with a router and USB Valet sticks that lets you configure the wireless settings on your laptop or desktop in three easy steps. If you are wanting for something easy and the ability to be on the network in 90 seconds this is a good system to purchase. Like on most things do you own research and read customer reviews before making any purchases. Good Luck!

I can’t see it, I really can’t, what is the hype with Apple overpriced products?
So here there are, some Apple alternative products.

Iphone= Google Nexus or the Samsung Mythic

The Nexus has a powerful processor. However, the only bad thing is Google!! the applications are there, but
rather plain and with less life and glamour when compared to the Iphone or even the Droid.
I can’t see Google giving up though on this first try. I am certain future releases will be much different.

The Mythic, well very different for a mobile phone to incorporate a full TV Tuner and Flo TV service. Touch screen as responsive as the Iphone.
Price compared to the Iphone but obviously it packs something other phones do not have. AT@T and Sprint carry it.

IPod Touch= MS Zune HD or the Sony X series Walkman

Zune HD is the best non-iTunes player on the market, great OLED screen Touch functions, fast wireless browser, why even go for the Apple!

X Series, nice but pricey! Wireless, fast browser, and free music, Sony gives you free music downloads on this!

We can bring up computers, desktops or laptops, but I don’t wont to embarrass Apple more than necessary.

We you confront their laptop lineup it gets stepped on by Dell, Asus.
Desktops, Lenovo, Dell and even Acer cleans them out!

NO comparison, unfortunately, you can do a lot more with MS OS and compatible applications are a scale of 1 to 100.

Don’t believe Apples, claim to virus or vulnerabilities, the reason why there are more Windows vulnerabilities is because in the world Apple is out numbered 10 to 1000 when comparing global sales of hardware. Therefore if you are a hacker which will give you larger fame? exactly! think on that Apple!

I bet you Apple is not running adds on this!! I always believed Apple is way overrated so buy wisely.

Apple has said that it has found 17 labor violations at its factories. The one garnering most attention is the use of underage employees.

Apple has released its 2010 Supplier Responsibility report (PDF), revealing that three of its suppliers have hired underage workers. Though these employees were either no longer working
at the factories or no longer underage at the time of the audit, Apple’s inspectors found records of 11 employees who had been hired prior to reaching the legal age. However, child labor was not the only violation uncovered by the audit.

Apple also found more than 50 factories that forced employees to work longer than Apple’s maximum 60-hour weeks. Some facilities were depriving staff of benefits such as sick leave. All told, the inspectors uncovered 17 violations; a ‘core violation’ is considered the most serious class of violation. “It refers to any practice or situation that we consider to be contrary to the core principles underlying Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct,” Apple said.

Three of these violations were cases of falsifying records. That is, factories tried to cover up other violations by presenting inspectors with records that had been tampered with. One had tried to cover up hiring underage workers in the past, while the other two tried to cover up the fact that employees were overworked and not awarded days of rest. One facility falsified these records two years running. The company was caught in both 2008 and 2009.

Apple also found a staggering number of facilities that were not paying staff correctly:

At 48 of the facilities audited, we found that overtime wages had been calculated improperly, resulting in underpayment of overtime wages. At 24 facilities, our auditors found that workers had been paid less than minimum wage for regular working hours. In most of these cases, the facility’s pay structure for regular hours depended on attendance-related bonuses to meet minimum wage requirements; without these bonuses, there was no guarantee that the minimum wage would be met. We also found 15 facilities where the facility’s pay structure was unnecessarily complex and could result in underpayment of wages.

Other violations include excessive recruitment
fees and three cases where suppliers contracted with non-certified vendors for hazardous waste disposal.

When a core violation is detected, Apple requires that the facility remedy the situation immediately, as well as implement management systems that ensure continued compliance. The facility is also placed on probation for a period of one year, ending with a reaudit to ensure the violation has not reoccurred.

Apple inspected 102 facilities across China, the Czech Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States.

Source : Tom’s Hardware US