June 2008

CONTENTS

INDUSTRY NEWS

SIDE TRAQS

EVENTS

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

More Telecom Deals Hardly a Sure Thing
Verizon’s $28 billion acquisition of Alltel may not spur the massive industry consolidation some investors are anticipating. Instead of a radical reshaping of the U.S. telecom landscape, competitive dynamics and pricing will largely remain intact, analysts say. MORE

The Dawn of Free Internet Access?
It’s the sort of news that ought to scare the pants off Comcast executives. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has proposed the commission auction off a portion of the 25 megahertz spectrum with a free provision — meaning that whoever licenses the spectrum must provide internet access to people for free. MORE

Downtown Data Center Keeps Running Despite Flood
With floodwaters swirling around them in the streets of downtown Cedar Rapids, about 20 employees of the Involta computer data center have kept their facility running in the Armstrong and Granby buildings. MORE

Global Market for Consumer Telecommunication to Reach US$2 Trillion by 2012
Revenue from consumer telecommunication network services will grow at a steady annual clip of about 5.7%, on average, over the next five years, reports In-Stat. The strongest growth will be in the broadband and pay TV sectors, but 60% of total revenue will be derived from consumer mobile services, the high-tech market research firm says. MORE

Ethernet Alliance Looks at Data Center Profiles
The Ethernet Alliance has formed a new Data Center subcommittee to address physical-layer and data-link-layer issues affecting the use of Ethernet in data center applications. MORE

SIDE TRAQS

High-Tech Japanese, Running Out of Engineers
At Utsunomiya University, north of Tokyo, graduate students in the engineering department demonstrate an optical system. After years of fretting over coming shortages, the country is actually facing a dwindling number of young people entering engineering and technology-related fields. MORE

20% of U.S. Has Never Sent E-mail
Roughly one-fifth of all U.S. households are disconnected from the Internet and have never used e-mail, according to research firm Parks Associates. A recent phone survey of U.S. households by Parks found 20 million households are without Internet access, approximately 18 percent of all U.S. households. MORE

Why Zappos Pays New Employees to Quit — And You Should Too
I spend a lot of time visiting with companies and figuring out what ideas they represent and what lessons we can learn from them. I usually leave these visits underwhelmed. There are plenty of companies with a hot product, a hip style, or a fast-rising stock price that are, essentially, one-trick ponies — they deliver great short-term results, but they don’t stand for anything big or important for the long-term. MORE

World’s First Renewable Gasoline
The title might sound impossible, but Sapphire Energy, a California-based company, has been working away to create actual gasoline from a renewable, carbon neutral source: algae. While we've heard of many different processes for making fuels from algae, this one certainly tops the list. They've managed to produce 91-octane, ASTM certified gasoline, ready to be pumped into your car. They stress that it is not ethanol, and not biodiesel. MORE

IT Workers Weigh In on Health Habits
Feeling a little, shall we say, sluggish lately? You might be among the vast ranks of IT workers who have put on some extra heft while sitting at their desks. MORE

Wii Fit Women Leave £20 Million Toll of Destruction to Living Rooms
It was meant to get the nation back in shape in the comfort of our own homes — but women working out on the Nintendo Wii Fit video game have helped cause £20 million of damage to their living rooms. MORE

EVENTS CALENDAR

JULY

HostingCon 2008 Find the products and services, information, and connections you need to grow your hosted services business at HostingCon 2008.
July 28–30, 2008 | Chicago, IL MORE

AUGUST

Channel Partners Conference & Expo is the only event devoted exclusively to The Channel — agents, VARs, systems integrators, interconnects, wireless dealers and consultants — selling communications products and services. The biannual trade show is celebrating its 11th year by achieving milestones in the variety and number of attendees, exhibitors and sponsors. The Channel Partners Conference & Expo is a one-of-a-kind networking and educational event that is earning praise from carriers, resellers, manufacturers, managed services providers, software vendors and their indirect sales partners.
August 18–20, 2008 | Boston, MA MORE
 

SEPTEMBER

Interop New York IT Exhibition and Conference gives you all the information you need to improve business agility.
September 19–20, 2008 | New York, NY MORE
 

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