AT&T’s MEdia Max Unlimited (Text & Web) Plan

Prices are billed monthly and are valid for use in the U.S. only. Charges for international messages sent from the U.S. are $0.25 for Text Messages and $0.50 for Picture/Video Messages. Charges for usage while roaming internationally: $0.50 for each text message sent, $1.30 for each picture/video message sent, and $0.0195 for each kilobyte used. Standard rates apply to all incoming messages. Additional charges for premium messages and content apply. For full details on Messaging & MEdia™ Bundles, go to att.com/mediaterms. Unlimited MEdia™ Net package required for CV Video, XM Radio, MobiTV and MobiRadio users. Pay-Per-Use Charges: Text/Instant Messaging $0.20 per message; Picture/Video Messages $0.30 per message; MEdia™ Net Browsing $0.01 per KB. MEdia™ Net and MEdia™ Bundles are not available on PDAs/Pocket PCs, RIM® devices or LaptopConnect cards. Additional subscription and download charges may apply.

These numbers are beyond obscene. Even I am at a loss for word on this one.

This drifts off to additional absurd trivia, but the fact that we take away the guy's Blackberry because he's become president? What's up with that? We don't trust him to have the judgement to know how and when to not ping out Top Secret briefings? PUH-LEASE.

Just got this email. Haven’t even read it yet, but from the gobbledy gook double-speak here, I suspect this can’t be good. As promised since the mid 1990′s, without an Open Access network, incumbent monopolists are free to tell YOU what you should or shouldn’t, can or can’t do with the Raw Bandwidth you pay for. Instead of increasing capacity, they are squelching usage and innovation; particularly, RIGHT AT THE POINT IN TIME when person-to-person HD-quality video is becoming a very practical reality. This is a pathetic and tragic outcome to a battle and war that should not have been lost, but was. I’m almost physically ill over this inexcusable final outcome of the Residential Information Infrastructure wars. In Tron-speak, strike another up for the MCP.

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Dear Comcast High-Speed Internet Customer:

Comcast is committed to providing you with the best online experience possible.

One of the ways we do that is by managing the leading fiber optic network in the nation to ensure it is fast, safe and reliable. As part of our ongoing efforts to continuously improve the quality of our service, we are switching to a new network congestion management technique by the end of the year. It is focused on managing network congestion only when and where it may occur. It will also replace the current technique and will help ensure that all of our customers receive their fair share of network resources.

What does this mean for you? Probably nothing. We ran five market trials of this technique over the summer and found that less than one percent of customers were affected. So, the vast majority of customers will not notice any change to their Internet experience as a result of this new technique. During the times of busiest network use (which could occur at any hour, depending on your neighborhood), those very few extraordinarily heavy users – who are doing things like conducting multiple and continuous large file transfers – may experience slightly longer response times for some online activities until the period of network congestion ends.

As we transition to this new technique, we have amended our Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”) and posted it on the Comcast.net Web site. For links to the amended AUP, as well as answers to Frequently Asked Questions and more information about this new technique or our network management efforts in general, please visit our Network Management Policy page at: www.comcast.net/networkmanagement.

Thank you again for choosing Comcast as your high-speed Internet provider.

Yeah, nobody saw this coming … right. Could someone please drop an anvil on my head just to remind me that gravity exists? Thanks.

Be sure to add this one to the list.

What’s the point? Just get a 42″ or 108″ or whatever LCD and connect it to your slingbox-equipped laptop. DONE. Google, Panasonic to Launch Internet TVs.

Because if you, dear reader, do not join our cause in deploying seamless, affordable 802.* bandwidth, this is what your world will look like: And This Is Your $4190.76 iPhone Bill.

Finally, we can make sure that all the little stray cattle … er precious little kiddies … are properly tagged, chipped, and geo-tracked, 24/7. Frankly, I don’t understand why people fear Huxley’s dystopia. Why not just barcode and chip them at birth, install the remote retinal transparent proxy input logger and move on with it? See? Don’t you feel so much safer, now? I know I do.

Dec 12, 2007 06:08 America/Los_Angeles
AT&T Offers Network Industry-First RFID and GPS-Based Solutions for K – 12 Education Segment

Company’s Managed Services Enable Educators to Increase Productivity, Improve Student Safety, Reduce Costs

The integration of RFID and MRM applications is especially beneficial when trying to ensure the safety of students when they’re on their way to and from school. Deploying RFID readers in addition to tracking devices on school buses enables educators to determine when students get on or off, as well as the location of buses when they’re en route.

The company’s RFID application works seamlessly with any 802.11 standards-based wireless local area network (LAN) infrastructure and offers precise, on-demand tracking. Wi-Fi-based RFID tags, placed on ID badges that can be secured to equipment, bracelets, shirt pockets or book bags, send a wireless signal to locate, monitor and report on assets, students and educators. Additional AT&T RFID benefits include:

— Asset tracking. Minimize theft of high-value equipment and assets,
including computers, projectors, laptop carts and lab equipment. Also,
because many of these assets are mobile, locating them can be difficult
in a large school building. Active RFID allows the teachers and staff
to easily locate these assets, saving time and optimizing inventory.
— Daily attendance tracking. Automate the tracking of average daily
attendance, as well as notify administrators when students are not in
school by importing information in the student-information databases.
— School-visitor tracking. Monitor the location of visitors and even
alert school administrators when visitors enter unauthorized areas.
— Disaster response. Provide the location of school staff in the event of
a man-made or natural emergency or disaster situation.

“In today’s world of K – 12 education, enhanced visibility regarding the location of students, teachers and valuable assets is crucial,” said Bill Hughes, principal analyst for wireless research group, In-Stat. “By introducing mobile technology, such as RFID and MRM, school districts can save time, eliminate unnecessary costs, reduce theft and unnecessary inventory and, most important, enhance student and teacher safety.”