Thursday Mar 11

Archive for May, 2008

May
12/08
Service Launch 101: What not to do
Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 May 2008 06:27
Written by Rhodos
Monday, May 12th, 2008

AT&T has been in the game as far as I can remember. So, you would think they would use press releases and give some hint that they would be offering free Wi-Fi access to iPhone users in Starbucks stores. Instead the events played out somewhat like a child picking their first toy.

AT&T offered no mention of the new service in its February press release. Reporters in the news then moved towards Starbucks and T-Mobile parting ways.

Then, last week, without warning, AT&T turned the service on. I spotted it on April 30 when I tried to log on to my T-Mobile account and discovered an AT&T link that wasn’t there the day before. I was already thinking about how many extra shots of espresso I could buy with the $39 a month I would save.

When word started to spread about this apparent change in provider, four days later the service stopped. This then followed a few days later by AT&T changing the language on its site to include news of the free service, followed by the removal of said language.

It seems AT&T’s marketing department is asleep at the wheel, or their management is jumping the gun. What should have been a pretty satisfying debut of a new free service, turned out like a slow speed car crash in reverse.

source doc: fortune

May
11/08
FBI Probe finds $3.5 M in Cisco Counterfeits
Last Updated on Sunday, 11 May 2008 10:50
Written by Rhodos
Sunday, May 11th, 2008

Multiple investigations into Chinese counterfeit operations have led to the seizure of $3.5 million in counterfeit Cisco routers, switches, interface converters, and wide area network interfaces. The logistics involved 15 separate investigations at nine field offices, and included 39 search warrants. According to the FBI, with the end of investigations, there is still no word in any arrests. World wide the estimated total seizures were $76 million.
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