Time Warner Cable Launches the Fastest RoadRunner.com Ever

Award Winning RoadRunner.com Portal Now Faster Than Ever

Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) today launched a new and upgraded RoadRunner.com customer portal. Designed to deliver on a true broadband experience, the new site offers dramatically accelerated load times and provides an optimal environment in which customers can enjoy video, photos or any other web content. This is the first major upgrade to www.rr.com in four years and will serve as the first phase of many enhancements to be released throughout 2009.

The new Road Runner portal will deliver up to the minute local and national news, sports, entertainment, videos and much more directly from the homepage. Customers also have one click access to their email, localized weather information, horoscopes, and cable provider websites through a new simple, clean user interface.

Road Runner customers also get free access to a robust suite of security products (anti-spam, anti-virus, firewall and parental controls), 52 channels of commercial free music with Road Runner Radio, thousands of videos from programming providers such as CNN and Showtime, plus photo sharing software that in many markets allows customers to post their creations to the web as well as their TV.

“Road Runner's always delivered blazing fast Internet speeds,” said Steve Cook, Senior Vice President of High Speed Online Strategy and Web Services for Time Warner Cable. “Now RoadRunner.com brings those speeds to its own portal page, giving our customers a Web interface that delivers the content they want in a way that’s simple and easy.”

SIRIUS XM Radio to Offer Listeners Extended Block of Tom Petty's Buried Treasure Show on Deep Tracks Channel

SIRIUS XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) announced today that Tom Petty's critically-acclaimed Thursday evening show on Deep Tracks, Tom Petty's Buried Treasure, will now also be broadcast each Sunday evening for an uninterrupted four hours on Deep Tracks SIRIUS channel 16 and XM channel 40 beginning Sunday, February 15.

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Due to popular demand, SIRIUS XM listeners will now have access to four non-stop additional hours of Tom Petty's Buried Treasure on SIRIUS XM's Deep Tracks channel every Sunday from 8:00 pm - 12:00 am ET/5:00 pm -9:00 pm PT. Each Sunday's special will kick off with a rebroadcast of the latest show that debuted on Deep Tracks the prior Thursday at 8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT. The programming will continue with two shows from the Buried Treasure vault as well as an additional encore of Thursday's show.

Each week, Grammy Award(R) -winning singer-songwriter, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Heartbreakers ringleader, Traveling Wilbury and rock legend Tom Petty pulls together a set of rare and classic tracks, many vintage, from his private vaults, for an hour of radio magic woven together with Petty's informed, passionate and entertaining commentary. This season Tom has been particularly inspired by the numerous emails from fans of the show requesting their personal "buried treasures" and their input will no doubt influence Tom's choice of playlists.

Tom Petty, along with legendary musicians including Jimmy Buffett, Bob Dylan, Eminem, Grateful Dead, David Johansen, B.B. King, Wynton Marsalis, Willie Nelson, Mojo Nixon, Elvis Presley, Marky Ramone, Lou Reed, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen and "Little Steven" Van Zandt represent the diverse and creative artist-driven music programming being broadcast by SIRIUS XM today.

SIRIUS XM's Deep Tracks explores classic rock's archives by digging deep into classic rock albums. Deep Tracks listeners will hear Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, The Doors, The Allman Brothers, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Who, Bob Dylan and many others.

MLB.TV Premium and NHL GameCenter LIVE Available Via a Combo Subscription Package Beginning February 16

MLB.com and the National Hockey League (NHL) today announced a partnership that will make available each league's live online streaming product, MLB.TV Premium and NHL GameCenter LIVE(TM), respectively, through a bundled subscription. This special bundle for United States residents will be available for a one-time fee of

$139.95 beginning Monday, February 16 at MLB.com and NHL.com.

Earlier this month, MLB.TV went on-sale with its full-season package (March-October 2009) for $109.95, a $10 discount off the 2008 yearly pricing, and the NHL will launch its standalone Race for the Cup(TM) streaming product on February 16 for $79.95.

This first-of-its-kind content partnership will allow subscribers to watch every regular season game, more than 100 Spring Training games and the first two rounds of the World Baseball Classic in

2009, via MLB.com, and up to 40 out-of-market NHL games per week for the remainder of the current regular season as well as select Stanley Cup(TM) Playoffs games, via NHL.com (blackout and other restrictions apply).

"We believe this partnership with the NHL is an important initial step in the future of online subscription programming for valuable content providers," said Bob Bowman, MLB.com President and Chief Executive Officer.

"We couldn't be more excited about this tremendous opportunity to introduce our groundbreaking NHL Game Center LIVE experience to an even bigger audience," said NHL Chief Operating Officer John Collins. "MLB.com has built a great business by engaging their audience with a best-in-breed product. This partnership is all about our mutual commitment to deliver world class digital sports experiences to sports fans everywhere."

MLB.TV, now in its seventh season with over a million total subscribers since its inception and 500,000 in 2008 alone, will introduce significant upgrades to its Premium product in 2009. The new MLB.TV Premium will feature proprietary speed detection allowing a hi-definition quality picture on any screen size; live game DVR functionality; live game picture-in-picture capabilities; multi-game viewing options; home and away feeds for every available game; live game radio option; and real-time player tracker alerts for live at-bat look-ins.

NHL GameCenter LIVE streams up to 40 games per week (blackout and other restrictions apply), and is specifically designed for those avid fans looking for the most complete, in-game NHL viewing experience, as well as for the nearly 50 percent of NHL fans that live away from their favorite team's local television market and crave more live game coverage. NHL GameCenter LIVE surrounds these avid hockey fans with TV-quality streaming video, multiple and exclusive camera angles, multi-games views, real-time stats, chat and much more.

AT&T seeks telecom rule change

AT&T may now be able to provide television service over phone lines, but it’s a whole different matter when it comes to marketing that line of business to landline customers.

When customers tell AT&T they want to switch to another phone provider, AT&T can’t use its new TV offering – or any of its other services – to try to keep them as phone customers.

Click here for the entire story

Tis the Season to Shop Safely

Comcast Alerts Consumers to Protect Your Computers and Personal Information Before Shopping Online This Holiday Season

As the holiday shopping season begins, more consumers will be turning to the Internet this year to find special deals and offers in hopes of saving money during this tough economic time. According to Shop.org’s recent eHoliday Study, more than half of online retailers expect their holiday sales to increase at least 15 percent over last year.*

Although online shopping can be convenient and even cost-effective, there are some dangers that lurk on the Web and the anticipated increase in online shopping sales could entice a cyber criminal to look for their next victim. Comcast, the nation’s largest residential broadband Internet service provider, is committed to helping consumers protect themselves from cyber scams and other Internet threats by providing online shopping safety tips for the holiday season.

“In this difficult economy, more people may shop online this holiday season looking for coupons, discounts and better deals so it’s important for them to know how to protect their computers from online threats that can compromise personal information and lead to identity theft,” said Jay Opperman, Senior Director of Security and Privacy for Comcast.

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Comcast Helps Consumers Through Digital Broadcast Transition with Free Basic Cable

Cable is Free When Combined with Economy Internet or Phone Service

Offers Complement Company’s Ongoing Efforts to Help Consumers “Get Ready” for Government’s Digital Transition

Comcast, South Florida’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services, is launching its Get Ready initiative today to encourage consumers to take action and choose their solution to the digital broadcast transition now, before the government mandate goes into effect.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ordered local TV stations to vacate the frequency locations they have occupied since the 1940’s. The only place viewers will be able to access local channels after February 17, 2009 will be on their new digital frequency locations.

As part of this new initiative, Comcast is offering low-cost solutions, including free basic cable for 12 months to those who sign up for at least one additional Comcast service. New customers who choose not to subscribe to additional Comcast services can get basic cable for just $10 a month for a full year. Current customers can add basic cable to additional TVs at no additional monthly fee.

Comcast Announces More Than 1,000 HD Choices Available – the Most HD Content Anytime, Anywhere

HD Choices Increase Five-Fold This Year

As HD viewing skyrockets, Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), the nation’s leading provider of entertainment, information and communications, today announced that it now has more than 1,000 high-definition (HD) viewing choices, delivering on the company’s commitment to significantly increase HD programming by year end. This announcement also marks a major milestone for Project Infinity, Comcast’s vision to give consumers the ability to watch any movie, television show, user generated content or other video that a producer wants to make available On Demand.

"Consumers can't get enough HD, so we’re now offering over a thousand HD choices, five times more than last year. However, it's not just about HD volume, but about having the highest-quality content consumers really want, whether they want to watch live or on their schedule," said Derek Harrar, General Manager and Senior Vice President of Video Services for Comcast. "With the best HD movies, top-rated HD shows and the hottest HD music all On Demand ... we're delivering the future of HD television, today."

Slowsky Videos

AOL Money & Finance to Feature BLOOMBERG TELEVISION Video

First Outside Financial Site to Host BLOOMBERG TELEVISION Multi-Media Content

AOL Money & Finance will carry content from BLOOMBERG TELEVISION®, making it the first major site other than Bloomberg.com to host videos from the 24/7 business and financial news network.

Each weekday, AOL Money & Finance, http://money.aol.com, will feature 20 new video clips from BLOOMBERG TELEVISION across the Money & Finance site, including its video site, http://money.aol.com/videos. BLOOMBERG TELEVISION content is created exclusively by the global BLOOMBERG NEWS^® service, with 143 bureaus in 69 countries.

The new relationship also lets advertisers reach across AOL and BLOOMBERG TELEVISION content with a single campaign. Advertising on AOL’s site will be sold by AOL’s digital advertising business, Platform-A, http://www.platform-a.com, which will offer advertising opportunities in display advertising, video advertising and content-targeted links.

AOL Launches New Digital City Website

From Lifestyle to Entertainment, DigitalCity.com Covers Local Trends with a Global Appeal

AOL announced the launch of Digital City, http://www.digitalcity.com, a new, magazine-style site that enables readers to stay on top of the latest entertainment trends and stories from around the world. Digital City takes a new approach to geo-blogging by showcasing original content with a local slant, but global appeal.

In addition to daily posts on topics ranging from the arts to fall festivities, Digital City has weekly features focusing on news and trends in entertainment, concerts, nightlife and dining. The monthly blogazine “Drink World” is devoted to the global culture of drinking.

“We’re excited to launch Digital City and to continue our legacy of providing consumers with compelling local entertainment information,” said Chris Spanos, General Manager of AOL Local. “From the serious to the irreverent, Digital City is sure to inform and entertain readers.”

Digital City, http://www.digitalcity.com, is part of the AOL Local Network, which is the largest online local network with a monthly reach of 60 million unduplicated unique visitors.* The site will be monetized through advertising packages that will be sold exclusively through Platform-A, AOL's digital advertising business.

With 10,000 Online Theaters Open, SnagFilms Will Present Premiere of “Haze” Simultaneously with Hamptons International Film Festival

In a keynote presentation to the IFP’s Independent Film Week Conference, SnagFilms CEO Rick Allen today updated the independent film community on developments since the site’s launch, and announced that Haze, a documentary film introduced by Robin Wright Penn, will premiere simultaneously on SnagFilms and at the Hamptons International Film Festival.

With its focus on the death of a young Colorado University fraternity pledge, Gordie Bailey, due to alcohol poisoning, Haze is a documentary that explores a range of issues regarding youth culture in America and their use of alcohol, such as binge drinking, hazing, the current drinking age and peer pressure. Robin Wright Penn is a Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-nominated actress. The 16^th annual Hamptons International Film Festival takes place October 15^th to 19^th. SnagFilms brings the best nonfiction films to the web audience, promotes viral web distribution through virtual movie theater widgets, and engages viewers to assist charitable and community efforts. The premiere of Haze online simultaneously to its premiere at a festival is the first time there has been such a “dual premiere.”

“We are so thrilled to partner with SnagFilms on this unique opportunity to present Haze to the wide audience that the film deserves. It is a special film, and one that we feel strongly should be shared by both our audiences here in the Hamptons, and to as broad a population as possible. This new initiative will really allow us to fulfill that goal,” said David Nugent, Hamptons International Film Festival, Programming Director.

Bridgevine and Verizon Sign Agreement on FiOS Services

Bridgevine Offers Consumers Both Fiber Optic TV and High Speed Internet

VERO BEACH, Fla. & ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bridgevine Inc., the trusted source for consumers to compare and shop for cable TV, fiber optic TV, high speed Internet and other home services, announced the company will now offer to consumers the Verizon FiOS TV and FiOS high speed Internet services.

“These fiber optic TV and high speed internet services are a proven hit with consumers and we’re proud to add them to our suite of offerings,” states Bridgevine’s President and CEO Vinny Olmstead. “We offer three Verizon FiOS TV plans. FiOS Local that includes all local channels. FiOS Premier with more than 200 channels including music and the ability to add premium movie channels and FiOS TV La Connexion, which has 140 channels including 35 English, 25 Spanish-language and additional music channels.”

Verizon FiOS Internet is a broadband service designed to provide Internet access with the fastest download speeds currently available — up to 50 megabits per second. The package includes a suite of services with access to newsgroups, nine email accounts and 10 MB of personal web storage. FiOS is an alternative to DSL and cable, provided on a state-of-the-art fiber-optic network. These services are available directly from the Bridgevine.com website or from Bridgevine’s shopping platform, dslnational.com.

Bridgevine’s consumer-facing website, Bridgevine.com, addresses the often daunting task of shopping for services in a marketplace where constantly changing prices, promotions and package offerings can leave consumers unsure if they are getting the best deal, or even the service that best meets their need. Unlike other “comparison” shopping sites, the Bridgevine experience is differentiated by a unified shopping cart, real-time pricing, order status and scheduling to deliver the best customer experience in the industry. Bridgevine’s deep integration with leading service providers enables the company to deliver the most accurate information on services, pricing and special promotions, adding even more value to the bundled services shopping experience.

About Bridgevine

Founded in 2003, Bridgevine, Inc. is headquartered in Vero Beach, FL with an office in Atlanta, GA. The company’s consumer-facing website, Bridgevine.com, is a trusted source for consumers to compare and shop for the services that shape their lives. From communications to entertainment to security, Bridgevine.com lets consumers choose individual services that are best for them, or create personalized bundles from trusted providers resulting in saved time and money. Unlike other “comparison” shopping websites, Bridgevine’s powerful technology offers a unified shopping cart, real-time pricing, order status and scheduling to deliver the best customer experience in the industry. Bridgevine’s deep integration with leading service providers from across the country — including Comcast, AT&T, D-Link, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, DIRECTV, RealNetworks, Panasonic, GameFly and more — enables Bridgevine to deliver the most accurate information on services, pricing and special promotions, adding even more value to the bundled services shopping experience. The company’s proprietary ecommerce platform is licensed by leading retailers, websites and Fortune 500 companies, making it possible for them to monetize online, call center and in-store traffic. Bridgevine was ranked 57 on the prestigious 2007 Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies. For more information, please visit www.bridgevine.com.

Contacts

Bridgevine, Inc., Vero Beach
Mark Ballard, 772-539-0618
mark.ballard@bridgevine.com

AT&T Introduces the AT&T USBConnect Mercury, Delivering 3G Mobile Broadband Speed With Style

AT&T USBConnect Mercury Offers Compact Design and New User-Friendly Features to Access Nation's Fastest 3G Network

AT&T Inc. and Sierra Wireless today announced the availability of the AT&T USBConnect Mercury, the newest and smallest addition to AT&T's High Speed Packet Access (HSPA)-capable lineup of LaptopConnect devices on the nation's fastest third-generation (3G) network.

Designed and manufactured by Sierra Wireless, the AT&T USBConnect Mercury is a convenient, easy-to-use USB device that provides a high speed connection to the AT&T wireless network whenever it's needed. The device provides plug-and-play installation by including a preloaded version of AT&T Communication Manager software for Microsoft Windows Vista, XP and 2000 notebooks and Sierra's Watcher(TM) software for Mac notebooks (versions 10.4.11 or later) so that new customers can get up and running quickly and easily.

Hughes Launches Fastest Ever Satellite Broadband Access Plans for Businesses Throughout the U.S.

New HughesNet Business Internet Plans Bring Affordable and Reliable Broadband Access at Speeds up to 5 Mbps

Hughes Network Systems, LLC the global leader in broadband satellite network solutions and services, today announced the availability of HughesNet Business Internet service plans, the fastest satellite Internet plans ever offered, bringing affordable, reliable, and high-performance broadband access to small- and mid-sized businesses (SMB) throughout the nation.

Starting at only $59.99 per month, HughesNet Business Internet plans have been specifically tailored to the SMB market complete with competitive pricing and flexible billing options. Customers can choose from seven plans, with speeds up to 1 Mbps on the uplink and up to 5 Mbps on the downlink, and are available to SMBs regardless of their location, which may be outside the reach of terrestrial cable and DSL providers.

"We estimate that there are over three million underserved businesses in the U.S.," said Sam Baumel, assistant vice president of SMB at Hughes. "Because of where they're located, these business owners don't have access to DSL, are using a slow dial-up connection, or are paying for costly T-1 service. Our new HughesNet Business Internet plans offer an affordable, nationwide solution that will help any small business stay connected and grow."

Verizon Goes to 'Extremes' in Massachusetts and Rhode Island With New Service Bundles Featuring High-Octane High-Def TV, Ultra-High-Speed Internet and

New FiOS TV Customers Eligible for a Free High-Def DVR for 12 Months and Free Month of HBO and Cinemax

Verizon is bringing its FiOS customers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island the ultimate broadband and home entertainment experiences, with new FiOS Freedom bundles. Bundle options now include a new FiOS TV Extreme service tier with more high-definition (HD) channels than the cable companies in the market, in addition to ultra-high-speed FiOS Internet service that blows cable away, plus reliable, unlimited local and long-distance calling.

Also today, Verizon announced the launch of 75 new channels, including 55 additional high-definition (HD) channels, in the region. FiOS TV customers in the area now have more than 480 HD choices available at any time, with a total of 85 HD channels and more than 400 HD video-on-demand (VOD) titles offered each month. [Note: This announcement and others can be found at Verizon's online news center: http://newscenter.verizon.com/.]

"We've gone all-out with affordable new packages for customers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island," said Bob Driscoll, Verizon vice president of sales and marketing in New England. "They combine the fastest Internet access -- period -- with high-quality, high-def TV picture quality and superior voice service, all delivered over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network."

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Florida, Mass., Consumers Now Have High-Speed Access to the Internet

Verizon Launches Broadband Service in First of 24 New Communities

Consumers and businesses in this tiny western Massachusetts community now have access to the Internet -- at rocket speeds powered by Verizon.

Starting Wednesday (Aug. 13), Verizon High Speed Internet service is being offered throughout Florida, one of 24 western Massachusetts communities where broadband Internet access has been unavailable. Verizon is planning to offer the service to the 23 other communities this year.

The service will give Internet users the ability to download at speeds of 768 Kbps (kilobits per second), 21 times faster than the current dial-up capability in Florida.

"This is a historic day for the town of Florida and for Verizon," said Donna C. Cupelo, Verizon region president for Massachusetts and Rhode Island, who declared Verizon High Speed Internet service "open for business" in Florida.

"We are proud to be able to bring the benefits of broadband Internet service to consumers in Florida today and soon to thousands more consumers in western Massachusetts," she said. "Verizon's investments in Massachusetts have and will continue to be a major contributor to growing the state's economy."

Yahoo! Launches Fire Eagle

New Platform Enables Users to Easily Update and Manage Their Location Information Across the Web

Yahoo! Inc. today announced the general availability of Fire Eagle (http://fireeagle.yahoo.net), an open platform that helps users take their location to the Web while giving them the ability to easily control how and where their location data is shared.

Fire Eagle gives users a place to store and manage information about their location, and offers developers clear protocols for updating or accessing that information. Because it’s open, any networked service can use Fire Eagle to respond to a user’s location – to help them find their friends, annotate the world or find nearby services or local information.

“Fire Eagle is about making everything on the Internet more useful, fun or interesting by adding the element of location,” said Tom Coates, head of product at Yahoo! Brickhouse. “We’re here to help people take their location to the Web by giving them the ability to control how much detail about their location they want to share and which applications they want to share it with.”

Microsoft Flops and Loses 7% of the Browser Market in Last 12 Months - Vista Still Only Used by Less Than 15% of all Users, per Janco

Janco and the IT Productivity Center have just released their Browser and Operating System Market Share White Paper. The major findings are: Microsoft's browser market share has continued to erode and has fallen to 58.50% versus 65.48% (loss of 6.96%) in August 2007 and 82.99% (loss of 24.49%) in August 2005; Firefox has maintained its number 2 browser position and now is used by almost 19% (18.94%) of all users; Google Desktop has over 4% (4.01%) of the market; and Time Warner made a strategic error in abandoning Netscape as users continue to use Netscape even though AOL no longer supports it.

The study also finds that on the Operating System front, Microsoft's Vista has just under 15% (14.94%) of the market after almost 20 months since Vista's first release candidate (RC1). Victor Janulaitis, the CEO of Janco, said, "Both Vista and Netscape show that large companies make huge blunders in technology. In the case of Microsoft, they no longer count on moving users to new products as quickly as they want. Time Warner's short-sighted decision to abandon Netscape shows technology decisions are long-term ones, and companies that want to create value in that market need to look beyond quarter-to- quarter earnings. But the real story is the continued erosion of Microsoft's market share."