The ever-wonderful Improbable Research blog has a post (here it is) pointing to one of the weirdest bits of research I’ve seen in a long time: It claims that use of cell phones over long periods of time correlates with “human parotid gland secretion” - i.e., salivating. It claims that in 50 subjects, there was [...]

Verizon Wireless is set to roll out its mobile data service called LTE, or long-term evolution (what a stupid name) service, starting in Boston and Seattle.  From the CNet story:
Verizon Wireless is in the final testing phase, or “Phase 4,” of its LTE technology. Within 60 days he said he expects testing to be completed [...]

I encountered this interesting discussion on DSLreports (read it here) which talked about Verizon using its upcoming 4G network called LTE - it starts tests launches this year, in Boston among other cities - to return to Northern New England and scarf up more customers from FairPoint. The writer thinks Verizon ripped everybody off with [...]

Smartphone-toting skiers who find less snow at a ski report than expected can use phone cameras and wireless networks to complain to their buddies. This new transparency might force ski areas to be more honest, or so says Salon in this report, based on part on a study last month by two Dartmouth professors that [...]

I have a story in the Telegraph today (read it here) about a Nashua company that has developed an iPhone app which the city of Boston uses to let residents report problems - potholes, graffiti, streetlights, etc. - and put the reports directly into the work flow of city workers. It’s pretty cool.
A side note [...]

One of the most exciting promises made by FairPoint Communications when it bought the landlines of Verizon Telephone in Northern New England was replacing traditional end-to-end telephone switching systems with IP-packet technology of the sort used in the Internet, thereby allowing various efficiencies and improvements and other cool stuff. FairPoint says it has finished the [...]

My wife and I don’t have cell phones, and the kids didn’t have them until they went to college. We’re not alone although we’re in a shrinking minority, says the NY Times, in a story that includes this quote that explains the phone-less appeal: “It’s a luxury not to be reached when I’m out and [...]

Burlington, Vt., which is home to the University of Vermont main campus, has created its own fiber-optic broadband Internet system called Burlington Telecom. Many advocates of rural and small-city life have long pushed this approach, due to the reluctance of big telecoms to invest in scattered communities.Over the years I have covered a couple of [...]

UPDATE: Here is Hiawatha Bray’s article in the Globe after the first test, with some speculation about future Verizon moves. He also notes that a Tewksbury, Mass., company called Staret Networks makes much of the Verizon cellular data networking equipment, and is no doubt rubbing its hands with glee.
*********************
Verizon Wireless will be testing its 4G [...]

Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH in acronym-speak) stalled in New Hampshire a couple of years ago, when Verizon decided that urban areas and wireless were the way to profit, and unloaded all phone and Net access in  Northern New England. FairPoint has maintained the thousands of homes with FiOS fiber service in southeast NH (now branded FAST) but [...]

So we finally broke down and bought a digital converter box for our TV last night. We went to Radio Shack, with only one brand available, which made the decision easy. The secret of happiness: Less choice.
One thing I’ve heard about all along is the “digital cliff“  - with analog channels, you get some badly, [...]

I’ve written a lot of stories over the years about the facing of amateur radio - ham radio - along with the dying of Morse Code (editors love those stories, because then they can put … — … into the headline). But there’s a Telegraph story today with a different slant; it talks about a [...]

Last year I predicted that the Feb. 17 deadline for ending analog over-the-air TV broadcasts wouldn’t hold - that last-minute panic from antenna types (like me) would stampede politicians into backing down.
Obama is stepping into that role, it seems: He has written a letter asking Congress to delay the deadline because the converter program has [...]

EVEN LATER ADDITION, FEB. 2, AFTER THE TRANSITION BEGINS: They are having issues migrating email from some accounts - including, it seems, those of people posting below. Short article here.
ADDENDUM: Here’s my story in Tuesday’s Telegraph.
I just talked to Jill Wurm, PR person with FairPoint who formerly worked for Verizon, regarding the Webmail confusion. She [...]

FairPoint appears to be saying that when Verizon hands off all control over phone/Net lines in New Hampshire sometimes next month, you’ll no longer be able to access your Verizon email through AOL, Yahoo! or MSN, but will have to go to the MyFairPoint.net portal.