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Qwest long distance goes down for some

Qwest Communications confirmed Thursday that the company experienced a long distance outage that lasted about two and a half hours.

The outage caused some of Qwest's customers to not be able to make and receive long distance phone calls. However, Qwest officials said that calls are now able to be completed.

The company was not able to provide details about what caused the outage nor was it able to provide details of how many customers were affected. But it's believed that the outage disrupted service in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and parts of North Carolina and Florida. … Read more

Twitter pro accounts coming by year's end

Well, it looks like Twitter will actually do it.

In an interview with VentureBeat on Thursday, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone elaborated on the company's goal to put out a revenue model before the end of the year. He said that yes, it will involve offering paid accounts to businesses that use the microblogging platform for marketing, customer relations, publicity, and what-have-you. That's something Twitter has been hinting at for about a year now.

There's not a whole lot of detail available. But paid accounts will definitely involve statistics and analytics that aren't available through Twitter's … Read more

Report: WiMax subscribers to hit 50 million by 2014

The number of people grabbing their Internet access through WiMax is expected to jump to 50 million by 2014, says Juniper Research.

A report released Tuesday by the British research firm describes the growth in WiMax stemming from areas unreachable or unserved by broadband cable or DSL.

WiMax is a wireless technology that delivers broadband speeds over the last mile, ideal for locations where cabling is not available or feasible. Faster than current wireless 3G technology, WiMax can also serve large metropolitan areas as it covers a wider area than conventional Wi-Fi.

Referenced in the report, the most advanced WiMax … Read more

LongBox aims to be iTunes for comic books

If you've ever wondered why comic books don't have a digital distribution and management platform the way music, movies, or books do, you're not alone. The good news is that one software company and one man--perhaps clad in an identity-concealing spandex costume--are here to save the day with LongBox.

In production for more than three years by QuickSilver Software, LongBox is a free, cross-platform iTunes-style jukebox for comic books. Judging by the proposed feature set, it's the most apt comparison, and one that LongBox CEO and founder Rantz Hoseley is happy to make. "One of … Read more

The 404 Holiday Weekend Throwback: Episode 187, 11/18/08

Have a great Independence Day and enjoy this 404 Throwback episode #187 from September 18, 2008 featuring CNET Smartphones Editor Bonnie "The Bonch" Cha!

We finally get our hands on the much coveted Bonch aka Bonnie Cha, Senior Editor for CNET.com. No, we don't grill her on the latest cell phones at CTIA or the proper way to make a Superman cape. Instead, we try to guess Sarah Palin's e-mail password, run through a list of Jeff's mancrushes, do the Cha Cha on the air, and take a visit to the Sex Museum, aka Wilson's cellar.

Wow, did someone open up a tank of nitrous oxide in here? Today's show is literally 40 minutes of constant laughter, and we owe that to our special guest, Bonnie Cha! She's a Senior Editor of mobile phones at CNET and one of the first people I ever met at the San Francisco office. Please don't be operating heavy machinery while listening to today's show! We do taint, tarnish, and otherwise frack up Bonnie's "innocence" by explaining the science behind "Supermanning that ho," which goes over surprisingly well with her. We also debut a service called Cha Cha that allows you to text or call a 24/7 concierge service that will literally answer any inquiry, such as "Is the 404 going to be taken off the air tomorrow?" or "Why is Bonnie's nickname The Bonch?" Of course, all of these questions can be answered using another service; here in 2008 we call it Google. Furthermore,why would I use the Cha Cha when I know Wilson will always be within arm's length of a computer? The man is physically tethered to the Internet. Finally, we take a look at the NBC fall lineup and Bonnie asks the question that's on all of our minds: Jeff, how can you like Sex and the City and still urinate standing up?

EPISODE 187 Download today's podcast … Read more

Sound vs. picture: What's a better investment?

A good friend of mine is still fuming over picking HD-DVD over Blu-ray. He's held the grudge so long he just recently dumped the player and even some of the discs and bought a Blu-ray player.

I know another guy who's steamed that his $2,000 6-year-old receiver doesn't have HDMI switching, so to get Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio he plays his Blu-ray over the receiver's 5.1 channel analog inputs. Fine, but the receiver doesn't do any sort of bass management over its analog inputs. The sound isn't so hot.

Do you know anybody who bought a plasma TV in 1999 for around $10,000 who still uses it as their primary display? I don't, but I'd bet most of those buyers are on their second or third display by now.… Read more

Carl Long: A (rare) moment to remember

Earlier this week, I explained that I had chosen to focus on NASCAR for this week's blog because they had been in the news quite a bit lately. It turns out that it was a somewhat prophetic statement, as just a few days ago NASCAR made headlines again for suspending driver Carl Long for the next 12 Sprint Cup races. Not only that, but his chief crew member Charles Swing was fined $200,000, a record-setting fine for NASCAR. In addition, Long was penalized 200 points, another new NASCAR high. Story has it that Long and Swing were put … Read more

Qwest looking to unload long-distance business?

Qwest Communications International is reportedly seeking a buyer for its long-distance carrier business, as the company searches for ways to lower its outstanding debt load, according to a report Thursday in The Wall Street Journal.

Qwest, a struggling telecommunications carrier that ranks third in the nation, is reportedly hoping to raise $2 billion to $3 billion through the sale of its long-distance carrier business, according to the story which cited sources familiar with the matter.

That would pare down the footprint of the Denver-based telecommunications company, leaving it as a regional telecommunications player.

But such a sale could help offset … Read more

LongJump to foster private clouds for corporate IT

As cloud computing edges forward in fits and starts, one recurring question is whether more companies will opt to put their IT services on so-called public clouds or private ones.

The former are available to any individual or business, which essentially rent out a menu of scalable resources. That's a popular option for startups and fledgling outfits, which can't afford to sink much money into paying for an extensive hardware infrastructure. Private clouds, on the other hand, typically offer stronger security and reliability and are thought to have special appeal to IT managers keen on keeping their use … Read more