verizon

This is not what you want to hear when you call tech support and tell them your operating system is OS X.

"What's that?" or "OSN?"

But that's what happened when I called Verizon to troubleshoot connection trouble on my EVDO card. I had to say it was a Mac before they understood. Well, sort of understood.

I was having difficulty where I would make a connection and within 30 seconds the connection would be terminated.

The first person I talked to asked me to launch Verizon's VZ Access Manager software. I explained … Read more

The third time must have been the charm for Verizon Wireless and regional cell phone operator Alltel.

Verizon Wireless supposedly has looked at buying Alltel twice in the past three years. And on Thursday it finally pulled the trigger, announcing that it plans to buy Alltel in a deal valued at $28.1 billion. As part of the deal Verizon will pay $5.9 billion and assume $22.2 billion in debt. The acquisition will make Verizon Wireless the largest cell phone company in the U.S., stripping AT&T of that title.

Verizon Wireless expects to close the … Read more

Verizon Wireless is taking another look at buying regional wireless operator Alltel, according to a story published Wednesday afternoon by The Wall Street Journal.

The deal, which could be valued at around $27 billion, is at a sensitive stage and could fall through over the next few days, the newspaper reported.

Alltel was sold only last year for $27.5 billion to the buyout arm of Goldman Sachs and private equity firm TPG Capital. And, according to the Journal, the banks that financed the deal, including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Barclays, and Royal Bank of Scotland Group, still owe about $24 … Read more

Rumor has it that there will be code details about OS X 10.6 at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference next week. Bold prediction, considering it's a developer's conference. Geniuses. Now, what cat to name it after? Also, Bill Gates gives his last speech on the road to his nearly-full-time-job-retirement; Oklahoma City has a sweet Wi-Fi mesh network that you can't use (unless the password is "password"); and you can now get your Outlook e-mail on an LG enV(2).

Mac OS 10.6 debuting next week? … Read more

Previously, if you wanted access to your corporate e-mail, you needed to have a smartphone like a Palm, Windows Mobile, or BlackBerry device. Now Verizon Wireless is offering a direct push e-mail solution called RemoSync, which can be used on ordinary phones like the LG Chocolate and the Motorola Razr2 V9m. You do need to sign up for monthly access for $9.99 a month, but hopefully you can have your company expense that for you. The RemoSync application is especially configured for companies that use Microsoft Exchange Servers for e-mail, contacts, and calendars, and yes you can use it … Read more

NEW YORK--Verizon Communications plans soon to offer online parental controls for free to all its broadband customers in an ongoing effort to keep kids safe on the Net.

The free new perks were announced Tuesday by CEO Ivan Seidenberg during a lunch at WiredSafety's Stop Cyberbullying Conference at Pace University in New York. Seidenberg spoke in front of an audience filled with young people, parents, educators, and government officials, who all gathered for the daylong conference on cyberbullying.

Specifically, Verizon plans to offer parents the ability to block their children from viewing selected content. The company is also offering … Read more

As cable and phone companies slug it out in markets across the U.S., improving customer care is becoming a core part of their strategies.

For the past few years, cable and phone companies have been neck and neck in many markets. Cable companies have introduced new phone services to compete with phone companies, and phone companies have started offering competing TV services.

On the broadband front, cable and phone companies now offer similar speeds in feeds in many markets. While cable has historically been priced slightly higher than services offered from phone companies, these too are evening out in … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Over the 8,260 miles I've driven on Road Trip 2006 and Road Trip 2007, I've visited, written about, and photographed some of the most interesting destinations in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

I've also gotten to road-test some really cool gadgets and drive the spiffy and comfortable Infiniti QX56 over some long and very hot distances.

Now I'm getting ready to depart on Road Trip 2008. This year, rather than leaving from my home base in San Francisco, I'll be flying east and starting a grand tour of the … Read more

CARLSBAD, Calif.--The D6 conference wrapped up on Thursday with a session on broadband access: Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher interviewed Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon Wireless, and Kevin Martin, chairman of the FCC.

Mossberg started by putting a chart up showing how far behind the U.S. is in broadband access, and how expensive our access is. Martin said you need to look at the unique demographics of the U.S., and if you compare some states, like Massachusetts, to Korea, then they'll hold up better. Of course, providing access to less-advantaged areas is still a challenge.

So … Read more