The Stream – The Official Windstream Blog

How Fast is Fast Enough?

Faster is always better, right? When it comes to NASCAR legend Bill Elliott, yes, faster is better.  Elliott holds the track record at both Talladega and Daytona International Speedway with speeds of more than 210 mph.  But not all of us need to or even want to go that fast. 

What about your broadband speed?  In this second episode of World of Windstream, our very own Bill Bellando, Senior Vice President of Network Services, gives you a behind the sceens look at Windstream’s speed ‘lab’ and offers  you some pointers when deciding which Internet speed works best for your needs.

Tags: Internet, Internet use, speed, technology, Windstream

RAGBRAI: One bystander’s view

When you think of taking a week off work for a hard-earned summer vacation, what images come to mind? Maybe relaxing on white sandy beaches, favorite beverage in hand, watching the waves roll in? Or camping in the Rockies, enjoying the breathtaking views of the mountains? How about watching your little ones meet Mickey and Minnie for the first time? Well for some avid (or dare I say manaical) cyclists, the idea of a good time includes nothing more than a road bike, a tent and about 468 miles of open Iowa roads.

Yes my friends, it’s called RAGBRAI (The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa), and it’s a choice made by thousands of cyclists each year. In fact, the ride has become so popular that RAGBRAI officials now limit the number of week-long riders to 8,500 in order to maintain a sense of control and insure fewer injuries.

As you will soon learn from anyone taking part in this event, RAGBRAI is NOT a race; it’s a ride. It’s a journey, on a bicycle, which takes riders across the entire state of Iowa over a 7 day period. No hotels. No hot showers and warm beds. No shelter from the elements. Just thousands of spirited men and women, bicycles of all shapes and sizes, colorful and creative team jerseys, and miles upon miles of Iowa roadways.

Now, being the type of vacationer who prefers the white sandy beaches mentioned above, the very concept of a week-long bike ride across an entire state could not be more foreign to me. That was, however, until RAGBRAI 2010 when I had the privelege of experiencing this historic event, up close and personal. No, no, no – I was not a participant. I simply took part in many of the event’s festivities as a lazy, happy by-stander.

When Windstream began offering services in many Iowa markets in the spring of 2010, we soon learned of this great RAGBRAI event and the wishes of several on our executive team to participate. According to President and CEO Jeff Gardner, “The reason for our ride is not to showcase our cycling prowess, but rather to participate in an event to celebrate Windstream’s expansion into our newest state.”

To support our executive staff with marketing and communications efforts, I traveled to Iowa for the final 3 days of the ride. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I do know I wasn’t expecting what I found.

I mean sure, everyone is seemingly full of energy and in good shape. They are, after all, riding a bicycle across Iowa, right? But what I didn’t expect was the camaraderie, the energy, the festival-like atmosphere, and the overwhelming pride of everyone from the local merchants in the pass-through towns to the host families who open up their backyards for cyclists to camp in the overnight towns. What I experienced was a coming-together of people from all walks of life, all shapes and sizes, and all athletic abilities. RAGBRAI is a time for Iowans to show their warm hospitality to a group of fun-loving people who all seem to share one common goal – to enjoy the fun and fellowship of the the largest and longest touring bicycle ride in the world.

Suffice it to say, I left Iowa on July 31, 2010 with a newfound passion in my heart (not to mention a newfound respect for Windstream’s CEO Jeff Gardner, COO Brent Whittington, and CMO Ric Crane – all pictured above)! An exciting new item added to my bucket list! A new personal goal for 2011! Yes, that’s right, I WOULD ride in RAGBRAI in 2011! I was sure of it. I wanted to be part of the brotherhood of RAGBRAI – not as an outsider looking in, but as a sweaty, stinky, jersey-wearing, fun-having, muscle-aching participant!

So what did I do? I bought a bike, I road 6 miles one Saturday morning and in January 2011 I booked my family vacation to the beach.

So good luck StreamTeam! I’ll be toasting you during RAGBRAI 2011 from the comfort of my lounge chair in sunny Florida. I guess there’s always next year.

 

Editor’s Note:
Windstream will once again offer free high-speed Internet service and wireless charging stations to RAGBRAI cyclists via our three technology trailers. The trailers will be in the following overnight and pass-through cities throughout the week:
July 23    Glenwood
July 24    Atlantic & Carson
July 25    Carroll & Manning
July 26    Boone & Lanesboro
July 27    Altoona & Slater
July 28    Grinnell & Colfax
July 29    Coralville & Marengo
July 30    Durant

Tags: bike, biking, cycling, cyclists, Internet, Iowa, RAGBRAI, technology, Windstream

Email made easy

Have you ever stopped to think about the number of emails sent across the world wide web? It’s staggering, actually: 107 trillion in 2010. Yes, TRILLION (that’s twelve zeros).

Now, consider those 107 trillion emails were sent by the world’s 1.9 billion email users via their 3 billion email accounts. That’s an average of 1.6 email accounts per user according to The Radicati Group – a technology market research firm.

Some of you surely have more and others less and, hard to believe, some have none. For those of us with more than one email account, they can become hard to manage. Well, difficulties be gone… Windstream has a solution for you.

Beginning today, Windstream is enhancing the features of our Webmail service. The best of the new features includes the ability to integrate and check ALL of your email accounts (including Yahoo, Gmail and AOL) directly from your windstream.net homepage.

Additional benefits of Windstream’s improved Webmail include:
* the ability to check your Facebook and Twitter accounts;
* the ability to quickly browse the latest news, weather and sports.

These changes also mean the way you currently log-in to Webmail soon will be disabled. At the beginning of July, your webmail sign-in page will switch to windstream.net.   In addition, users will be notified of the changes via email (of course) over the next few days.

To learn more about these updates please visit windstream.net/webmail . Plus, there’s a great video on the site that will help explain how the new sign-in works.

As always, if you have questions, contact us in one of the following ways:
*Facebook – Windstream Communications
* Twitter – @windstream

Tags: E-mail, email, Internet, multiple email accounts, technology, webmail, Windstream

Copper Capers: Theft of pricey metal risks safety

Thieves are not always hunting for electronics or jewelry when breaking into your home or car.  It’s the other valuables they seek – the kind you can’t see and probably never, ever think of.

Consider these recent headlines from media outlets around the country:

Edwardsville, Ill. – Man severely shocked in attempted copper theft;

Hazard, Ky. – Windstream offering $10,000 reward for info into copper thefts;

Waco, Texas – Five indicted in copper theft ring;

Sacramento, Ca. – Authorities raid suspected copper theft operation;

Philadelphia, Pa. – Weak economy drives theft of copper wiring.

The price of copper, as with most metals, ebbs and flows. And when the price increases so do the number of brazen copper scavengers knowing they can score more money from the scrap yards they sell it to.

They’ll do anything, even risk their lives, to get their hands on what belongs to you.  They’re ripping the copper from catalytic converters in automobiles.  They’re stripping it from foreclosed homes. Some go door-to-door telling homeowners they have permission from their telephone or Internet provider to remove the cable.  Others climb poles and cut it down from overhead power and telecommunications lines.

The cost of copper theft is high in more ways than one:
* In many cases, thieves have been electrocuted or badly hurt in the process of committing their crime;
* Copper wire thefts cost individuals and corporations in the United States almost $1 billion a year (Coalition Against Copper Theft);
* These thefts put the public at risk by cutting off your high-speed Internet connections and your vital communications link to emergency services.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation considers theft of copper to be a threat to our nation’s ability to function, according to a recent article in The New York Times.  The crime has become so prevalent that the FBI says it affects national security by disrupting “the flow of electricity, telecommunications, transportation, water supply heating and security and emergency services.”

You can take a few simple precautions to avoid being a victim of copper theft:
* Secure your home at all times;
* Secure other properties you may own or manage including vacant homes and apartments;
* Store all materials containing copper in a secure location;
* If you see a downed copper line, stay away from it and call authorities.

And, as always, report suspicious or illegal activity to your local police department.

Tags: communications, copper, copper theft, emergency services, Internet, safety, technology, telecommunications, Windstream

Please Email Responsibly

Happy National Email Week!

That’s right… someone, somewhere set aside the second week of June to recognize this digital form of communication that has been part of our daily lives for, hard to believe, only about twenty years.

As we celebrate, it seems like a good opportunity to review some email etiquette.

*  Don’t use ALL CAPS! All caps can set a strong, nasty tone and make it appear as though you’re YELLING.

*  Don’t use too many punctuation marks – like exclamation points or questions marks. They, too, can make it seem like you’re YELLING, right??!!??

*  Do proofread. Check for typos, grammatical errors and make sure you’re not sending the email to the wrong person (oops).

You can find many more examples of email etiquette by checking out a recent article on the Wall Street Journal.

Tags: E-mail, email, Email Etiquette, Internet, Internet use, National Email Week, technology, Windstream