kevinchamplin.com

I purchased a dedicated 1&1 Linux server in October. After it was setup I realized the control panel was not as good as I would like to provide to my clients so I canceled the server. Which required emails, faxes and a lot of run around. However it was canceled so all was good I thought. I couldn’t have been more wrong, they charged me in November for hosting and I complained and sent them cancellation confirmation number, dates, times and re-faxed my cancellation form. So finally I am done with them…but now I am really frustrated with them.

However again in December they bill me another $99! So I contact them again and this time I actually get a refund. Yeah…wait…why did they only give me $87? I was told the prorate me for the refund. What the hell? I canceled in October!! I will never use 1and1.com for anything and advise nobody else does either. I am in total awe how a company can operate like this. 1and1.com is the worst hosting provider I have ever used please stay clear of them.

The reason I canceled in the first place was I wanted to provide my clients the best control panel which is cPanel and 1&1.com did not offer this. It’s unfortunate it ended like it did.

This is handy if you are inserting records into sql from management studio.

remove whitespaces in HTML code, places code on 1 line

Funny, check it out: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/customer_service

Have you ever thought how it would be like to live in a bunker or an underground tunnel? Well, today we bring you the upgraded version of that, which is an all-equipped underground home. Situated in the Swiss village of Vals, deep in the mountains, the house is very hard to spot, which makes for a perfect gateway. The unusual architecture plan comes from SeARCH and Christian Muller Architects, and includes all the facilities a common house has, such as a guest room, an entertainment area, but also “specialized” interiors like an underground pathway. The entrance is a wide oval opening that you are driven to by some traditional stairs made in stone. Large windows make it noticeable and draw attention to the inside décors- that is when the people living there are up for some company. – via Trendir

Comcast, which already serves a quarter of all U.S. households that pay for TV, would gain control of the NBC broadcast network, the Spanish-language Telemundo and about two dozen cable channels, including USA, Bravo and Syfy. It also would have regional sports networks, Universal Pictures and theme parks.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

The deal is a major turning point for Comcast, catapulting the Philadelphia-based company to a media conglomerate and above the pack of cable operators that remain content to run their regional cable systems.

“Does the world ever stand still?” Roberts said. Bringing NBC Universal into the Comcast family is “pro-consumer” and would allow the company to more quickly deliver “what consumers want, which is access to all different types of content on different platforms and different times.”

In agreeing to buy 51 percent of NBC Universal from General Electric Co., which has controlled NBC since 1986, Comcast hopes to succeed in marrying distribution and content in a way Time Warner Inc. could not. AOL and Time Warner are undoing their ill-fated eight-year marriage Dec. 9. Time Warner has already shed its cable TV operations.

Comcast’s Roberts and GE CEO Jeff Immelt have been discussing the deal for months, and the final weeks came down to GE’s persuading French conglomerate Vivendi SA to first sell its minority stake.

Comcast made the deal because it is eager to diversify its holdings. It faces encroaching threats from online video and more aggressive competition from satellite and phone companies that offer subscription TV services.

Video
Immelt, Roberts Discuss NBCU Deal
General Electric and Comcast announced an agreement to shift control of NBC Universal from GE to Comcast. GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts discuss the deal.

CNBC

But consumer advocates and even other cable operators worry about the deal, saying people could end up paying more for TV.

Once Comcast controls NBC Universal, other subscription-TV operators — DirecTV, Verizon, Time Warner Cable, to name a few — would be negotiating with a rival on how much they have to pay to carry NBC broadcast and cable channels. An NBC Universal under Comcast might be less willing to budge than one under GE. Consumer groups worry that as a result, programming fees that are already creeping up could rise even faster, with the costs passed to customers in their monthly pay-TV bills

Comcast wants the company largely for its cable channels — which are expected to provide about 80 percent of the new venture’s profit. Comcast is seeking more programming to beef up its video-on-demand offerings and rely less on cable revenue as the company loses subscribers to rival providers.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34247302/ns/business-media_biz/

Created by Oatmeal

Children who blog, text or use social networking websites have better writing skills than those who do not, according to the National Literacy Trust.

A survey of 3,001 children aged nine to 16 found that 24% had their own blog and 82% sent text messages at least once a month.

In addition 73% used instant messaging services to chat online with friends.

However, 77% still put real pen to paper to write notes in class or do their school homework.

Of the children who neither blogged nor used social network sites, 47% rated their writing as “good” or “very good”, while 61% of the bloggers and 56% of the social networkers said the same.

“Our research suggests a strong correlation between kids using technology and wider patterns of reading and writing,” Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust, told BBC News.

“Engagement with online technology drives their enthusiasm for writing short stories, letters, song lyrics or diaries.”

Mr Douglas dismissed criticisms about the informal writing styles often adopted in online chat and “text speak”, both of which can lack grammar and dictionary-correct spelling.

The more forms of communications children use the stronger their core literary skills.
Jonathan Douglas, National Literacy Trust

“Does it damage literacy? Our research results are conclusive – the more forms of communications children use the stronger their core literary skills.”

‘Love and kisses’

He said that children needed to learn to distinguish between different writing styles but that in his opinion it was no different to learning when to end a letter “yours sincerely” or “yours faithfully” – and when “love and kisses” would be acceptable.

However not all teachers share the view that encouraging children to spend a lot of time online in the classroom has its advantages.

“Most primary school teachers are doubtful about hooking children up to computers – especially when they are young,” said John Coe, general secretary of the National Association for Primary Education.

“They see enormous advantages in the relationship between teacher and child. Sometimes the computer is closer to the child than the teacher by the age of 13.”

Mr Coe said he was in favour of using computers for research purposes in classrooms and that he agreed that all forms of communication helped young people to develop core literacy skills.

“Young people aged nine and upwards are texting like crazy – inside and outside the classroom,” he said.

“It is a form of reading and writing. It might not be conventional but they are communicating, so there is a general gain.”

He added that the NAPE was looking into ways in which this passion for texting might be incorporated into teaching methods.