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Pulte Home Buyer: 'I'll Take the Smoky Granite Countertops and Verizon's Broadband Service, Please'
Marketing Agreement Links Home Buyers of Premier National Builder With Verizon; Pulte Developments Will Feature Services Delivered Over Fiber Optics
A marketing agreement between Verizon and Pulte Homes will give Pulte home buyers access to Verizon's premium
bundle of communications services, including broadband services over fiber-optic connections directly to the
home. The agreement to pre-install fiber to new homes reinforces Verizon's aggressive rollout of fiber-to-the-premises
(FTTP) technology to provide broadband services directly to homes and businesses. Verizon announced its FTTP program
May 19 in Keller, Texas, and recently expanded it to include FTTP deployments in Florida and California. Verizon also
has announced its high-speed Internet access products - called Fios -- which will be offered over FTTP technology.
Verizon is an industry leader in broadband technology.
Morse code is a communication mode that just won't die
Morse code is a means of communicating that "just won't die," is the message of a BBC News Online article
this week. The article notes that while maritime interests stopped using the code years ago and that Amateur
Radio applicants in the UK no longer have to pass a code test to obtain a license, "a dedicated band of
amateurs" and a large number of people with disabilities are helping to keep the code alive. "Tapping out dots
and dashes can sometimes be easier for people with physical or speech impediments," the report said. It cites
John Hammond of the UK's Radio Amateurs Invalid and Blind Association, who points out that some radio
users employ Morse keys modified to suit their disabilities.
Satellite Tracking
Hi Gang!
If you are at all interested in trying to work amateur satellites, receive weather satellites,
or just want to try to see them fly overhead on a clear night, the following real-time satellite tracking web pages
will be a great help. All you need is a web browser. No software required.
Start here:
http://science.nasa.gov/realtime/track/Spacecraft.html
You'll find real time displays of the space station, shuttle, amateur and weather satellites.
Try the various links. You'll be amazed at what you find. Want a prediction for the next pass? Go here:
http://science.nasa.gov/Realtime
Scroll about 2/3 of the way down the page under J-Pass2.5, enter your zip code and then click Go. Click Next Pass
on the lower left of the page that appears to see the next pass for the space station. A graphic displays the
appearance of the sky, the direction of the pass and the date and time. Click Options, then click the control tab
on the form that appears to select the other satellites that you are interested in. Want even more graphics?
Try this: http://science.nsas.gov/realtime/jtrack/3d/Jtrack3D.html
Talk about power, left click on the 3D graphic display of the earth and you can rotate the earth to any angle you like. There is a ton of stuff here. Try the links. I think you will be impressed! 73, Scott, N3FJP
[Thanks, Grant, KA3CEA]
Radio New Zealand to go all digital
Radio New Zealand has signed a contract with Thales for a new digital capable (DRM) short wave
transmitter for its international broadcaster Radio New Zealand International (RNZI). The new 100 kW
short wave transmitter will be operational in early 2006. RNZI's current analogue short-wave transmitter
(also from Thales) is nearing the end of its serviceable life. The new Thales transmitter will work alongside
it and then replace it completely as RNZI's transmission mode into the Pacific. The contract follows an
announcement earlier this year by the New Zealand Government about a funding boost RNZI to move to
digital short wave technology.
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