![]()
The company is one of seven providers in line to be named best broadband ISP.
Be Broadband has hailed its inclusion in the best internet service provider (ISP) category for the 2011 PC Pro Excellence Awards.
The Telefonica-owned company is one of seven ISPs in the running for the prestigious accolade, with Eclipse Internet, O2, Plusnet, Sky, Virgin Media and Zen Internet representing the other six nominees.
Responding to the news, be wrote on its official blog: "Thanks for voting for us and we'll keep watch for the results at the end of September."
Be Broadband finished as the runner-up in the same category at last year's awards, displacing fellow Telefonica company O2, which took second place in 2009.
Zen Internet came out on top at the event, which was then known as the PC Pro Reliability & Service Awards. the result meant the Rochdale-based ISP had topped the list for the seventh successive year.
Other categories that will feature in the 2011 ceremony include the wireless router award, which will see Cisco battle it out with the likes of Buffalo, Draytek, Edimax and Netgear.
Acer, Apple and Dell are just three of the big names to make the desktop PC shortlist.
CLEVELAND — Adam Dunn is not injured. more importantly, he’s not retiring anytime soon.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Dunn said with a laugh, standing in the White Sox clubhouse prior to Friday’s contest at Progressive Field. “I promise you — for a while.”
Dunn had his left knee drained on Monday, due to a problem from before the All-Star break that happened while he working out in the weight room. but Dunn was more taken aback from the buzz caused by a Wednesday column on Yahoo! Sports, in which the headline focused on a “candid Dunn thinking about quitting.”
Although Dunn had not read the article as of Friday, he reiterated his point from the interview that if he wasn’t having fun in the game, he would stop playing. It was a point made in the column, but Dunn also stated later in the same piece that there was “zero chance” he was walking away.
Even in the midst of not just his worst personal effort, but a historically bad performance with the bat — Dunn entered Friday hitting .158 — he is still having fun as part of the White Sox.
“How I meant it was if I have to continue and sit there and not have fun doing what I’ve done my whole life, I’ll go home,” Dunn said. “But that’s what I’m saying. I’m having too much fun. I enjoy playing the game, so I’m not doing it.
“This isn’t quite the easiest of things, but it’s still a game. I still enjoy coming to the park every day and working.”
as for the knee, Dunn thought the All-Star break would help the malady simmer down a bit. He felt fine on Friday, hitting fourth against the Indians, and is ready to continue a career he hasn’t considered leaving.
“I’m 31 years old, dude. I’m going to play until I can’t play anymore. if I’m not having fun, I’m not,” Dunn said. “That’s what I was trying to say. if I come tomorrow, and it’s like, ‘The heck with this. this is not, I don’t like it anymore… .’
“That’s what I’m saying. I’m not going to sit here and be miserable in something where I don’t have to be.”
In wake of remarks, Ozzie won’t alter style
CLEVELAND — Ozzie Guillen knew Wednesday’s postgame commentary, with a couple of handfuls of profanities mixed in to punctuate his frustration, would get some notice during Thursday’s off-day.
But the outspoken manager was simply speaking the truth concerning his underachieving team, pointing out that if his club played like it did against the Royals when facing the Indians, Tigers, Red Sox and Yankees, it was going to be a long few weeks.
Guillen’s criticism of his team was nothing his players didn’t hear in the dugout in some form during their lackluster effort against Kansas City’s Bruce Chen in a 2-1 loss. as always, Guillen is not worried about the public opinion concerning his direct approach.
“People can think whatever they want to think. People can judge me everything they want,” Guillen said. “My job is to win games. well, we’re not winning games. We’re not. was it frustration? yes, I was frustrated.
“I’m not talking about winning or losing games. I don’t see the team as the team we saw in Detroit. That was my problem. a lot of people thought my problem was that we got beat by [Chen]. no. my problem, I think, is that I don’t see the energy and enthusiasm out there.
“Maybe it was me. but that’s what I see,” Guillen said. “We have to be better than this. when I made the comments that when we go to Cleveland and face Detroit, Boston and New York, we have to be better, I don’t think I was lying. I don’t think I was making stuff up. I don’t think I was trying to pump those guys up, I was just telling the truth. I have to be aware of where we are and what situation we’re in now.”
Guillen’s overall frustration stems primarily from knowing that his team is better than its record or recent on-field showing. He’s also not worried about critical comments sitting wrong with his charges. After all, it’s been Guillen’s style since he took over as manager in 2004, or even dating back to his playing days.
“I hope they hate me, but every game after the game, I’ll be shaking those guys’ hands — that’s what I care,” Guillen said. “My job is to make sure I’m shaking those guys’ hands after the game. With love or hate, I’m not going to make money. I’m not going to support my family. We win, yes.”
Six games may dictate White Sox next move
CLEVELAND — three games this weekend against the Indians and three games at home vs. the Tigers to start next week could affect the White Sox next move as the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline approaches.
Reliever Matt Thornton thinks that telling run goes even deeper, with three games to follow at home against the Red Sox and four more at home with the Yankees.
but Thornton knows a rough stretch in the next six could lead Chicago general manager Ken Williams to make a few adjustments.
“Who knows? We go out there and play bad baseball and we are eight back, maybe they make a move or some changes and move some guys,” Thornton said. “On the other hand, I still believe in or our team. I will until we are eliminated.
“We have a lot of potential to be a really, really good team. when we play good baseball, we win a lot of games. when we lose those games playing good baseball, it’s not that hard of a pill to swallow. It’s when we play poorly, that’s when it makes it really tough.”
Pitching coach Don Cooper could potentially lose someone from his talented six-man rotation, but he is not thinking about trades at this critical juncture.
“First and foremost, we are trying to win games and win a pennant,” Cooper said. “If and when [trades] happen, you deal with it. I’ve been around long enough to know this happens. I would be disappointed because I like all the guys.”
Third to first
• White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen called Progressive Field security to temporarily relocate an unruly fan who was trying to bait him late in Friday’s 3-0 victory while sitting near the White Sox dugout. The fan came back to his seat before the game ended.
“Some guy wanted me to curse and then go out and tell you guys ‘He said this to me,’” Guillen said with a wry smile. “And then I have to pay Major League Baseball a lot of money. That’s OK. Tell it to the police.”
• Juan Pierre’s 12-game hitting streak came to an end.
• Carlos Quentin recorded his eighth three-hit game of the year and raised his average to .429 on the current road trip.
• The White Sox are 27-21 against teams with winning records and have recorded eight shutouts this season.
Connecting a cable to the internet to play YouTube, online games or access Facebook often proves to be tricky, but now things have changed. Such troublesome fiddling with cables is a thing of the past and it will become more convenient to get wireless-enabled at home.
The evolution of internet use at home has moved from simply accessing via IT equipment in the home office to now being central to the connected home ecosystem.
Now technical computer products like routers and wireless equipment can be put anywhere in the home, enabling easy access to online lifestyle gizmos like internet TVs, tablets, game consoles, smart phones, e-readers, laptops and PCs.
With the Cisco Linksys E4200 wire-free router you can easily store, share and stream movies, music and games across many devices around the home.
The router features simultaneous dual-band wireless-N, 4GB ports and a 3×3 antenna configuration that help give it unparalleled speed and range. a combination of internal and external amplifiers coupled with six antennas help increase the signal strength across greater distances, providing improved home network coverage and reducing dead spots.
Eskild Hansen, leader of Cisco European Design Centre, noted that earlier routers and wireless equipment were used to connect your computer to the internet, so it was IT equipment. Now the router has changed, so you can use the router and internet to connect to lifestyle gadgets such as internet TVs and radios as well as accessing Facebook, Skype and online games.
The new E series really facilitates the ease of use, taking it to the next level. the focus now is not on setting the router, but on all the different things you can use the internet for. the Linksys E4200 is one of the first routers on the market that combines design, performance and functionality.
The idea is to make the product fit into your home in a very different way than before. the design is very elegant, sophisticated and yet simple so people are comfortable using technology, Hansen said.
The Linksys E4200′s signature Scandinavian design boasts an iconic shape with clean lines and a sleek black rubber finish with a metallic strip across the middle.
Built on a single, thin floating plane, the Linksys E4200’s design hides cables and ports, while the flashing LED lights on the back of the device can be turned off for a calmer environment.
The underside was inspired by home textiles and was created as a unique cross-weave plastic which fits neatly in living rooms and blends in with the furniture and decor.
The single discreet LED lighting on top of the router means that users are spared the many flashing lights typical of routers, allowing the E4200 to take centre stage in the living room alongside televisions, set-top boxes and games consoles.
The simplicity of the Linksys E4200 design, a result of research into cultural and regional aesthetic trends, reflects the ease with which users can connect multiple devices to the internet and experience seamless wireless interaction.
It can be used as decoration. when the router has been transformed from IT equipment to something more lifestyle-oriented, you can place the product in your living room together with your furniture rather than with the computer equipment. If you turn the Linksys E4200 over, you can see the inspiration from textiles, and the inspiration from other beautiful objects for your home.
Cisco says the simplicity in the design instills confidence that the product is easy to use and the modern aesthetics imply state-of-the-art functionality making it the ideal choice for today’s style-conscious but tech-savvy consumers.
Latest stories in this category:
