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Oahu cell phone network was overloaded after the quake
This article first appeared on my old blog at http://www.bloglines.com/blog/wsodeman?id=194 The Honolulu Star-Bulletin ran a good report about how the island’s cellular phone networks were quickly...
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Preventing an Oahu blackout is hard work
This article first appeared on my old blog at http://www.bloglines.com/blog/wsodeman?id=204 http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/NEWS01/610190341 In this morning’s...
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Clear Channel accepts buyout bid
According to the New York Times, Clear Channel Communications has accepted a buyout offer from a private investment group. Clear Channel dominates the Honolulu radio market. The company owns several...
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Del Monte to close Hawaii operations ahead of schedule
From Yahoo, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and the Honolulu Advertiser: Del Monte announced yesterday that the company will shut down its Hawaii operations within the next 60 days, the minimum amount of...
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About e-commerce part 2: US ISPs sell web analytics data
We’re still looking at Chapter 9 on e-commerce. My plan this week is to publish at least one post per day that extends the material that I posted last Thursday. In my Thursday class, I mentioned web...
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Me and him are killing English
In today’s Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Doug Carlson discusses how poor grammar may affect careers. While his emphasis is on conversational uses of pronouns, Doug’s tips also apply to written communication,...
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Mobi is profitable
The Honolulu Advertiser ran an article this morning about Mobi PCS, the only locally-based mobile carrier in Honolulu. Mobi plans to expand to the neighbor islands, as its flat-rate business model...
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Beach safety and Web 2.0
Tourists who flock to Hawaii’s beaches may not realize that our state has a high rate of drowning deaths. In the last 6 calendar years, an average of 64 people have died each year. The casualty rate is...
View ArticleHECO tests smart electric meters
From this morning’s Honolulu Advertiser: Hawaiian Electric is shifting its attention away from BPL (broadband Internet over power lines) to a more specific project: smart electric meters. The testing...
View ArticleTelecommuting isn’t a free solution for Honolulu’s traffic woes
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported yesterday that more Honolulu drivers are riding alone to work. Today’s Honolulu Advertiser explained how ridership levels on The Bus have rebounded after the 2003...
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City council, planners still arguing over mass transit routes, modes
Both the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and the Honolulu Advertiser ran stories this morning about the proposed mass transit plan for Oahu. The environmental impact study will consider three routes, according...
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Parking in Chinatown is getting harder
The Honolulu Advertiser ran a front-page article this morning about the growing parking problems in Chinatown. I’ve worried that downtown businesses and colleges might face problems as more customers...
View ArticleDatabases won’t keep you safe
As I gear up for the fall semester, this morning’s news bucket brought me two stories about databases. Local legislator Wll Espero wants to create a registry for violent criminals. It’s similar to...
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HawTel to offer naked DSL and faster downloads
In today’s Honolulu Advertiser, a story revealed Hawaiian Telcom’s plans to sell DSL accounts without a traditional voice landline. In the industry, this is called naked DSL, and it has been available...
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Kauai, Maui and the Hawaii Superferry
My readers who don’t live in the state of Hawaii probably haven’t heard much about the Hawaii Superferry. I won’t bore them with the details. Yesterday, the Superferry announced it was suspending its...
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Downtown courses will be held today
According to an announcement posted a few minutes ago on the university’s intranet and on the wireless notification system, classes will be held on the downtown campus today, Wednesday, 5 December...
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Like a fifth wheel
From today’s Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Honolulu city council members have voted to continue the rapid mass transit project. However, the council also decided to reconsider three...
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Aloha cargo sale and neighbor island mail service in jeopardy
Aloha’s cargo pilots may walk off the job. Their union, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) wants Aloha Airlines to reassign senior pilots to cargo flights, while the airline wants to use the...
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City council members discuss mass transit research
Sunday’s Honolulu Star-Bulletin features an investigation of the Honolulu City Council’s travel expenses for the mass transit project. Council member Todd Apo had an interesting quote: “We’re making a...
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Back on track
Last night’s City Council vote on the mass transit project did end up in a deadlock, as I indicated might happen. See the Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin for articles about last...
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Kapolei’s aluminum can manufacturing plant helps local economy and environment
This morning’s Honolulu Star-Bulletin has a great feature article on the Ball aluminum can plant in Kapolei. Manufacturing beverage cans takes more technological capability than most consumers would...
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Heavy vog on Oahu
The vog (haze or volcanic fog) has been very heavy here on Oahu for the last two days. This morning’s Honolulu Advertiser has a good article about where the vog came from, and how the haze is affecting...
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Aloha air cargo is flying again
From the Honolulu Advertiser: Aloha’s air cargo unit is flying a full schedule today. All six of the company’s Boeing 737–200 cargo jets will fly today, after GMAC and Saltchuk Resources came to terms....
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Hotel deals in Honolulu and Hawaii
There are some great hotel deals available if you’re interested in visiting the state of Hawaii this summer. Check this article in Go Visit Hawaii for some details. Airfares are still high, and...
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Why Honolulu needs rail
The anti-rail forces on Oahu are focusing their efforts on a deceptive petition campaign that doesn’t address some major reasons why Honolulu needs a rail rapid transit system. The train would help...
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Happy Kamehemeha Day!
It’s a state holiday here in Hawaii. This image courtesy of billso through a Creative Commons license.
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3G coverage for the new iPhone: Honolulu vs the Northeast Corridor
After Monday’s iPhone 3G announcement, the blogosphere is full of opinions. Engadget has a good overview of the new iPhone here. Andrew Dobrow checked the AT&T coverage map for the New York City...
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Stop the spam from StopRailNow and ZeroShibai
Malia Zimmerman and her fellow travelers Cliff Slater and Charley’s Taxi president Dale Evans are busy promoting the construction of more roads and elevated HOV lanes on their remarkably ugly web...
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I won’t be Obama’s veep — but one of these three might be
It’s time for me to end the rampant speculation by the media and announce that I will not join Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) as his nominee for vice president this year. While I respect Senator Obama and...
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Honolulu Advertiser blogs need more content and authority
The Honolulu Advertiser, like other Gannett newspapers, has spent a considerable amount of time and effort to set up a hyperlocal blog network at blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com. The Advertiser’s web site...
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Virgin Mobile buys Helio
Helio, the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that tried to sell MySpace-branded handsets and service, has been purchased by Virgin Mobile. After EarthLink bailed out, SK Telecom pumped an...
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Google wants Georgia to get some exercise
I attended the University of Georgia, so I know that Georgia has more than a few folks who need some exercise. Google’s Atlanta office is a founding sponsor for Get Outdoors Georgia, a state program...
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Starbucks is backing away from music CD retailing
I’ve been annoyed at Starbucks for awhile — it’s the CD racks, countertop displays and spinners that clutter their stores. The Starbucks on the mauka side of Bishop and King Streets is a prime example...
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Dubai tower twists and turns with solar and wind power
An 80-story building in Dubai will feature floors that spin around the building’s central axis, using electric motors powered by wind and solar energy. Occupants can control their floor through a voice...
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Have the wheels come off the bus and rail in Honolulu?
As Yogi Berra might say, “The game isn’t over until it’s over”. Even then, the game is still not over. Let’s review the last week of Honolulu mass transit hilarity. Pardon the pun, but this entire...
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Back on the crosswalk
I noticed three uniformed HPD officers at the Hotel and Fort Street crosswalk a few minutes ago. Two had Segways, and one was on a bike. I overheard one saying that they are giving out warnings to...
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HP will shed 24,600 jobs
Hewlett-Packard has announced that the company will eliminate almost 8% of the company’s global workforce. The New York Times (Hewlett-Packard Cuts 25,000 Jobs After E.D.S. Purchase) and Associated...
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Whose LOLcats are those anyway?
The November 2008 issue of Hawaii Business magazine has a cover story called How Wez Made Millionz Wit Dis Foto, on icanhaszheezburger.com and the site’s cofounders Kari Unebasami and Eric Nakagawa....
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Distracted drivers and the law
Honolulu city council member Charles Djou has proposed a bill that would ban text messaging and video gameplay while driving. See the Honolulu Star-Bulletin article, No driving and texting, and the...
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Hawaiian Telcom files for Chapter 11
Earlier today, Hawaii’s biggest and oldest ILEC, Hawaiian Telcom, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Federal court. The move was widely expected after HawTel and its owner, the Carlyle Group, ran into...
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Can the Honolulu Marathon solve their timing problems?
Runners from the mainland, Japan and other countries are arriving on Oahu for the 2008 Honolulu Marathon, which starts this Sunday, 14 December with the usual fireworks. (See the end of this billso.com...
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All day digital TV test in Hawaii
For billso.com readers who live in Hawaii and use television antennas for their reception, today (Monday, 15 December 2008) is a great opportunity to test your televisions for the upcoming digital...
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Merry Christmas 2008!
Have a happy winter holiday season, everyone! Thanks to my readers who keep coming back to billso.com week after week. If you’re new here, I’ve got a few years worth of articles to keep you entertained...
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Iolani Palace sunset
We did the evening tour last night at Iolani Palace, which was held in honor of Queen Kapiolani’s birthday. Images above and below courtesy of billso on flickr via a Creative Commons license.
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Viacom vs Time Warner Cable — the power struggle continues
Approximately 13 million Time Warner Cable subscribers may won’t lose their access to Viacom’s cable channels at 12:01 am New Year’s Day 2009. Updated 1-Jan-2009: Someone blinked! Viacom channels are...
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The Aloha09 Project and hashtags
Some social media folks here in Hawaii have been promoting a special hashtag — #aloha09 — to mark the best of Hawaii in 2009. There’s a tracking page to follow these messages at aloha09.808talk.com and...
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Hawaii’s move to digital TV surprises some residents
Most of Hawaii switched to full power digital television a few hours ago at noon Hawaiian Time on Thursday, 15 January 2009. Apparently, hundreds of Hawaii residents have ignored months of public...
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LOST cars
The producers of LOST have used Fort Street for several location shoots during the last few years. I work on Fort Street Mall, and I usually go down the mall as I head out for my sunrise run. Today’s...
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Social media article in HPU Today
I’m one of several people who were interviewed for the Spring 2010 cover story in HPU Today magazine. This was a fun project, and the article also includes an interview with HPU alumnus Vernon Brown of...
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I’m speaking at the Hawaii Social Media Summit on October 19, 2011
I’ll be speaking about social media and business ethics as part of a panel at 3 pm on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at the Hawaii Convention Center. The program for the 2011 Hawaii Social Media Summit is...
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