With gas prices on the rise, telecommuting has encountered renewed enthusiasm lately. With that enthusiasm comes, of course, continued debate as to whether or not telecommuting is more or less productive. Well, the latest study (which is actually an analysis of 46 other studies) finds that telecommuters are happier, less stressful, and have better work-family balance. The study found that telecommuters did not hamper relationships, nor did it artificially stunt career development. According to the study, the number of people who telecommute at least once a month has increased 60 percent in the last few years. These findings really should not be much of a surprise. As more and more employers adapt to the growing numbers of telecommuters, the disadvantages once attributed to the rogue road warriors fade away. So, coupled with the time savings and environmental benefits, it seems that telecommuting is a win-win situation that is here to stay, especially as more and more homes add broadband. That said, it's slightly ironic that as a result of the SBC, AT&T and BellSouth mergers, as many as 12,000 AT&T telecommuters are being recalled to their home offices. If telecommuting increases morale, then it makes sense that the converse is true, and AT&T is about to find that out the hard way. d=20071121/002335&op=sharethis">Email This Story

(Via Techdirt.)

Verizon ups its FiOS speeds to 50Mbps, sets the internet on fire

November 20, 2007 by Your Name in Uncategorized

Filed under: Networking

Not content with blazing up your local connection at 20Mbps downstream and up, Verizon has once again bumped its already-painfully-fast FiOS broadband service into the realm of ridiculous. According to reports, the company is now offering a 30Mbps / 15 Mbps service at $89.95 a month, and the nerve-shattering 50 Mbps / 20 Mbps speed at $139.95. The telecom has also introduced symmetrical connections in all 16 states where it currently offers FiOS service, with a 20Mbps / 20Mbps on the up and down, starting at $64.99. Of course, it's all bleeps and buzzes in our particularly lonely corner of Brooklyn, where we'll have to suffer the indignation of a lowly 10Mbps connection until the big V blesses us with some real speed... you hearing us, dudes?

[Via GigaOM]

Read

(Via Engadget.)

Twitter Updates for 2007-11-20

November 20, 2007 by Your Name in Uncategorized

Very. Very. Very. Very. ..... Happy. #

Gooooooood mooooorniiiiiign Waaassssshington Deee Ceeeee! #

Metro delays at Chinatown; Starbucks; misbehaving computer on the network; .htaccess editing; favicon making; calling in favors for a friend #

Just ordered a new Dell 24 inch LCD (DELL E248WFP) - its marked down today to $399: http://urltea.com/251t #

This disgusts me: Wounded Soldier: Military Wants Part Of Bonus Back http://urltea.com/251w #

Today is a horn day. Zee horns on zee bull go up. Zee claws on zee bear go down for any of you that missed it yesterday... #

@LeoLaporte Leo - in regards to you playing w/ the Alex voice the other week on MBW & TWiT: http://urltea.com/252p #

Forgot my iPod at home today. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. #

@jackhodgson I am completely jealous of your snow. #

@jackhodgson I would be glad to do so if I could. I love winter + snow. #

Woot - our offices are closing at noon tomorrow which means I will get home to the lake for thanksgiving at 5:00 instead of midnight. #

@Ihnatko Thats great Andy! #

@Veronica I deleted my Myspace about a month ago. Glad I did. #

Plans for Thanksgiving? I plan to finish reading Alan Greenspan's "The Age of Turbulence" so hannah can borrow it on Friday. #

They Might Be Giants concert Friday night here in DC at 9:30 club. Woot for Jon, Jon, Dan, Dan & Dan. #

Wall Street ended on a Horn Day™ #

@TakeIT2 As an economics professor once told me...Zee Horns on Zee Bull, Zey go up. Zee Claws On Ze Bear, Zey Go down. - I shorten to... #

Horn Day™ and Claw Day™ #

Hmmm...what shall I burn for dinner... #

Searching for a digital version of "Take The "A" Train" originally composed by Duke Ellington - I'm looking for the version Tony Bennet sang #

No luck on iTunes. Checking Amazon MP3. #

Pentagon Demands Wounded Soldier Return Re-enlistment Bonus

November 20, 2007 by Your Name in Uncategorized

Just in time for the holidays, there's a special place in Hell just waiting to be filled by some as-yet-unknown Pentagon bureaucrat. Apparently, thousands of wounded soldiers who served in Iraq are being asked to return part of their enlistment bonuses -- because their injuries prevented them from completing their tours. From Pittsburgh's KDKA:

One of them is Jordan Fox, a young soldier from the South Hills.
He finds solace in the hundreds of boxes he loads onto a truck in Carnegie. In each box is a care package that will be sent to a man or woman serving in Iraq. It was in his name Operation Pittsburgh Pride was started.
Fox was seriously injured when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle. He was knocked unconscious. His back was injured and lost all vision in his right eye.
A few months later Fox was sent home. His injuries prohibited him from fulfilling three months of his commitment. A few days ago, he received a letter from the military demanding nearly $3,000 of his signing bonus back.
"I tried to do my best and serve my country. I was unfortunately hurt in the process. Now they're telling me they want their money back," he explained.

Perversely, President Bush phoned Fox's mother to ask after Fox in May. Now his administration is taking money out of the pockets of wounded veterans like him.

Back in October, Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA) introduced a bill, the Veterans Guaranteed Bonus Act, that would require the Pentagon to pay bonuses to wounded vets in full within 30 days after discharge for combat-related wounds. Back then, the Pentagon's flack vaguely assured The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "We are going to give our wounded warriors and their families what they need to recover and return to duty or private life." But apparently the policy has yet to change. It seems that the enlistment contract that at least some troops sign (whether it's service-specific is unclear) allows for withholding some of the signing bonus if a tour isn't completed. We're in touch with the Pentagon to clear this up, and we'll let you know as soon as we do.

Thanks to TPM Reader DB.

(Via TPMmuckraker.)