Watch the 2009 US Open Online

Do you love golf? Don’t miss this year’s U.S. Open Golf Tournament! If you don’t have television service, you can still watch the championship – broadcast live from the Black Course at Bethpage State Park in New York. With a high-speed Internet connection, you can enjoy the action with live video streaming! Visit www.USOpen.com to watch live coverage of the golf tournament in high definition. Below is a schedule of U.S. Open Golf Tournament coverage.

Thursday, June 18
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Friday, June 19
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.


Saturday, June 20
2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.


Sunday, June 21
1:20 – 7:30 p.m.


This year marks the 109th U.S. Open. Will last year’s winner, Tiger Woods (presently the #1 golfer worldwide), reclaim victory? Don’t miss a moment of the excitement.

Xbox Live Out of Service

Beginning today and lasting up to 24 hours, Microsoft’s Xbox Live feature will be unavailable for maintenance. Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming service that allows users to compete with gamers around the world via Internet connection. If you are an avid online gamer, today is your chance to hang out with long-lost friends and family members. According to Xbox Live statistics, more than 6 million people use the game console worldwide. Does that sound like a lot? The research gets more interesting. Since Xbox Live was deployed, more than 2 BILLION HOURS have been spent playing online games. That is equal to 95 million days, or approximately 260,000 years. About 2 million text/voice messages are sent via Xbox Live daily!

Given these numbers, it doesn’t seem unreasonable for Microsoft to take a moment to maintain this service. Gasp! A whole day without Xbox Live? I think you’ll survive.

Spy on Your Favorite Celeb

As if we don’t get a close enough look at the private lives of Hollywood celebrities, a new phenomenon is sweeping the Internet – virtual globetrotting. Does Tiger Woods really have a Hawaiian beach house? How many basketball courts does Michael Jordan have? What does Hugh Hefner’s garden look like? Questions, such as these, are what keep me awake at night!

Thankfully, these questions and more can be answered with virtual globetrotting. This service allows Internet users to view the homes and properties of various public figures – live. An aerial image is delivered via satellite, and available from several online hosts including Google and Yahoo Maps. If you’d like to sneak a peak at your favorite celeb’s residence, visit www.virtualglobetrotting.com and click on ‘maps.’ Thanks to modern technology and the World Wide Web, public figures can no longer get away with lying about where they live.

Back to that highly important, thought-provoking question – does Tiger Woods really have a Hawaiian beach house? Virtual globetrotting indicates that no, he does not have a Hawaiian beach house. Sorry, Tiger! We caught you.

Facebook Offers Vanity URLs

Have you joined the online social networking craze? America’s most popular social networking website, Facebook, has officially decided to provide usernames for its two million PLUS users. At midnight on June 13 – 12:01 a.m. to be exact – Facebook users can select a username, which will serve as a personalized URL (ex: www.facebook.com/username) for sharing their profile page with others. The notion of usernames is by no means unique to Facebook – Myspace and Twitter have been on board for years. Facebook vanity URLs will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis!

If you’d like to secure your top-choice personalized username, I suggest that you stay close to your high-speed Internet connection at midnight on June 13. Don’t currently use social networking to stay in touch with friends, family members and coworkers? Perhaps it is time for you to see what all the fuss is about. The Internet offers a great means of gathering information and communicating with people around the world.

Qwest Online Safety Program

Qwest’s online safety program, Incredible Internet (www.incredibleinternet.com), was designed to help parents and children sift through the Web’s clutter. In partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), Qwest developed Incredible Internet to educate parents in child safety. With the goal of keeping families safe while browsing the Internet, this program offers tips on how to prevent various dangers, such as identity theft, from causing harm.

Among the most dangerous venues for children online are social networking websites, such as Facebook and Myspace. These sites are potentially harmful, as children and teenagers often reveal large quantities of personal information, including phone numbers and home addresses, to hundreds – even thousands – of other people. Due to the unsecure nature of the Internet, it is impossible to know the true identify of those engaging in social networking. Teens who utilize these websites are vulnerable to predators, who may try to lure them to meet in person. Consequences can be very serious!

Not only do social networking websites expose children to potentially dangerous predators, kids can easily access inappropriate sexual and/or violent content. Cyberbullying and identity theft are also threats that parents should learn to prevent.

In order reduce your family’s risk of becoming a victim of Internet violence and victimization, observe the following tips:
1. Know the screen name and password to each of your child’s accounts.
2. Create a safe-computing agreement with your child, ensuring that he or she understands how to behave online.
3. Inform your child that you will be monitoring what he or she posts online.
4. Monitor the profiles of your child’s friends, as personal information in regards to your child may be revealed there, as well.

Education is a critical component in preventing victimization, and Qwest’s online safety program is a great tool for families. Learn about the potential threats that lurk on the Web, with Incredible Internet.