DISCOURAGING: Antitrust actions led to a major breakup in 1984 and tremendous economic losses

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

https://cordcuttersnews.com/att-marks-150th-anniversary/

AT&T Marks 150th Anniversary as It Shuts Down the Traditional Phone Lines That Made It What It Is Today
By Luke Bouma
on February 25, 2026

*** begin quote ***

Government intervention shaped AT&T’s trajectory in the mid-20th century. Antitrust actions led to a major breakup in 1984, dividing the company into regional operating companies known as the Baby Bells, while AT&T retained long-distance services and equipment manufacturing. Over the subsequent decades, the company navigated deregulation and competition, reacquiring several of its former subsidiaries and expanding into wireless and broadband. Notable developments included the first satellite telephone call in 1962, the implementation of the 911 emergency system in 1968, and the historic call to astronauts on the moon in 1969. In the 1970s, AT&T pioneered fiber-optic cables using advanced lasers and glass fibers, setting the stage for high-speed data transmission.

*** end quote ***

Silently, Gooferment politicians and bureaucrats transformed the old MaBell from a “widows and orphans” stock into a national disaster.  

Maybe it was due for an overhaul but the social and economic cost were staggering. 

Personally, I did ok but I lost a “career” and my Mom lost millions in her stock and savings.  

Many old folks beleived the company’s paternalistic promises to their own detriment. 

Saddest of all was the loss of Bell Labs.  It was a scientific miracle for America.  It was shattered by politicians and bureaucrats who could not see its value to the nation.

So sad.

— 30 —


DISCOURAGING: Comcast Customer Email Accounts to Yahoo Mail

Monday, August 11, 2025

https://cordcuttersnews.com/comcast-is-shutting-down-its-email-service-moving-customer-email-accounts-to-yahoo-mail/

Comcast is Shutting Down Its Email Service & Moving Customer Email Accounts to Yahoo Mail
By Luke Bouma on August 2, 2025

*** begin quote ***

In a significant change, Comcast has announced plans to transition all Comcast.net email accounts from its current Xfinity Email platform to the Yahoo Mail platform. The announcement, detailed in an email sent to customers on August 2, 2025, outlines a phased migration set to occur over the next several months, promising improved functionality and advanced features for its users.

According to the email from Comcast, the shift to Yahoo Mail will provide customers with a “premium email solution” designed to streamline communication and organization. Yahoo Mail’s AI-driven inbox management, robust security features, integrated calendar, and highly rated mobile app were highlighted as key benefits of the transition. Importantly, Comcast assured customers that their existing Comcast.net email addresses, along with all messages, folders, and contacts, will remain intact during the move.

*** end quote ***

FYI Yahoo is primarily owned by Apollo Global Management, which holds a 90% stake, while Verizon retains a 10% ownership. The company operates as a standalone entity under the name Yahoo! Inc. Apollo Global Management is a private equity firm that bought AOL and Yahoo from Verizon. 

Way back when I was first reinkefj@att.net and later when I became reinkefj@comcast.net (Are you detecting a pattern here?). I advise family, frends, and basically anyone who would listen that this “free” email was a lock-in so you could never change ISPs. A quick scan of the Reinke Faces Life blog will show you my griping back in 2010.

May I suggest that you have your own domain? The common wisdom, or is that common whizdumb, is to own your own name as a domain name. I own “reinke.cc”. (I like saying “sea sea me at reinke.cc”! me@reinke.cc will actually work!) 

It gives one quite a bit of control. And, it’s very cheap. I know three solutions: wordpressdotcom with gmail, email only with 1and1, and domain+email+webspace also at 1and1. 

My point is not that you should use 1and1. http://www.1and1.com/?k_id=9113251 I could care less which one you use. It’s that getting on to your own domain with email is cheap and easy. 

And, it’s not aol, hotmail, yahoo, or gmail. It IS your own “personal brand”. And, the “bad guys” can’t fool you!

P.S.: 1and1 is now IONOS.

Let’s look over the Google Graveyard for all the vendors who have passed away with our data.

  • Google Graveyard: Google groups, Google Short Links;
  • Yahoo took down: Yahoo! Briefcase on March 30, 2009 and Yahoo! Groups before that;
  • AT&T ASHcan contains: AT&T Locker, AT&T Photos, and AT&T.net email;
  • Amazon “Sunseted”: Dash and other buttons, and the Amazon product wand;
  • Mozilla did the old Pocket-punt;
  • Microsoft wants you to forget HealthVault and Docs.com file-sharing;
  • CARDSCAN was acquired by Rubber Maid and went down shortly after that;
  • And FINALLY Plaxo, the cardscan replacement, that also disappeared. 

Never mind all the hardware devices that were given the heave ho after being bought by suckers like me.

Soooooo, under the heading of “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!”, I’d urge you to take firm control of your choices.  If your data goes in, then ask how does it come out?”  If the answer is not obvious, then tread carefully the data you save may be your own.

Argh!

— 30 —


FUN: I was in the peanut gallery for the Howdy Doody Show once

Monday, December 30, 2024

https://cordcuttersnews.com/its-howdy-doody-time-first-premiered-77-years-ago-this-week/

“It’s Howdy Doody Time!”: First Premiered 77 Years Ago This Week
By Luke Bouma on December 29, 2024

*** begin quote ***

The show, originally titled “Puppet Playhouse,” quickly gained popularity and was renamed “The Howdy Doody Show.” It introduced audiences to a colorful cast of characters, including the freckled marionette Howdy Doody, the friendly ringmaster Buffalo Bob Smith, the mute clown Clarabell, and a host of other memorable puppets like Phineas T. Bluster and Chief Thunderthud.

*** end quote ***

I remember the beautiful Princess SummerFallWinterSpring.

—30—