Britney Spears new number one single

Britney Spears new number one single 'Hold It Against Me' breaks Billboard records

Britney Spears' new single, "Hold It Against Me" debuted at Number One on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart and sold 411,000 digital singles in one week after being released exclusively on iTunes, breaking a record previously held by Taylor Swift.

Spears is also only the second artist in Billboard history to debut multiple songs at No. 1, Mariah Carey was the first artist to earn that honor.

Most surprising, is the fact that the single found so much success without any promotion by the singer herself. The single also found a number one spot in 19 other countries, including Australia, Belgium, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, France and Ireland.

"Seriously, I have the best fans ever," Spears wrote on Twitter after making her first-day sales record. "I love you all so much! Everything I do is for you!"

The 29-year-old mother of two also confirmed on Twitter that she is currently working on the "Hold It Against Me" music video with director Jonas Akerlund, who previously directed Lady Gaga's "Telephone" music video and has also worked with Madonna, Moby, Christina Aguilera and directed Prodigy's most controversial music video.

Spears, who has sold more than 100 million records, launched a successful "Circus" tour and recently guest-starred on Glee, earning the FOX musical sitcom its highest ratings yet.

The new album is set for release in March 2011, by the end of Sony's fiscal year. Listen to Britney Spears' single, "Hold It Against Me," below.



News From: www.ontheredcarpet.com

Google Voice offers port for your mobile number

Google Voice offers port for your mobile number, then takes it down

Today the unexpected happened when Google started letting users port their mobile numbers to Google Voice, of course for a price. Then you have to worry about things such as early termination fees. At first, it seemed only available to some, and not all, then more so. However, now Google is saying that it is only in the testing phase, and the option has been removed for most it seems.

“We’re continually testing new features to enhance the user experience. For a limited amount of time, we’re making the Google Voice number porting process available to users. We don’t have any additional details to share at this time, but plan to offer this feature to all users in the near future.” -Via Engadget

Although I am still seeing the option, you may be more lucky than others. If you decide to give it a try, come back and let us know how it went! Beware: you may lose the ability to receive calls and test-messages for up to 3 business days.

Mobile number portability MNP

Mobile number portability (MNP) Implemented in India from today (Jan 20, 2011) – FAQs of Mobile number portability

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is slated to flag off the nationwide roll-out of mobile number portability today, a move that will allow users to switch operators without losing their phone numbers and will force telecom providers to improve the quality of their services.

"I think it's a great step forward for the consumer, as it enhances choice and brings in more competition, because the more efficient you are as a service provider, the more likely that consumer will choose you," Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday said. (Also read: Now, a MNP helpline, courtesy Idea)

MNP services were first launched in Haryana in November last year. Nevertheless, companies like Idea Cellular and Vodafone started marketing their services to subscribers in other parts of the country that are looking at switching operators even before MNP services were rolled out.

Idea Cellular, which started the 'No idea? Get Idea' campaign to woo the subscribers of rival telecom companies has also set up a toll-free line to assist customers looking to switch operators.

More operators are expected to undertake similar activities to retain their subscribers, with competition likely to heat up following the nationwide roll-out of MNP services, with telecom companies poaching their rivals' subscribers.

On tariffs, Sistema Shyam TeleServices (SSTL) President and Chief Executive Officer Vsevolod Rozanov, which offers services under the brand MTS, said, "I think tariffs will go down further especially if we speak about the post-paid customer base that is where we are likely to see the ARPU going down."

"In the pre-paid segment, I doubt a significant change in their tariffs or profitability," he said.

However, analysts feel there might not be a huge impact on the revenues of the telecom operators.

"For the first 3 to 6 months, we might see the churn going up to 6 to 7 per cent from the current levels of about 4 per cent per month. But then it will stabilise and we don't expect much impact on revenues either," Ernst & Young (E&Y) Partner and Telecom Industry Leader Prashant Singhal said.

Singhal added that MNP is expected to be more of an urban phenomenon than a rural one.

Operators also seem upbeat on MNP. "Overall, it's a good move for the customers. It puts the service providers on their toes and will make them focus on delivering value to the consumers, giving them the power to choose," COAI said.

Agrees Aircel COO Gurdeep Singh, "We expect similar churn as normally happens. So there is no different impact (because of MNP). In fact, it's good for the subscribers."

News From: profit.ndtv.com

Google Voice makes move to mainstream

Google Voice makes move to mainstream with number porting

Google's Voice services are set to go mainstream in 2011.

Google (GOOG) is testing number portability on Google Voice (update: it was just taken down) which allows users to move their primary phone number to Google and then forward to a new number assigned by their carrier. I did this a few months ago at the invitation of Google and haven't looked back. I can now forward my calls to my landline, Gmail, my new mobile number and work number at scheduled times and days. I also get free voicemail transcriptions, call recording and line transfers.

This is one of those services that becomes immediately useful and also immediately clear that you don't ever want to live without.

A few important things to note: If you are currently on a subsidized data plan (most of you are) you will incur an early termination fee and your plan will get cancelled. The process is similar to moving to another carrier. Also, Google is charging a $20 fee for number porting. As of now it only works on non-corporate mobile phones, meaning landlines and your work phone number can't be ported, yet.

I spoke to Vincent Paquet, one of the founders of Grand Central along with Craig Walker, the service that was purchased to become Google Voice, who told me that number porting would be rolling out soon, perhaps by the end of the month. He also hinted that Google's upcoming Honeycomb tablets could have additional Google Voice features, perhaps the ability to make VoIP calls without a carrier voice account.

Before you consider leaving voice lines all together, remember Google Voice isn't positioned to be a voice line replacement...yet.

E-911 services aren't yet mature (though I'm told Google is investigating that) and Google took some heat last year for not connecting to all rural carriers because of the high fees they charge.

How does Google monetize Voice? No, it isn't whispering ads into your ears (though Paquet was amused by the notion). Paquet points to Skype and other VoIP carriers who charge international connection fees as one model. Connecting calls at Google's scale is extremely inexpensive so huge revenues aren't necessary to maintain the infrastructure.

Another reason for its existence, and the reason Paquet has stayed at Google long after the Grand Central acquisition, is Google's focus on user experience first. Paquet, like other Googlers I've talked to who were brought in by acquisition, had a chance to leave long ago but stays on because of the resources Google has at its disposal and its trust it places in its people. While it may take longer to make updates to Voice than it would as a startup (because of more code checking and testing), Google more than makes up for it with its server resources.

Voice is also a huge gateway into Google's other services, especially the Enterprise where eliminating the carrier and VoIP boxes would really excite small to medium business owners.

Google Voice is only available in the US at the moment and calls to the US and Canada are free throughout 2011. Voice is expected to roll out to Canada and Western Europe in 2011 or at least that seemed to be the thinking. Google was briefly outed last year in negotiations with the Spanish government on bringing Voice to Spain.

Paquet, a Frenchmen who has a passion for voice data services, had a previous VoIP startup that was picked up by Yahoo. He is even active on Google Voice help forums.

If you are near the end of your contract or off contract, I can highly recommend Google's Voice services. Even if you don't port your current number, you can get a new number by signing up here. For much more on Google Voice, visit Google Voice's YouTube Channel where you can see demos of the features.

McKinney ISD students

11 percent of McKinney ISD students have state i.d. number

Our paper had a page one story yesterday that tried to answer the difficult question of how many illegal immigrant children are in Texas public schools. The story came with charts showing local districts' percentage of kids who have a state i.d. number, as opposed to a Social Security number. As the story points out, there can be various reasons - apart from immigration status - for why a state i.d. number is assigned. But McKinney has 2,636 state i.d. students, representing 11 percent of the total, and costing $21.5 million to educate a year. Click here for the story and charts.

MISD Bands See 109 Receive All-Region Honors

McKINNEY, Texas – McKinney Independent School District middle school band students competed in the Region 25 All-Region Band auditions on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at Scott Johnson Middle School in the McKinney ISD and received selections to the All-Region Bands.
McKINNEY, Texas – McKinney Independent School District middle school band students competed in the Region 25 All-Region Band auditions on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at Scott Johnson Middle School in the McKinney ISD and received selections to the All-Region Bands.

A total of 1,600 middle school band students from across the region participated in the auditions with 350 students selected to the All-Region bands. Approximately 200 band students from McKinney ISD middle schools auditioned and a total of 38 band students from the district were selected. McKinney ISD middle school band students totaled a staggering 11 percent of the total number of students selected to the All-Region bands.

The auditions included middle school band students from Sherman, Denison, Plano, Allen, Wylie, Lovejoy and other smaller North Texas school districts in Region 25.

“Students who participate in the All-Region band tryout process must prepare three pieces of music that are very difficult and perform them in front of three judges,” said Roy Renzenbrink, Director of Fine Arts for McKinney ISD. “By preparing and going through the process they can’t help but become better musicians. We are very proud of every student who tried out and extremely proud to have so many young musicians selected to be part of the Region 25 All-Region Band. It is a tribute to their hard work and the excellent teaching of their fine band directors.”

Students participating in the regional auditions are rated by a panel of judges and then placed in one of four regional bands, Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, Symphonic or Concert, based on their overall performance. Wind Ensemble is the highest placement a student musician can receive.

Cockrill Middle School had a total of 12 students selected to one of the four All-Region Bands. Evans Middle School had a total of 15 students selected, Dowell Middle School had a total of four students,
Faubion Middle School had three students and Scott Johnson Middle School had four students selected.

The band directors at Dowell Middle School are Tiffany Lisko and Clark Eacker. The band directors at Evans Middle School are Lisa Smith, James Rees and Jason Myers. The band directors at Faubion Middle School are Brian Beck and Brittney Williams. The band directors at Scott Johnson Middle School are Paul Stephens and Stephanie Pavlasek. The band directors at Cockrill Middle School are Gary Williams and Matt Harp.

Below are the 2010 Middle School All Region Band selections from McKinney ISD:

Cockrill Middle School
Kendall Farrar - Flute
Mackenzie Higginbotham - Flute
Lauren Anderson - Oboe
Austen Baechle - Bassoon
Bailee Jones - Clarinet
Gbeke Fawehinmi - Clarinet
Abigail Meza - Clarinet
Kyle Kung - Clarinet
Maddie Warhol - Clarinet
Brittany Muoneke – Bari Sax
Mikael Abera - Tuba
Brian Jenkins - Percussion

Dowell Middle School
Aric Eggers - Percussion
Mia Norton - French Horn
Esteban Ley - Trombone
Adriane Gerona - Clarinet

Evans Middle School
Nathan Salazar - Alto Saxophone
Jacob Boring - Trumpet
Chase Chastain - Tuba
Brianna Alvear - Tuba
Austin Powers - Trumpet
Frances Humphrey - French Horn
Harrison Card - Euphonium
Hunter Lusk - Tuba
Marques Jones - Percussion
Alejandre Velez - Trumpet
Jenna Lenhard - French Horn
Kevin Hoehne - French Horn
Juan Ramirez - Tenor Saxophone
Kyle Robinson - Tuba
Sumeet Gautam - Percussion

Faubion Middle School
Cameron Bonner – Bassoon
Kevin Sells - Trumpet
Evan Davies - Trombone

Scott Johnson Middle School
Brian Stephens - Trombone
Robert Webb - French Horn
Shawn Sparkman - Percussion

For more information about the McKinney ISD bands and Fine Arts programs, contact Roy Renzenbrink, Director of Fine Arts at 469-742-4087 or at rrenzenbrink@mckinneyisd.net.