Products

School’s (Almost) Out For Summer!

May 20, 2013 by Adam No Comments

tech College kids are headed home, if not now, very soon. Kids from Kindergarten to High School will soon be home during the day. Other than stocking the fridge, the one thing that they all want is their internet access. Make sure you are ready for all those devices with ZoomShare from Armstrong.

All of the video games systems, lap tops, smart phones, tablets and more will need fast, reliable connections to the Armstrong internet they love. Make sure you are ready with professionally installed and supported equipment that will be on and ready when you need it.

And just like the lock on the fridge, ZoomShare is setup to be secure, allowing access to only those you want to. Shop today to get your home ready for summer!

Filed Under: Internet, Products, Safe Surfing

Maps

May 17, 2013 by Adam No Comments

How do you get from Point A to Point B these days? I can remember days of highlighting a travel atlas and keeping it in the passengers seat when taking a road trip. Soon came the days of printing out your MapQuest or Google Maps directions and keeping those handy. Soon came GPS and smart phones with map access. These days I am not worried in the least. I know that at any point in my travels I could easily punch in an address, search for a business name or even bring up an app like Yelp and just type in the food I might want and follow the directions.

As an iPhone user I have several choices to help me find my way. Apple’s build in Map app is great for a quick view of my surroundings, finding a near by address or clicking through from an address in an email. If I am using a Google based app like Chrome or Google Search, I can be taken directly to the Google Maps app. However, if I want real time updates and time saving turn-by-turn directions, I go with waze. Waze is a crowd-sourced GPS navigation app that allows users to report road hazards, accidents and police traps, while the app collects speed and delay location in real time. While the app is somewhat gamified, it is meant to help every day users find safe and quick routes to and from their daily destinations.

Waze just made the news recently, as it is rumored to be in talks with Facebook in a possible buyout deal. Hopefully they will leave the app relatively unchanged, much like they did with the Instagram purchase. Either way, waze remains my go-to app for turn-by-turn navigation.

How do you approach your road trips and directionally challenged adventures? Do you prepare with a hard copy map or printout or are you a GPS convert?

Filed Under: Internet, Products, Reminder, Safe Surfing

Demand It!

May 15, 2013 by Adam No Comments

“Everything is connected.” The theme of this critically acclaimed sci-fi states. The extended trailer below shows a universe in which relationships and people are connected over the years. This is honestly a see-it-to-understand-it film. After watching the trailer, it is hard not to want to check this film out tonight!

Cloud Atlas

Texas Chainsaw: Evil Wears Many Faces.

Filed Under: OnDemand, Products, Television

The Armstrong App

May 13, 2013 by Adam No Comments

Armstrong’s first app is now available in the Apple App Store and Google Play. The Armstrong app is an easy to use application for managing your Armstrong account and services anywhere, anytime.

Features include:

View your bill summary
Receive notifications when your statement is due
Make a one-time payment
View your Internet usage
Receive notifications for new voicemails
Listen to and manage your voicemail
Enable and disable call forwarding
Find your local Armstrong office

One of the more interesting features of the app is having the ability to view your internet usage. Track your usage during the most recent billing period to help identify any unknown usage. (See our Internet Usage FAQ)

Also, listen to and manage your home voicemails. No more waiting until you get home to get those important messages that may have needed returned before the end of the work day. Get an alert and listen to your voicemails immediately. Download it today and let us know what you think!

Filed Under: Internet, Products, Safe Surfing, Special

Demand It!

May 8, 2013 by Adam No Comments

As a portion of Armstrong’s customers live in western Pennsylvania, they are generally aware of when movies are shot in Pittsburgh. Most know of The Dark Knight Rises being shot in Pittsburgh. (Our Ohio customers probably know of the Avengers being shot in Cleveland. Most certainly our Tri-State customers knew when We Are Marshall was shot in Huntington, WV.) Some were aware that a Tom Cruise action film was shot in and around the Pittsburgh area last year. That film, Jack Reacher, is now available on Armstrong On Demand.

Not only is it interesting to look for familiar landmarks, but this marks the reunion of Tom Cruise and Robert Duvall since working together in Days of Thunder. The action alone should be reason enough to check this one out. [Read more...]

Filed Under: OnDemand, Products, Television

Musical Chairs

May 6, 2013 by Adam

How do you currently consume your music? Radio, CD, MP3, or online music service? Just like the rest of our entertainment, music comes to us completely different than it used to. I can remember days of going to the mall the day that a new album came out to purchase it on CD (or even tape). These days it is as easy as downloading a new album from iTunes the moment it is available for release.

While there has been some backwards movement in the music biz lately, as vinyl records have gained some popularity with music purists. For the most part, things keep moving forward. I have actually been using Spotify for a few months, which gives me instant access to almost any song, album or artist you can think of. I enjoyed using Pandora radio for the last several years to give me a new mix of music based on my favorite artists or genres. However, Spotify can provide that as well.

How do you prefer to get your music?

Filed Under: Internet, Products

CBS – Now Available On Demand

May 3, 2013 by Adam

Just this week Armstrong launched the CBS On Demand folder. We are excited to bring you some of the most popular shows on television in one of the most popular ways people like to watch television; On Demand. Check out the CBS folder in our On Demand library by selecting TV Networks > CBS. You can also search by your favorite show under TV Series.

Here are just some of the great shows that will be available:

NCIS

CSI

The Good Wife

Big Bang Theory

Two and a Half Men

Rules of Engagement

Survivor

Undercover Boss

…and much more.

Filed Under: OnDemand, Products, Special, Television

Demand It!

May 1, 2013 by Adam

We have a wonderful star studded lineup with some highly anticipated films this week. First off, we have Oscar nominated film Silver Linings Playbook in which Jennifer Lawrence won the Oscar for Best Actress. We also have the “road trip with your mom” comedy The Guilt Trip, featuring Seth Rogen and Barbara Streisand. Last, but not least, we have the action filled thriller Broken City, featuring Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe. [Read more...]

Filed Under: OnDemand, Products, Television

The World Wide Web

April 29, 2013 by Adam

A few months ago we talked about the way the internet used to be, but what were things really like then? We probably remember it being a little slower to download pictures. Maybe it took a while to load the entire webpage that had all the information you were waiting on. But how bad could it really have been?

Over the past few weeks, I have seen a couple of nostalgic articles that point out the early days of the world wide web. Yahoo! Finance had a feature regarding several famous “internet firsts,” including the first picture ever uploaded and the first AOL Instant Message. (Do you remember the first time you instant messaged someone?)

An article caught my eye the other day that featured major films of the 90s that had not updated or taken down their promotional websites; including Space Jam and appropriately, You’ve Got Mail. (Note: it seems someone has since updated the links to the three Warner Brothers movies to purchase a Blu-ray copy; smart!)

BONUS: 23 Ancient Websites Still live (Gizmodo)

So, maybe it was that bad; what do you think?

Filed Under: Internet, Products, Special

“How About That Weather We’re Having?”

April 26, 2013 by Adam

The king of ’small talk’ opening lines; weather. If all else fails, you can always break that uncomfortable silence discussing the weather. Years ago you had to wait until the evening news to get tomorrow’s weather forecast. Then along came the Weather Channel and their “Local on the 8s” overview. (You always seemed to catch on the 9s though.)

Today everyone has a smartphone in their pocket or a computer in front of them. With a few clicks or flicks you can have the most up to date weather forecast right in front of you. As an iPhone user, I usually go with the built in weather widget for a quick view of my local temperature or tomorrow’s forecast. However, for more details I usually relied on the Weather Channel app. However, Yahoo! just released a great new weather app (available on iOS and Android) that combines detailed weather information with beautiful localized photos from Yahoo’s own Flickr network.

How do you get your weather news?

Filed Under: Internet, Products, Safe Surfing, Special