Happy Thanksgiving!

All of us at COMMWORLD of Kansas City are thankful for our loyal customers, trusted suppliers and friends.

We'll be eating turkey and all the trimmings with our family and friends on Thanksgiving day and leftovers on "Black Friday", so our office will be closed both days.

COMMWORLD Technicians will be on call at
816-763-1100 for emergency service as we have every day for 32+ years.

Have a safe, fun and peaceful holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving!
From your friends at COMMWORLD

There's never been a better time to update your existing Toshiba telephone system!

Trade Up To VIPedge^™ Cloud-Based Telephone Solution - * Get FREE IP phones when you trade in your older Toshiba phones by 12/31/13.

Trade Up to IPedge^® On-Premise, Pure-IP Telephone System - Get up to 50% off an IPedge user license with Toshiba's award-winning Call Manager.

Trade Up to Strata^® CIX670^™ Converged-IP Telephone System - Get $50 credit for each Toshiba phone you trade in.

See Promotion Details

Trade up promotions + section 179 tax deduction = a great deal for you...

Combine Toshiba's great trade up promotions with Section 179 Tax Deduction for a real win - win opportunity! Telecommunications equipment, office furniture, office equipment, certain vehicles, etc., qualify for this deduction, but the property must be placed in service by December 31, 2013.

Section 179 of the IRS Tax Code allows a business to deduct the full price of qualified property in the current year. Based on a 35% tax bracket, with the depreciation schedule deduction you save only 7% the first year, but with section 179 you save 35% the first year. Plus, some equipment leases will also qualify for this tax break.

We're technology experts, not tax experts, so please consult your tax advisor for details. This information is based on assumptions that may not apply to your business.

For more information go to www.irs.gov.

COMMWORLD sponsors Legal Community Event...

COMMWORLD of Kansas City is proud to be a Platinum Sponsor of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association's 129th Annual Meeting. The luncheon will be December 6th at the Downtown Marriott Hotel.

The guest speaker is David Von Drehle, editor-at-large for Time magazine and author of Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America's Most Perilous Year. His presentation will focus on Lincoln's relationships with the Supreme Court, Congress, the military and state governments; how he saved the American charter at that perilous time; and how he dealt with the issue of slavery.

November 19th marked the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. President Lincoln's passionate words should remind us of the principles upon which this country was founded. "... this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Read all 272 words of the Gettysburg Address

President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in Gettysburg, Pa., on Nov. 19, 1863.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate -- we cannot consecrate -- we cannot hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Carrier Services options have changed.

Time for a free Telecom Bill Analysis.

Local, long distance and internet service carriers like AT&T, SureWest, Time Warner, Windstream, etc. usually have a three year contract. At the end of that period, the contract may automatically renew or your rates might revert to higher "non contract" prices. The carrier rate plans are continually changing, new types of services are introduced and a service that may not have been available in your area in the past, may be available now.

It makes good business sense to take a look at your options because they have probably changed. COMMWORLD will provide a free Telecom Bill Analysis for your business. To qualify for this offer, your local, long distance and internet bill(s) must total at least $300 per month before taxes. If you are under a contract, it must be scheduled to expire in 4 months or less.

Call COMMWORLD at 816-763-1100 to request your free Telecom Bill Analysis or send an email to info@commworld-kc.com

All telecommunications companies are NOT created equal.

Most businesses don't change out their telecommunications equipment very often. Telephone equipment and the company that installs and services it is a decision for the long term. At its best, it is a positive relationship based on the quality of the equipment; the professionalism of the installation and service; the financial options; and the stability and trust in the company and people providing all of the above.

In our 32+ years in business, we have watched so many telecom companies come, go, merge and disappear - sometimes overnight. The business owners and managers who expected to get many years of good use with opportunities to update their telecom equipment were often disappointed to find that wasn't going to happen. Parts become difficult to find, new features and applications are not developed for the product, technicians trained on that product become scarce and the equipment becomes obsolete and must be replaced.

We can name many more companies that jumped in and then out of the telecommunications industry including familiar names like Honeywell, Radio Shack and Sears. Check out this chart to see how the manufacturer of your business telecom equipment stacks up against others. This could help you see into the future!

TECHNOLOGY TIDBITS...

How Technology changed Thanksgiving

President Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving as an official national holiday in 1863. Photography and the telegraph were cutting edge technologies of the day. Being a technology company, we wondered if a photograph of the Lincoln's Thanksgiving feast was taken to commemorate the festivities or if Abe and Mary sent holiday greetings to family and friends by telegraph. We may never know, but we do know some ways technology has changed our Thanksgiving of today.

• If you're traveling to Grandma's house, your GPS will guide the way while the DVD player in the minivan keeps the kids entertained limiting the amount of "Are we there yet?" coming from the back seat.
• The family gathers around the big screen HD TV with surround sound to watch the parades, football or sweet old holiday movies on TCM while Uncle Ben snores softly in the vibrating recliner.
• There's no more under-cooked or dried out turkey because of the accuracy of a digital thermometer. The tradition of the ladies gossiping in the kitchen as they wash and dry every dish and pot in the house by hand is reduced thanks to the latest dishwasher with built in garbage disposal. Since the oven is self-cleaning, it doesn't even matter when the mushroom soup bubbles out of the green bean casserole.
• Since everyone in the house except Grandpa and the baby has a digital camera, smart phone or tablet, there will be lots of pictures and videos taken and then shared on Facebook. Hopefully, none will be too embarrassing.
• For those family members who couldn't make it this year, a conversation on Skype is the next best thing to being there.

Yes, technology has changed how we celebrate Thanksgiving, but the warmth and love of family and friends and the gratitude for our many blessings remains the same. Plus, now we can tweet it to the world.