Valentine Greeting

This Valentine Greeting is filled with good wishes, a chance to win a new phone system, an invitation and information we hope you'll find useful and interesting. It's not the typical Valentine, but what is the typical Valentine anyway?

The first written Valentines are attributed to Charles, the Duke of Orleans, in 1415. While imprisoned in the Tower of London, he wrote romantic verses to his wife in France.

"Love Notes" were Valentines from the time of the American Civil War which were designed to look like authentic currency. They were eventually banned. (Sounds like Counterfeit to me!)

In the 1900's lonely sailors made "Busk Valentines" which were rounded sticks about 5 times longer than a tongue depressor. The sailors carved hearts and other designs on the sticks and the "Busk Valentine" was worn inside the corset of the sailor's sweetheart. (Ouch!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Bob Bennett, Linda Bennett
& the COMMWORLD of KC Team

Win a new Toshiba Phone System or a Flat Screen TV or a Tablet Computer!

COMMWORLD of Kansas City and Toshiba are partnering to bring you the Phone-A-Saurus contest...the most incredible offer since the Jurassic period.

Create a short video to tell us why you need a new business phone system. Use your digital camera, cell phone or other video device and don't worry too much about making it look professional. Just make your video 3 minutes or less of entertainment, originality and creativity.

• 1st Prize is a complete Toshiba IPedge or Strata CIX phone system with installation by COMMWORLD. That's a value of $2500 or more. Or you can apply this value toward a larger system or an upgrade of an existing Toshiba phone system.
• 2nd Prize is a Toshiba 32" LCD Flat Screen TV valued at $450.
• 3rd Prize is a Toshiba Thrive Tablet valued at $399.

Submit your video by February 28th. Final winners will be announced March 16th.

It's easy to enter:

1. Visit the Toshiba Phone Systems Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/ToshibaPhoneSystems).
2. "Like" Toshiba Phone Systems on Facebook.
3. Click on the "Phone-A-Saurus Contest" tab on the left.
4. Click on the "Enter Here" tab to submit your video.
5. Fill in COMMWORLD of Kansas City as the referring Toshiba dealer!

Good Luck and Have Fun!!!

Seminar

Come to a Technology Seminar in Laymen's Terms... What are VoIP, SIP and the Cloud & Why Should I Care? The Advantages The Challenges How Technology Can Benefit My Business What Are My Choices
Seminar Date: Wednesday, March 7, 2012 Morning Session - 9:00 AM to 10:30 PM Afternoon Session - 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM	Location: COMMWORLD of Kansas City 6200 Main Street, Grandview, MO 64030
Seating is Limited. Please, RSVP at 816-763-1100 or email lkb@commworld-kc.com

Your Business Will Not Fail if you do not immediately implement VoIP.

Remember the Y2K frenzy that appears to have been a "hoax"? Planes were going to fall out of the air, you wouldn't be able to get your money out of the bank and thousands of businesses were duped into spending hundreds of billions on technology upgrades.

Don't be hyped into spending money to implement or not implement VoIP technology. Let COMMWORLD fill you in and help educate you on how to evaluate it.

Today's technology buzz is about VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), SIP and the Cloud.

Don't get ripped off. Find out what you really need to know to make educated decisions about voice technology for your business. You'll get a 30,000 foot view of the best of all worlds - sometimes dipping down to 1,000 feet for a closer look. You won't find this by searching on the internet and many IT professionals don't know.

Here's what attendees of other COMMWORLD seminars had to say...

• "Excellent opportunity to learn. Presenters were obviously knowledgeable"
• "I was in awe the entire time..."
• "You blew me away!"
• "I am amazed at the technology."
• "The size of the group was nice. The presentation was very professional and easy to understand."

Come and get the information you need to know in a comfortable, friendly atmosphere.
Please, RSVP today!

Nortel Phone Systems are like Dinosaurs - they're extinct.

Is your business phone system a Nortel system? Did you know that Nortel phone systems are no longer manufactured and haven't been made in years?

On January 14, 2009, Nortel Networks, Inc. filed for bankruptcy after years of turmoil and a monumental economic slide. On January 16, 2012, The Huffington Post stated, "Opening arguments are expected Monday in the trial of former executives at insolvent Nortel Networks Corp. who are accused of defrauding investors ahead of one of the biggest corporate collapses in Canadian history." The Toronto Star quotes a financial analysis professor at Rotman School of Management, who also called the demise of Nortel "the biggest (financial scandal) in Canada, one of the biggest in the world".

The defendants, including former CEO, Frank Dunn, are charged with creating an elaborate accounting fraud to hide falling sales beginning in 2000. Various pieces of the company have been sold off and 60,000 employees have lost their jobs.

Sources: http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1112149--criminal-fraud-trial-of-three-ex-nortel-executives-begins , http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/01/16/nortel-fraud-trial-frank-dunn_n_1208552.html

Bob Bennett, Founder & CEO of COMMWORLD of Kansas City is a columnist for KC Business Magazine on the subject of Business Philosophy.

Bob's latest article found in the February issue is titled "Star Matter".

This month's issue of KC Business magazine profiles some of Kansas City's Rising Stars. Writing this article before the issue does not allow me to know who comprises this constellation. However, I wish to go out on a limb and share what I believe to be the essence of the process for becoming a Rising Star.

To begin, I would say that a Star's main priority when rising in the morning is to...
Read More »

Space for Lease or Building for Sale...

We're looking for a new tenant or a buyer for this beautiful building. If you know of a company needing space, please share this flyer and have them contact Bob Bennett at COMMWORLD for details.
816-763-1100.

View Flyer

Fun Phone Facts...

What does Valentine's Day have to do with the invention of the telephone?

On the morning of February 14, 1876 - Valentine's Day, an attorney named Marcellus Bailey went to the U.S. Patent Office in Boston, Massachusetts. He filed for a patent on behalf of his client, Alexander Graham Bell, for "Improvements in Telegraphy". It didn't even mention the word "telephone".

Later that Valentine's Day, Elisha Gray went to the same U.S. Patent Office. He filed his Caveat to announce that he would be filing for a patent within three months for "the art of transmitting vocal sounds or conversations telegraphically through an electric circuit." In other words, it was a telephone.

There were about 600 lawsuits challenging Bell's patent, but as evidenced by the familiar terms, Bell System, Baby Bell and Bell Heads, Alexander prevailed.

It is generally accepted that the patent for the telephone, U.S. patent number 174,465, is the most valuable patent ever granted. Everyone knows that the patent went to Alexander Graham Bell, but it could easily have been awarded to Elisha Gray.

Source: www.telcomhistory.org