Wiring the community: Regulation. Deregulation. Franchising. Monopolies. Red-lining. Sometimes the insidious nature of corporate telecommunications in Texas makes a citizen just want to hang up and unplug. Well, we'd like to shine a light on two efforts that make it a bit easier to forget, if for one moment, that most American media is held in the maws of greedy bottom-feeding bottom-line entities, and remember that sometimes corporations can use their muscle for good: Grande Communications, the li'l upstart Texas-based communications company providing telephone, high-speed internet, cable TV, and home security, has donated internet connectivity to serve three local public libraries; Advanced Micro Devices stepped in during Austin's Katrina crisis and donated 50 "personal internet communicators" (minicomputers) to the city, with a priority given to organizations conducting Katrina relief services. Kudos, Grande and AMD, for reminding us that communication can still be a noble cause.
