> So when, exactly, is the much-ballyhooed, little seen Google TV going to launch? CNET cites unnamed sources claiming that it will be Sept. 29 via a Logitech Revue set-top that retails for $299. And, just to make things interesting, the oh-so-Silicon Valley search engine's Google Ventures venture capital group has hired oh-so-Silicon Valley "entrepreneur-in-residence" Craig Walker to "build a new start-up." Story.
> Family-friendly Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS)--as long as your family isn't named Dolan--has been linked with family-unfriendly Blackwater, a U.S. State Department-connected mercenary group involved in some pretty nasty dust-ups around the world. It was all pretty innocent, though. Disney paid Blackwater-linked entities Total Intelligence Solutions and Terrorism Research Center $24,000 in 2009 to do a "threat assessment" for potential film shoot locations in Morocco. Story.
> Speaking of intrigue, the Durango Herald in, surprisingly, Durango, Colo. reports that local cable subscribers are still up in the air as to what changes might or might not be made when Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC) takes over incumbent cable provider Bresnan Communications. Company reps on both sides "declined to answer questions" from the newspaper because "the purchase isn't yet complete." Story.
> The new-and-improved AT&T (NYSE: T) will be giving subscribers access to up to four simultaneous high definition channels. Technologically, the carrier will use a beefed up DSL and MPEG-4 to pull off the feat. Story.
> Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan has put it all on the line in support of a National Broadband Network. The island nation, he said, won't be able to compete effectively without it because "high-speed broadband is absolutely vital to turbo-charging our national economic success." Story.
> The Coalition for Competition in Media wants more time to tell the FCC that it doesn't like the idea of Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) scarfing up NBC Universal. The ever-present Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice responded with just a touch of world weariness. "There have already been an unprecedented number of public hearings on this transaction," she wrote. Story.
And finally... This could be of competitive interest. Lightower Fiber Networks said it's going to acquire Lexent Metro Connect to expand its existing fiber footprint and customer base "throughout the greater New York City region," including New Jersey. Aside from the fact that New Jersey is, again, an afterthought, the acquisition "validates our commitment singular focus on becoming the New York region's leading provider of underlying, truly neutral fiber optic network infrastructure," according to Ray La Chance, President-CEO of Lexent Metro Connect. And you thought perhaps that was Optimum Lightpath? Story.