Archive for the 'Rants' Category
Most Emailed Story at LATimes.com: “You’ve got too much e-mail”
July 31st, 2008
How’s this for irony? I was reading the LA Times site this morning and glanced over at the Most Viewed, Most Emailed, and Related News module and noticed that the Most Emailed story is “You’ve got too much e-mail.” Nice of people to flood their friends’ inboxes with that one. On a related note, what exactly does the “Related News” module do on this site? Related to what? It appears on the home page, section pages (eg. California), etc. It seems like you should be reading a story before they start pushing related stories to you.
Comcast One-Ups Time Warner Cable
June 5th, 2008
Not to be outdone by rival Time Warner Cable, Comcast has announced their new bandwidth cap policy and it makes even less sense than Time Warner Cable’s. Instead of charging customers for overages, Comcast will simply scale back network throughput to customers who use a lot of bandwidth. At least Time Warner Cable’s tax is arguably in place to pay for infrastructure enhancements. Comcast’s strategy is to slow down power users and drive them from their Internet service. I’m not sure alienating power users is a good business strategy. The power users are the ones that the aunts, uncles, grandmas, and grandpas go to for advise when selecting an ISP. Since when is alienating influencers a sound business strategy?
These companies just don’t seem to get it. Increased bandwidth usage by virtually every subscriber is inevitable. Digital delivery is here to stay and bandwidth usage is only going to increase. Instead of trying to keep users on their current infrastructure and punishing them when their use causes the system to groan, Comcast and Time Warner Cable should be focusing on updating their infrastructure like their competitors, the telcos, are doing.
Sphere: Related ContentTime Warner Cable Taxes Bandwidth: You Lose, They Lose
June 3rd, 2008
On the same day Starbucks rolled out free Wi-Fi to customers (purchase required), Time Warner Cable also rolled out Internet bandwidth overage fees. The two companies actions couldn’t be more different. Starbucks has realized that instead of charging for Internet access, an annoyance for users, free Wi-Fi will attract more customers and keep them in their stores increasing the chance of purchases. Time Warner has taken the opposite approach by taxing users who consume more bandwidth than Time Warner Cable likes. Their executive vice president of advanced technology, Kevin Leddy, explained that he believes “it’s the fairest way to finance the needed investment in the infrastructure.”
I don’t use Time Warner Cable for Internet access but they do provide me with cable TV for a modest monthly price of $103.11 (digital HD with HBO is expensive — don’t let their ads tell you otherwise). I decided to figure out how much this new tax would cost me if I used them for Internet access given my current bandwidth usage.
Checking my Tomato router logs, I downloaded 44.36 GB and uploaded 33.22 GB in May 2008 which reflects a pretty typical month for me. A large majority of this bandwidth is due to my Vudu box which is constantly transferring movies over a peer-to-peer network (it’s legal of course) but a significant amount of it is also probably from iTunes purchases and watching TV shows at ABC.com and Hulu.
Time Warner Cable’s new fees reflect total amount transferred (in my case 77.58 GB for the month). Their new pricing is $29.95 for a paltry 768 Kbps transfer rate and a 5 GB monthly limit and $54.90 for a much faster 15 Mbps with a 40 GB limit and $1/GB over the limit. I’m currently an AT&T High Speed Elite subscriber for which I pay $34.99/month and get close to a 6.0 Mbps downstream with a 768 Kbps upstream with no known limit. Let’s compare that to Time Warner Cable’s fees:
- AT&T High Speed Internet Elite: cost per month $34.99
- TWC 768 Kbps Package: $29.95 + $72.58 overage fee = $102.53
- TWC 15 Mbps Package: $54.90 + $37.58 overage fee = $92.48
With those prices, AT&T is almost a third cheaper any way you slice it.
It’s too bad Time Warner Cable is moving in this direction. Digital distribution is really starting to hit the mainstream with devices like the Vudu, AppleTV, and Roku’s Netflix Player. I fired up iTunes and selected a random movie, 27 Dresses which is 1.25 GB. Do you really want to have to think about paying your ISP an extra $1.25 when you rent a movie for $3.99 (that’s almost a 24% tax which would be even higher for an older movie)? Hopefully we’ll see consumers leave Time Warner Cable for other ISPs and Time Warner Cable can continue to deliver sub par cable TV until they find themselves obsolete when everything is delivered over IP.
Sphere: Related ContentShame on Comcast
February 26th, 2008
Comcast’s actions at today’s FCC hearing are shameful. Not only are they controlling what their customers can and cannot access online (or at least how quickly they can access the content), they’re now controlling who can and cannot attend public hearings. I used to have Comcast as my cable provider until Time Warner Cable came to town and took over their DMA. I’ve always had DSL since I don’t believe cable companies know how to run networks evidenced by their inability to deliver television reliably.
I hope the FCC decides to punish Comcast for their move against net neutrality and that their customers punish them for their actions at today’s FCC hearing.
Sphere: Related ContentThe Dunning-Kruger Effect
January 4th, 2008
I wish to bring your attention to a very serious disorder, one that probably affects millions of Americans. Do you know someone who’s incompetent but thinks s/he’s really intelligent and knows more than people who are actually experts in a field? If so, that person may be suffering from the Dunning-Kruger Effect.
Symptoms may include:
- Overestimating their own level of skill.
- Failing to recognize genuine skill in others.
- Failing to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy.
Seek medical attention for them immediately.
Sphere: Related ContentIs Best Buy SIRIUS?
December 29th, 2007
How’s this for a post-Christmas sale? Best Buy is offering a $50 SIRIUS gift card for a bargain price of $55. That’s right, they’re charging $5 more than the gift card is worth. On what planet does that make sense? Keep in mind these guys are the country’s largest electronics retailers. I personally feel the company preys off of the public’s naiveté of technology and consumer electronics. The company has had a miserable year PR wise within the technology community. Some highlights include:
- Geek Squad Stealing Customer’s Porn
- Lawsuit Alleging that in In Store Kiosks Show Different Pricing Than the Best Buy Site
- Complete Cluelessness about HD
- Open Box Items Costing More Than New Items
- …and who knows about countless others
Gift card story via Consumerist.com.
Sphere: Related ContentThe Beeb Tells Time Old School Style
December 19th, 2007
The BBC recently debuted a new design of their site (in beta form of course) and curiously, they have an analog (or is it analogue for them?) clock at the top right of their page. Why on earth would you put an analog clock on your site? Since where have you been at a computer that didn’t have a clock built into the OS and why analog? Really bizarre if you ask me.
Sphere: Related ContentBest Buy Acts Shocked That Consumers Don’t Understand HDTV
September 25th, 2007
According to CNNMoney.com, 90% of consumers surveyed in a study commissioned by Best Buy, are confused about high definition televisions. Why the country’s #1 electronics retailer should act shocked that consumers don’t understand what they’re not being properly educated about is beyond me. Education starts with the sales staff and for anyone who has ever stepped foot in a Best Buy, it’s quite clear the sales staff know next to nothing about the electronics industry or technology.
I recently went shopping with my dad for an HDTV. Best Buy was one of the places we stopped by and was by far the worst shopping experience of the stores we went to. Half the HDTV floor models weren’t even working, for the ones that were, the signal they were sending to the TVs appeared to be below standard definition, and the sales people were easily stumped when asked relatively simple questions that I’m sure most consumers ask. They were even stumped when asked questions that don’t relate to technology at all and instead involve delivery policies.
Instead of commissioning studies and then lamenting the results, maybe Best Buy should actually put some time and money into training their sales force in a visible and thorough manner.
Sphere: Related ContentRoy Pearson’s Pants Are on Fire
June 25th, 2007
Roy Pearson, the man suing a cleaners for $54 million over lost pants, got his day in court today and shockingly lost (the case was tossed by the judge) and may now have to pay legal fees which unfortunately don’t amount to $54 million. According to ABC News, the hearing was brief yet emotional and “Pearson broke down in tears and had to take a break from his testimony because he became too emotional while questioning himself about his experience with the missing trousers.”
Is this guy for real? Pearson should sue himself for losing his dignity and the rest of us should sue him for waisting the court’s time with this insanely stupid lawsuit.
Sphere: Related ContentWatch Out McCarthy, Amazon.com Wants to Turn Me Into a Communist
June 8th, 2007
I went to buy a Father’s Day gift on Amazon.com this morning and happened to glance at the “Recommended for You” section of the home page. Imagine my surprise when Amazon.com recommended Karl Marx’s “The Communist Manifesto”! You know, only 40 years ago Amazon.com would have been dragged before Congress, shut down, and Jeff Bezos would be in prison somewhere. Funny how times change.