Today that ‘person’ would the the Staff and Company Comcast. I will tell you a story. Last year, my wife and I moved into a new apartment [temporary] in the basement of Grandmother, she is a sweet kind lady. She had a cable tap already and so I figured we could save 45$ a month by just getting internet with Comcast. As apposed to getting a phone line and DSL. I talked to the sales rep and I could use my 3yr old cable box from my previous provider. Sweet, save a little money.

December, somewhere around the 1st, I called to have my service terminated on the 15th of December because we were moving again. I though, good all done, they will send me a credit for my over payment and it will be all good.

Today, I am livid! Oh boy, I have been hung up on THREE times this morning and it was not even 8:30AM. The last person I talked to told me that I couldn’t use another cable providers box and the 48.66$ bill was because I owed them a cable box. Wait, there is no rental fee on any of my bills for one – head scratching. “You will have to call Comcast Credit”. So, I call Comcast Credit before 8:30AM and I am sent to vMail because apparently they are already bogged down with people calling them with problems.

I just don’t understand it, I was even polite and not sarcastic – once [meaning not once and not more than once]! Which, if you know me will be hard to believe. I am appalled at their customer service.

As side note, I could never get logged into their billing website or my eMail/personal account. I couldn’t even setup electronic billing!!! My landlord would bring the bill down when it came despite the fact I had tried to get it sent to my mailing address.

Com-CRAP-stic!  They need some Charim in the soft jumbo roll to clean up that crap!

iron wil

Personally this whole issue chaps my hide!

Does the US Government charge people for using the Interstates? NO! Anybody can use the interstate highway system and state highways [not to mention local roads etc.. True there are Toll roads, but they are limited and used to provide greater speed or access for the person driving. So, if I want more speed than I should pay for higher bandwidth NOT for the sites I visit. This is the crux of the whole DAMN issue.

If I want to use the bandwidth that I pay for every month then I should be allowed; without Com-craptic [my current ISP] curtailing my Bit Torrent traffic [or cutting it off all together - I am not quite sure]. If I order a T1 then I expect T1 service, if I order Home Cable Internet then I expect to get my speed bursts when I need them. I sure would like the minimum for my Bit Torrent or other traffic.

Yes, I am saying that if I was limited to the guaranteed amount of bandwidth, that would be fine, but they are killing all of my Bit Torrent traffic. I am so looking forward to moving into the new apartment – whole new provider that previously didn’t do any bandwidth shaping or filtering out something I maybe downloading.

Sheesh, I can’t wait for the speeds that the Japanese and Koreans get – sigh^{2 & 3}.

iron wil

Notes:

1) MSNBC, Justice Dept. against ‘Net neutrality’.

2) Washington Post, Japan’s Warp Speed Ride to Internet Future.

3) InformationWeek, South Korea And Japan Are Blitzing The World At Internet Speed.

Every once in a while something great comes along and fills a specific need. Once there was Napster, then Kazaa, BearShare, and LimeWire. Then off in the cold north grew a small group started selling music according to ROMS; which is the Russian Organization for Multimedia and Digital Systems – which they fell under (loosely). They were closed because Russian wants to be part of the WTO (World Trade Organization), which I could care less about.

It was a great service, a fair price for music and they regularly paid the royalties that the Russian Government set as the percentage. This service was right in the sweet spot, under iTunes in pricing and one wasn’t “stealing” music via file sharing. So, for many people it was the right service at the right price. [Sidenote: 320kbs encoding for between 15 to 30 cents; per song. iTunes Plus has a max of 256kbs for $1.29.]

I have to admit that the file sharing “ISSUE” as the RIAA has drawn it, means that even songs that are paid for under Russian law are illegal [when they are bought from another country]. AllofMP3 did put up a legal notice, but didn’t prevent anyone from buying music from their site. Which can be considered shady.

I will be honest, aside from iTunes, there is not a decent music store out there unless you have a Sam Goody, Super Wal-Mart or a local record shop. I only buy music on sale. And when I import cds into iTunes, I always use the highest quality setting. I can’t hear every nuance; but I like knowing that as much depth as possible is in my mp3 file.

I don’t know where the masses will turn to next, but I sure hope that AllofMP3 can be resurrected like ThePirateBay.

iron wil

Notes:

(1) AllofMP3 Wikipedia Article

I have to be honest, I like Office, but as you know, I don’t like the price (cough – arm and leg). I covered this in enough detail in a previous article. In the story on ZDNet Australia, the writer conveys the thoughts of both Microsoft and OpenOffice.

Microsoft has been pushing OXML through the system to get it approved as an Open XML format for savings different document types [like .doc, .xls, .ppt etc.] the struggle comes in that ODF has already gained approval [and acceptance]. A nice feature of ODF is that the suite of software does not take precedence over the document itself; meaning that I can use several different text or spreadsheet programs to edit my file, like StarOffice, Google’s Writely, and Lotus Notes¹.

The point here is that many companies are getting on board and Microsoft’s complaint is that they will have to make changes because ODF is getting the support that they are after. Several governing bodies, including Massachusetts, California, the Department of Defense, Belgium, and Denmark, have officially made ODF the standard for their documents¹. This means that they will have to be able to read and save in these formats. They are not dictating what software package will be used to do that job! This is an important note, because Microsoft could drop OXML and implement ODF and probably stay in their cushy desktop domination position. Instead, they want the rest of the world to adopt their implementation.

I feel that it is imperative that access to your documents and spreadsheets are more important than what Office Suite you are using to edit them. I mean that is the whole point, isn’t it? Look at websites, we have HTML, it is the standard that allows all browsers to ‘read’ the internet pages and display the content². Granted ODF is not perfect and it has its short comings, however, it has a strong support base and they are working to improve ODF³.

Before to long it will be a strong and well defined standard & many will flock to ODF because it will provide a way for everyone to send, read, edit, and return documents.

iron wil

Notes: some content has been used from the following articles

1) What Is OpenDocument, by Sam Hiser.

2) When Standards Are Political — ODF (the Open Document Format), by James Love.

3) Open Document, Wikipedia.

I had a Nokia, a small & simple phone; however, I was only calling & texting. So, off we marched to the store for something else . . . like frustration . . . all the “new” phones @ the yellow carrier had all these extra features. I was happy with my phone, why couldn’t they just give me a new SIM card so that I could keep my great phone & switch [which WE (as in the royal “We”) decided to do because not only did the new Mrs. have yellow, but so did almost my whole family]. I think we spent a total of 6 hours between the website and the store. I finally accepted a small “free” Nokia that was similar to what I was using <read VERY unhappy and not what I wanted>.

This change would make things easier for us, and I was on-board with that. Over time, my disappointment in the “new” phone grew, it had the company’s custom software and it limited the features. I started to do some research and reading and found out that in Europe [where they don’t always do things better] you buy a phone and you can switch from mobile carrier to carrier based on need or promotions or “whatever”. It got me thinking . . . hmmm . . . why aren’t phones more like PCs?

I mean really, most of us have the choice between ISPs. I spent time thinking about the early days of the Internet with AOHelL, CompuServe, and a host of dial-ups that provided custom software to “help” you surf the net. I felt that they did more to hinder what a person could do then allow them to experience or explore the net. In time these were replaced by phone & cable companies that provided ‘direct’ access to the Internet but didn’t try to spoon-feed it to you.

Today, after more growing pains, you buy a computer from whoever suits your fancy and you connect it to your ISP, voilá the net is open to everyone. Linux, Mac, and Windows systems it doesn’t matter!!! Buy a cell phone & you are forced obligated to a one or two year contract for a discount [sometimes] on your phone. I really hate this model! There are some carriers that are working to change the way we communicate, like Helio, Virgin Mobile, and Amp’d.

We don’t really have a service provider that will stick their proverbial neck out there for the consumer. I would love to be able to take My Phone [I mean, I did pay full price for my last one - 600$ worth!] to the better provider. I have left & paid the cancellation charges in the past. Yes, I had to re-input my phonebook; but it was worth it to switch. I was much happier with the other provider . . . and would still be there if not for the whole marriage and family issue.

Now, Alltel and Cingular are making headway in their own ways, Alltel, pushing the feature envelope & Cingular has almost every phone out there. But we are still left in the clutches of their service contracts, the fees, and hassle of changing phones.

I hope that we can help them “see” that if they provide the best service; including affordable and own-able media, connection to their network, and great phones; people would migrate and stay. Especially with good customer service, that can be a nail in the coffin for some.

iron wil