The longer that we stay with Comcast, the longer they suck. I know that everyone wants Digital Cable, but come on. why take away all the channels that make you want to get cable in the first place.
These assholes took away 5 channels last week and moved them to Digital cable. They need more bandwidth for the video on demand and the other digital stuff. I had digital cable when we moved to Midlo and the 'video on demand' was ok, but it had old movies. Big Freaking Deal!! Comcast has a strangle hold on the area that we live in and aside from getting Driect TV or some crap like that, i need comcast for the internet at the moment. FIOS will not happen for our neighborhood and DSL sucks. They are a necessary evil for the time being.
Perhaps they will move the rest of the semi watchable channels to digital and then we will have only local stuff to watch...
Who knows?
What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!
Showing posts with label Comcast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comcast. Show all posts
Monday, April 21, 2008
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
FCC to Probe Comcast Data Discrimination
I was waiting for this to happen and i am GLAD that it is going to!
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Federal Communications Commission will investigate complaints that Comcast Corp. actively interferes with Internet traffic as its subscribers try to share files online, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said Tuesday.
A coalition of consumer groups and legal scholars asked the agency in November to stop Comcast from discriminating against certain types of data. Two groups also asked the FCC to fine the nation's No. 2 Internet provider $195,000 for every affected subscriber.
"Sure, we're going to investigate and make sure that no consumer is going to be blocked," Martin told an audience at the International Consumer Electronics Show.
In an investigation last year, The Associated Press found that Comcast in some cases hindered file sharing by subscribers who used BitTorrent, a popular file-sharing program. The findings, first reported Oct. 19, confirmed claims by users who also noticed interference with other file-sharing applications.
Comcast denies that it blocks file sharing, but acknowledged after the AP story that it was "delaying" some of the traffic between computers that share files. The company said the intervention was necessary to improve the surfing experience for the majority of its subscribers.
Peer-to-peer file sharing is a common way to illegally exchange copyright files, but companies are also rushing to utilize it for legal distribution of video and game content. If ISPs hinder or control that traffic, it makes them important gatekeepers of Internet content.
The FCC's response will be an important test of its willingness to enforce "Net Neutrality," the principle that Internet traffic be treated equally by carriers. The agency has a broadly stated policy supporting the concept, but its position hasn't been tested in a real-world case.
The FCC's policy statement makes an exception for "reasonable traffic management." Comcast has said its practices fall under that exception.
"The question is going to arise: Are they reasonable network practices?" Martin said Tuesday. "When they have reasonable network practices, they should disclose those and make those public."
Comcast subscribers who asked the company about interference on their connections before the AP story ran were met with flat denials.
A Comcast spokesman did not have an immediate comment.
Martin also said the commission was looking at complaints that wireless carriers denied text-messaging "short codes" to some applicants. The five-digit numbers are a popular way to sign up for updates on everything from sports to politics to entertainment news.
Verizon Wireless in late September denied a request by Naral Pro-Choice America, an abortion rights group, to use its mobile network for a sign-up text messaging program.
The company reversed course just a day later, calling it a mistake and an "isolated incident."
Verizon Wireless has also denied a short code to a Swedish company, Rebtel Networks AB, that operates a service similar to a virtual calling card, allowing users to avoid paying the carrier's international rates on their cell-phone calls. Verizon Wireless has stuck to that denial, saying it does want to provide an advertising venue to a competitor.
"I tell the staff that they should act on all of those complaints and investigate all of them," Martin said.
Hosted by 
Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 
What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Senators want probe on content blocking...
I figured that Comcast and Verizon would get their asses in a sling from their actions. I did several posts a few weeks ago about these issues.
By DIBYA SARKAR, AP Business Writer
WASHINGTON - Two Senators on Friday called for a congressional hearing to investigate reports that phone and cable companies are unfairly stifling communications over the Internet and on cell phones.
Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said the incidents involving several companies, including Comcast Corp., Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc., have raised serious concerns over the companies' "power to discriminate against content."
They want the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee to investigate whether such incidents were based on legitimate business policies or unfair and anticompetitive practices and if more federal regulation is needed.
"The phone and cable companies have previously stated that they would never use their market power to operate as content gatekeepers and have called efforts to put rules in place to protect consumers 'a solution in search of a problem,'" they said in a letter to Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, the committee's chairman.
A committee spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter.
An Associated Press report on Oct. 19 detailed how Comcast Corp. was interfering with file sharing by some of its Internet subscribers. The AP found instances in some areas of the country where traffic was blocked or delayed significantly.
Comcast — the nation's No. 2 Internet provider — has acknowledged "delaying" some subscriber Internet data, but said the delays are temporary and intended to improve surfing for other users.
Verizon Wireless in late September denied a request by Naral Pro-Choice America, an abortion rights group, to use its mobile network for a sign-up text messaging program.
The company reversed course just a day later, calling it a mistake and an "isolated incident."
AT&T reportedly changed a service agreement that previously included language permitting the company to cancel accounts of Internet users who disparage the company.
Several lawmakers, including Dorgan, earlier this year introduced so-called legislation promoting "Net neutrality," which is the principle that all Internet traffic be treated equally by carriers.
Equal treatment of traffic is long-standing practice on the Internet. The legislation is a response to suggestions by phone companies that they would like charge Web sites extra for preferential treatment of their traffic.
Verizon Wireless is a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and Britain-based Vodafone Group PLC.
What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!
By DIBYA SARKAR, AP Business Writer
WASHINGTON - Two Senators on Friday called for a congressional hearing to investigate reports that phone and cable companies are unfairly stifling communications over the Internet and on cell phones.
Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said the incidents involving several companies, including Comcast Corp., Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc., have raised serious concerns over the companies' "power to discriminate against content."
They want the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee to investigate whether such incidents were based on legitimate business policies or unfair and anticompetitive practices and if more federal regulation is needed.
"The phone and cable companies have previously stated that they would never use their market power to operate as content gatekeepers and have called efforts to put rules in place to protect consumers 'a solution in search of a problem,'" they said in a letter to Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, the committee's chairman.
A committee spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter.
An Associated Press report on Oct. 19 detailed how Comcast Corp. was interfering with file sharing by some of its Internet subscribers. The AP found instances in some areas of the country where traffic was blocked or delayed significantly.
Comcast — the nation's No. 2 Internet provider — has acknowledged "delaying" some subscriber Internet data, but said the delays are temporary and intended to improve surfing for other users.
Verizon Wireless in late September denied a request by Naral Pro-Choice America, an abortion rights group, to use its mobile network for a sign-up text messaging program.
The company reversed course just a day later, calling it a mistake and an "isolated incident."
AT&T reportedly changed a service agreement that previously included language permitting the company to cancel accounts of Internet users who disparage the company.
Several lawmakers, including Dorgan, earlier this year introduced so-called legislation promoting "Net neutrality," which is the principle that all Internet traffic be treated equally by carriers.
Equal treatment of traffic is long-standing practice on the Internet. The legislation is a response to suggestions by phone companies that they would like charge Web sites extra for preferential treatment of their traffic.
Verizon Wireless is a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and Britain-based Vodafone Group PLC.
What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!
Monday, September 17, 2007
As clear as mud...
According to a recent post on GameDaily BIZ, Comcast had said what excessive is. Here is the article. There have been several posts about this on Slashdot and other sites. So even if I were the biggest spammer in the world, I might not get banned by Comcast as long as I do not reach the 13 million Email mark!! So, we are looking at somewhere in the 500+gig a month area. Not too shabby if you ask me. It looks like they are the most lenient out of all of the major carriers.
Earlier this week, we heard a radio report that talked about a few people who were losing their high-speed Internet access through Comcast. The company cited that these users went above and beyond the average use of most users and branded the former customers as "excessive users." In what appeared fishy, the report said that Comcast would not define how the company defined the term.
Now that the three current next gen consoles offer online connectivity for downloads, competition and system updates, we were worried that our own personal "download every demo that will fit on the Xbox 360 hard drive" might get us banned too.
Charlie Douglas, a spokesperson for Comcast Corporation, called back to clarify what "excessive usage" means and why the company's actions to end its relationship with these customers is good for gamers. First, Douglas defines Comcast's "excessive use" as any customer who downloads the equivalent of 30,000 songs, 250,000 pictures or 13 million emails in a month.
In short, even if you played a marathon World of Warcraft session for weeks while downloading the massive amount of demos on Xbox 360 and sprinkled with the not so massive amount of demos on the PlayStation Network, you are still not close to getting banned.
Douglas said that Comcast's actions to cut ties with excessive users is a "great benefit to games and helps protect gamers and their game experience" due to their overuse of the network and thus "degrading the experience."
Comcast has been a big supporter of gaming for years with its Game Invasion news, information and game purchasing web site and its well-known G4 TV network, which televises some of gaming's biggest events.
by Micheal Mullen
What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!
Earlier this week, we heard a radio report that talked about a few people who were losing their high-speed Internet access through Comcast. The company cited that these users went above and beyond the average use of most users and branded the former customers as "excessive users." In what appeared fishy, the report said that Comcast would not define how the company defined the term.
Now that the three current next gen consoles offer online connectivity for downloads, competition and system updates, we were worried that our own personal "download every demo that will fit on the Xbox 360 hard drive" might get us banned too.
Charlie Douglas, a spokesperson for Comcast Corporation, called back to clarify what "excessive usage" means and why the company's actions to end its relationship with these customers is good for gamers. First, Douglas defines Comcast's "excessive use" as any customer who downloads the equivalent of 30,000 songs, 250,000 pictures or 13 million emails in a month.
In short, even if you played a marathon World of Warcraft session for weeks while downloading the massive amount of demos on Xbox 360 and sprinkled with the not so massive amount of demos on the PlayStation Network, you are still not close to getting banned.
Douglas said that Comcast's actions to cut ties with excessive users is a "great benefit to games and helps protect gamers and their game experience" due to their overuse of the network and thus "degrading the experience."
Comcast has been a big supporter of gaming for years with its Game Invasion news, information and game purchasing web site and its well-known G4 TV network, which televises some of gaming's biggest events.
by Micheal Mullen
What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Bit Torrent and Comcast
According to the latest reports, Comcast is hindering Bit Torrent traffic and doing packet shaping. Their method of "throttling" torrent traffic is sending RST packets.
These are the ports that will be affected: (Brian's BitTorrent FAQ and Guide)
Prior to version 3.2, BitTorrent by default uses ports in the range of 6881-6889. As of 3.2 and later, the range has been extended to 6881-6999. (These are all TCP ports, BitTorrent does not use UDP.)
Intrusion detection
"A standard transmission control protocol (TCP) connection is established by sending a SYN packet to the destination computer. If the destination is waiting for a connection on the specified port, it responds with a SYN/ACK packet. The initial sender replies with an ACK packet, and the connection is established. If the destination computer is not waiting for a connection on the specified port, it responds with an RST packet.
Most system logs do not log completed connections until the final ACK packet is received from the source. Sending an RST(Reset) packet instead of the final ACK results in the connection never actually being established."
INFO: Winsock TCP Connection Performance to Unused Ports
"Upon receiving the ACK/RST client from the target host, the client determines that there is indeed no service listening there. In the Microsoft Winsock implementation of TCP, a pending connection will keep attempting to issue SYN packets until a maximum retry value is reached (set in the registry, this value defaults to 3 extra times).
Since an ACK/RST was received from the target host, the TCP layer knows that the target host is indeed reachable and will not double the time-out value in the packet's IP header, as is standard during connection attempts with unacknowledged SYNs. Instead, the pending connection will wait for the base connection's time-out value and reissue another SYN packet to initiate a connection. As long as an ACK/RST packet from an unused port is received, the time-out value will not increase and the process will repeat until the maximum retry value is reached."
So perhaps a way around this is to not use the normal ports that are associated with regular Bit Torrent Protocols as I am sure that they are being monitored. If this is done to all ports then people will start to complain about their service being disrupted on a wide range scale.
What is your opinion?
These are the ports that will be affected: (Brian's BitTorrent FAQ and Guide)
Prior to version 3.2, BitTorrent by default uses ports in the range of 6881-6889. As of 3.2 and later, the range has been extended to 6881-6999. (These are all TCP ports, BitTorrent does not use UDP.)
Intrusion detection
"A standard transmission control protocol (TCP) connection is established by sending a SYN packet to the destination computer. If the destination is waiting for a connection on the specified port, it responds with a SYN/ACK packet. The initial sender replies with an ACK packet, and the connection is established. If the destination computer is not waiting for a connection on the specified port, it responds with an RST packet.
Most system logs do not log completed connections until the final ACK packet is received from the source. Sending an RST(Reset) packet instead of the final ACK results in the connection never actually being established."
INFO: Winsock TCP Connection Performance to Unused Ports
"Upon receiving the ACK/RST client from the target host, the client determines that there is indeed no service listening there. In the Microsoft Winsock implementation of TCP, a pending connection will keep attempting to issue SYN packets until a maximum retry value is reached (set in the registry, this value defaults to 3 extra times).
Since an ACK/RST was received from the target host, the TCP layer knows that the target host is indeed reachable and will not double the time-out value in the packet's IP header, as is standard during connection attempts with unacknowledged SYNs. Instead, the pending connection will wait for the base connection's time-out value and reissue another SYN packet to initiate a connection. As long as an ACK/RST packet from an unused port is received, the time-out value will not increase and the process will repeat until the maximum retry value is reached."
So perhaps a way around this is to not use the normal ports that are associated with regular Bit Torrent Protocols as I am sure that they are being monitored. If this is done to all ports then people will start to complain about their service being disrupted on a wide range scale.
What is your opinion?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
DSC00210 , originally uploaded by RMStringer . Phillip Glyn and Ridding High at Solley's Disco Saturday night 1-2-2010. Taken with the S...
-
If you want to Purchase any of my musics, Please go to https://djrenigade.bandcamp.com/ Dj Renigade is founder of RenigadeCineTrax and the ...
