Comcast

Menino wants control over cable rates

adamg — Mon, 09 May 2011 12:31:53 +0000

WBUR reports the mayor will ask the FCC for the right to tell Comcast what they can do with their rates. He says Comcast has a monopoly in Boston because RCN is an also ran and Verizon refuses to light up Boston for FiOS (and why would that be?).

Comcast may care, but its contractors don't

adamg — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 16:24:43 +0000

Mark Renouf reports he was late to work because a Comcast contractor blocked traffic on Avon Street in Somerville with his truck:

MBTA Bus route #85. [Contractor] was outside when the bus came by, the driver asked him to move it, he said no and went inside the house he was working at. He finally moved it after coming out to his truck and the bus driver asked again. Sat there for ~15min.

Twitter and TV integration: Good or bad?

jeffcutler — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:27:50 +0000

Here are a handful of additional thoughts from today’s TVNext Summit at Hill Holliday in downtown Boston. Specifically, one of the hosts, Mike Proulx asked about the mindset behind using social media tools as an adjunct to TV entertainment. This includes Facebook, Twitter and other tools.

Here’s how the panel responded...

Comcastic: Cable Internet users seem plumb out of luck tonight

adamg — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 01:29:38 +0000

UPDATE, 11:15 p.m.: People beginning to report their Comcast Internet service is back up.

Twitter's currently lighting up like a working Internet modem with reports from all over of Comcast Internet outages. Bonnie Sashin reports from Brookline that when she called the Comcast customer-service number, she got a recording telling her to go online for service, which, um, hey, Comcast, maybe you're not getting the idea?

It's some sort of screwup with Comcast's DNS servers (basically, the directories the network uses to figure out how to connect you to universalhub.com or smuttyporn.com or whatever) - and is affecting the East Coast at least as far south as Virginia. The more technically minded out there suggest that if you know how to change your DNS settings, change them to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 (Google) or 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220 (OpenDNS).

Directions for switching your DNS to Google.

How Bill O'Reilly got Barry Nolan fired from a cable show almost nobody watched

adamg — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:22:11 +0000

Terry Ann Knopf reports on the Columbia Journalism Review site on the fallout from Nolan's decision to protest a local TV trade group giving an award to the Fox personality.

Via Dan Kennedy, who notes Knopf's story has an interesting background of its own - it was originally slated for the Boston Globe magazine.

Internet protocol as labor issue

adamg — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:59:07 +0000

IBEW fights with Verizon, Comcast/Xfinity over who gets to work on VoIP installations.

Remember when Boston Edison became NStar and you thought that was almost as dumb as when Boston Gas became Keyspan?

adamg — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:46:50 +0000

Feh, mere pikers. Ladies and gentlemen, meet your new cable company (well, those of you who don't subscribe to RCN):

Xfinity

No, really. Stop it, I can hear you snorting all the way up here in the hills. Or as Gizmodo puts it:

Comcast Rebrands Itself as Xfinity. Seriously? That's... That's All You Got?

Residents of Roxbury housing project could finally get cable choice

adamg — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:35:22 +0000

Comcast told the City Council today it could begin wiring the Mission Main project by April.

Today's Comcast Sucks story: Conceals service fee increase as "equipment charge" increase

jikamens — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:06:32 +0000

Comcast thinks that its customers won't notice if it increases their monthly service charge by $2, if they call it an "equipment charge" increase rather than a service charge increase. They're increasing their revenue by $358 million per year without taking on any additional costs or providing any additional services. Consumers, fight back!

Please visit http://digg.com/tech_news/Comcast_sneaks_in_rate_increase_as_equipment_charge to read more and help me publicize Comcast's most recent attempt to cheat its customers.

Thank goodness for Joe and Dave on WEEI

adamg — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:24:33 +0000

Reports coming in from all over that Comcast is in major fail mode. Will they manage to restore service before 9:47 p.m.?

UPDATE: Looks like they managed to avoide frenzied hordes of Sox fans with torches and pitchforks.

NECN now more Comcastic

adamg — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:57:54 +0000

The Globe reports Comcast is buying the piece of NECN it didn't already own.

West Roxbury to be swept by wave of Cable Guys

adamg — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:21:49 +0000

BPD Area E-5 alerts the neighborhood that Comcast is starting an "extensive" door-to-door marketing campaign in West Roxbury (it's running through June!) in which sales representatives will attempt to meet with residents to ~~take back their equipment before they drop dead from their exclusive diet of Kung Pao chicken, which is a Chinese delicacy~~ explain exciting new Comcast offerings.

Police say all Comcast sales reps will ~~have red beards and be out of shape~~ ~~sing in weird monotones about videogames~~ ~~be turtles~~ wear "Comcast Contractor" shirts and jackets and have photo IDs. Also, police emphasize:

This campaign is designed to "meet" with residents. Comcast will not be soliciting residents for money. If you are approached by individuals seeking money beware that this person may not be a Comcast representative and as always call 9-1-1 for assistance.

Don't worry, weary Westie: Cable Guy won't be followed by FIOS Guy because Verizon ~~sucks~~ doesn't offer FIOS anywhere in the largest city in New England, except for a couple of blocks in Dorchester.

Comcast Internet outage

adamg — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 23:57:25 +0000

Storm knocks out service in Brookline, Roslindale, no doubt points inbetween, but how can you report if your Internet is broken and you don't have, oh, a 'Net-enabled smartphone?

Comcast screws up digital TV test

Ron Newman — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:30:43 +0000

If you have an analog TV and analog Comcast cable service without a converter box, and you turn on WGBH-TV-2 right now, you're going to see something very wrong: video of normal WGBH programming, accompanied by audio of WGBH's continuously-looping Ready for Digital TV special.

The picture says "This TV is DTV Ready" while the sound says, from time to time, "This TV set is not ready for the switch to digital TV in February 2009". Also, the picture is shrunk down and enclosed in a black box.

WGBH says this is a "Comcast engineering problem", not a problem with WGBH's broadcast or with your TV set.

CN8 to become CN-Late

adamg — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:23:22 +0000

David Scott reports that the Comcast local channel is laying off most of its employees (including, presumably, Sara Edwards) and will end all operations in New England in early January. Some of its sports shows might wind up on Comcast SportsNet New England, he reports.