Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Comcast introduces new network management technique

I've received an email from Comcast describing their new "network congestion management" technique. They claim that it:
  • would only affect less than 1% of all users on average and is "protocol-agnostic"
  • is temporary and it has nothing to do with aggregate monthly data usage (it is dynamic and based on prevailing network conditions as well as very recent data usage)
Also, they provided some concrete numbers: "customers’ accounts must exceed a certain percentage of their upstream or downstream (both currently set at 70%) bandwidth for longer than a certain period of time, currently set at fifteen minutes."

This technique is in addition to and is distinct from the recently declared 250GB monthly traffic cap.

It sounds like Comcast will be temporarily increasing latency during a congestion for customers who are using more bandwidth than others at the moment. I wonder why can't they simply divide all the available bandwidth among all the users who request it? This way the slowdown would be spread among many customers and thus would only affect each one slightly instead of a few a lot.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

DSL offer

I just got this offer with via two letters from Verizon:
  • free service for 6 months with a one-year agreement (768K, 3M, 7.1M)
  • free modem, shipping and activation
  • voice service required?
  • http://verizon.com/bestoffer31 (expires 10/31/08)
  • http://verizon.com/bestoffer16 (no expiration date listed)
I would have probably switched from Comcast to save some money but for some reason Verizon doesn't offer the 7.1M service to my residence.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Corporate greed and stupidity

I've lost my T-Mobile SIM card during a trip to Montreal last weekend. I took the card out because once a T-Mobile phone switches to international roaming, T-Mobile starts charging steep fees (e.g., $1.49/min in Mexico and $0.49/min in Canada) for each call until your phone switches back to T-Mobile's network. The problem lies with their outrageous definition of "each call": it literally includes all outgoing and incoming calls - even the ones that you don't answer! To make matters worse, T-Mobile doesn't make this information available in their Terms of Service or via their customer service representatives. I've found out about this only after I've received my phone bill following my trip to Mexico earlier this year.

But back to the SIM card. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal since my phone book is stored in the phone itself and T-Mobile currently sells a prepaid SIM card on their website for $6.99. So I went to a T-Mobile store and they informed me that a replacement SIM would cost $19.99 plus tax ($1). I asked if they could provide me with a discount for being a customer for several years but they told me to call customer service. So that's what I did. The rep quoted me the same price and here's the dialog that followed:

Me: This is very high price, especially compared to what T-Mobile sells the prepaid SIMs for. Could you give me a discount for being a loyal customer?
Rep: We don't offer discounts on SIMs, only on service and handsets.
Me: Btw, what is the difference between the two types of cards other than a label?
Rep: You would have to select a new phone number to use a prepaid card.
Me: I feel like I'm being strong armed into being severely overcharged. Since I'm out of contract, it appears that it would actually be cheaper for me to switch providers: I'd get a new phone plus a SIM card for free with a new contract and retain my phone number in the process.
Rep: It is certainly your option.
Me: OK, then I would like to cancel my service.
Rep (laughing): Why didn't you say that you wanted to cancel in the beginning?
Me: That's because I didn't want to do that. I just wanted to get a replacement SIM card at a reasonable price.
Rep: OK, let me pull you account info.
Rep (a few seconds later): We might be able to give you a card for free, let me send a quick email to my supervisor.
Me: That would be great.
Rep (after a few more seconds): My supervisor approved the request, so we are going to send you a card for free.

I understand that it's probably not the reps fault: they are just low-level employees reading from scripts but what kind of idiot would come up with the scripts that would lead to a scenario like this? Basically, the company refuses to play nice and deal with a customer unless that customer has heavy leverage. What happened to the "service" and "customer is always right"? When did these ideas get replaced by greed and stupidity? It surely didn't happen often in the US just ten years ago but now it happens almost every time you have to deal with a corporation.

You might be wondering why don't I switch to a different provider. Well, it's because I have a very good calling plan that meets all of my needs and costs only $30 a month. I've signed up for this plan about six years ago and I have yet to see a better plan at this price point from any provider in the US. Isn't it strange to see when the price of all computer and communications technologies is falling every year? Also, the cell phone industry in the US have consistently received very bad customer service ratings across the board, so switching would be like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. This is a very good example where voting with your money doesn't work and where market has failed to come up with the best solution for the consumers.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Around The World By Private Jet: $97,970

This offer came with my American Express card statement:

Your Boeing 757 jet has been exclusively reconfigured for Abercrombie & Kent to accommodate 52 privileged guests. Our hand-selected crew attends to your every need, from remembering your favorite premium brand of spirit to suggesting the right wine at dinner. And with a staff-to-guest ratio of 1:7, service is unobtrusive but ever-present.

ForbesLife Find of the Day
Abercrombie & Kent

Any takers? ;)

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Need For Speed

A few months ago Comcast introduced PowerBoost: a temporary speed increase of up to 12Mbps downstream and up to 1,900Kbps upstream but apparently, my old modem (Motorola SB4200) was not up to the task - I never got more than 6Mbps down and 350Kbps up, so I got a rental modem (WebSTAR DPC2100) today and here are the results of a speed test! :)
Actually, the downstream went all the way up to 19Mbps and the upstream went up to 1,800Kbps when my PowerBook G4 was plugged directly into the modem, so my aging Belkin router (F5D7230-4) appears to be the bottleneck now.

Monday, May 14, 2007

U.K. Music Label Creates a Vinyl-MP3 Hybrid

From an article in Wired (emphasis is mine):

The records are beautifully packaged, double-weight vinyl discs that come with a unique code. With the code, buyers can download an unprotected, 320Kbps MP3 version of the music, to use however they like.

Publishing MP3s without the technology for digital-rights management was a deliberate choice. First Word cofounder Aly Gillani explains the DRM-free approach in terms that echo those of consumer advocate. "Once a customer has paid for the track they should be free to play it in any player," he says. "Making a legal, paid-for version of the file less useful than a copied or pirated one doesn't make sense."

Monday, April 30, 2007

Brain scans pinpoint cannabis mental health risk

According to a study mentioned in a recent Reuters article, THC (the active compound in marijuana) inhibits function in the inferior frontal cortex brain region - "area ... associated with controlling inappropriate emotional and behavioral responses to situations".

"What THC seems to be doing is switching off that part of the brain, and that was associated with how paranoid people became".

"Most users of cannabis still do not have a problem with the drug but a minority, possibly because of genetic factors, are vulnerable to long-term damage from modern skunk -- which Murray says is to old-fashioned dope what whisky is to lager."

And here's an interesting article in Forbes: The Most Exotic Brands Of Weed.
"Serious cannabis consumers often exhibit the kind of connoisseurship typical of wine lovers. The exotic varietals on the following slides are all hard to come by, and some pricey."