hackdna.blogspot.com

Comcast introduces new network management technique

2008-10-22T00:30:00.005-05:00

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.

DSL offer

2008-10-21T12:40:00.003-05:00

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.

Corporate greed and stupidity

2008-07-02T12:32:00.006-05:00

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.

Around The World By Private Jet: $97,970

2008-05-08T01:08:00.002-05:00

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? ;)

Need For Speed

2007-11-17T17:57:00.000-05:00

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.

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

2007-05-14T23:47:00.000-05:00

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."

Brain scans pinpoint cannabis mental health risk

2007-04-30T21:56:00.000-05:00

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."

Hacking Your Body's Bacteria for Better Health

2007-04-28T12:10:00.000-05:00

From an article in Wired:

Modern humans are bacteria-killing machines. We assassinate microbes with hand soap, mouthwash and bathroom cleaners. It feels clean and right.
...
And it now appears that our daily antibacterial regimens are disrupting a balance that once protected humans from health problems, especially allergies and malfunctioning immune responses.

"After the Second World War, when our lifestyles changed dramatically, allergies increased. Autoimmune diseases like diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease are increasing," says Kaarina Kukkonen, a University of Helsinki allergy expert. "The theory behind (what causes) the diseases is the same: Lacking bacterial stimulation in our environments may cause this increase. I think this is the tip of the iceberg."

Belkin Refund

2007-04-27T23:51:00.000-05:00

According to a post in Broadband Reports:

"Apparently, if you bought one of the following models in the last 5 years, you can get all your money back as part of a new class action settlement. The lawsuit was filed against Belkin for selling hardware that did not achieve the advertised Mbps data throughput or connectivity ranges in real world environments."

Settlement claim information from Belkin website.

Luxury Trans-Siberia Train

2007-04-26T20:02:00.001-05:00

From a Reuters article:

The Golden Eagle ... offers passengers ensuite bathrooms, underfloor heating and plasma screen TVs in every cabin along the 9,300 kilometer (5,778 miles) Moscow to Vladivostok route, one of the longest train trips in the world.

A single ticket on the Golden Eagle will cost up to 9,595 pounds ($19,235) for the 13- to 15-day journey. A ticket on a normal Russian train costs around 10,000 roubles ($400) for the seven-day nonstop trip.

InterContinental Boston

2007-03-27T00:33:00.000-05:00

A new hotel has opened recently on the Boston waterfront. According to this article and the hotel website, it has:

a 24-hour full-service restaurant called Miel with a 60-seat waterfront patio: "[At] 3am, eating a crepe out in the garden during July, [Miel's] going to be great"
RumBa - a "rum and champagne bar"
SUSHI-TEQ - a "very innovative, new concept" that "pairs sushi and vintage tequila"

I can't wait for their waterfront patio to open this spring. Boston needs more of outdoor cafes, bars and restaurants.

IN+ERACT 2

2007-03-26T22:13:00.000-05:00

I went to IN+ERACT 2 last Friday. It was an artsy party held at Villa Victoria (former 19th century church in the South End) - a pretty cool venue with nice ambiance. There was a lot of beautiful and stylish people, DJs playing cool house music, an art show, live body painting, a fashion show and dancers from the Boston Conservatory performing behind a shadow wall set on stage to the music beats. Here are some pictures I've taken with my cell phone.

IN+ERACT 2

A Night In Tunisia

2007-03-26T21:04:00.000-05:00

I went to a free concert at the Berklee College of Music (Recital Hall 1W) today. Walid Zairi (a Tunisian-born bassist) played five standards ("Whisper Not" by Benny Golson, "No Greater Love" by Isham Jones, "One by One" by Wayne Shorter, "Calypso Minor" by Abdullah Ibrahim and "Senior Blues" by Horace Silver) with a jazz quintet (sax, trombone, piano, bass and drums). It was a fun and interactive experience: musicians encouraged audience participation and half-jokingly asked if there was a singer in the audience for a blues song they played as an encore.

Genzyme Center tour

2007-03-14T02:24:00.000-05:00

Genzyme is an international biotechnology company founded in Boston, MA, USA in 1981. Last Friday I went to see their new corporate headquarters building on a tour organized by the MIT Energy Club. This building has earned a Platinum certification - the highest under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™. The Genzyme Center is also pretty cool: natural light is everywhere, all workers have a view outside and there are several hundred windows that can be opened to let in the fresh air any time of the year. A virtual tour is available as well as some photos I've taken.

Genzyme Tour 2007

What Would Jesus Wiki?

2007-03-07T13:27:00.000-05:00

From an article in Wired:

An alternative Wikipedia written by conservative Christians has become a major target of mockery on the web.

Conservapedia brands itself on its main page as "a much-needed alternative to Wikipedia, which is increasingly anti-Christian and anti-American."

Conservapedia's entry on kangaroos says that, "like all modern animals ... kangaroos are the descendants of the two founding members of the modern kangaroo baramin that were taken aboard Noah's Ark prior to the Great Flood."

Herding the Mob

2007-03-02T16:50:00.000-05:00

An article by Annalee Newitz in WIRED Magazine discusses the concept of crowdhacking or manipulating the "wisdom of the crowds":

"Today we harness the masses for everything from choosing the next pop star on American Idol to perfecting open source software and assembling Wikipedia articles. But perhaps the most widespread and vital uses for group input online are in scoring systems. In addition to eBay feedback, these are the customer ratings that Amazon.com and Yahoo Shopping post with product reviews. They’re the feedback scores that Netflix tallies to help subscribers decide which movies to order. And they’re the up-or-down votes that sites like Digg and Reddit (part of the Wired Media Group, which also includes WIRED magazine) rely on to determine which stories to feed Web surfers.

But as rating systems have become more popular ... there has been what some would say is a predictable response: the emergence of scammers, spammers, and thieves bent on manipulating the mob. Call it crowdhacking."

Marijuana, the wonder drug

2007-03-01T20:57:00.000-05:00

An interesting article in the International Herald Tribune by Lester Grinspoon (an emeritus professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School). Here is an excerpt:

"Marijuana is effective at relieving nausea and vomiting, spasticity, appetite loss, certain types of pain and other debilitating symptoms. And it is extraordinarily safe — safer than most medicines prescribed every day.
If marijuana were a new discovery rather than a well-known substance carrying cultural and political baggage, it would be hailed as a wonder drug."

First post

2007-02-27T00:54:00.000-05:00

It took me a while but I've finally got a blog. I'll use this space to share things that interest me with my friends (and the world).