Fuck You Comcast

The Net Neutrality debate is about to heat up again, as Comcast strong arms Netflix's delivery company, Level 3, into paying higher fees to deliver content that Comcast's internet subscribers have requested.

Comcast is using its monopoly status to exact rents from Level 3 and Netflix. Many people in this country have no option when choosing an ISP. In my town, only Time Warner is available. Since there is little to no competition in the ISP arena, Comcast is able to extract unreasonable fees from content providers.

Comcast subscribers are already paying for the bandwidth, that's what their monthly payment is for. But Comcast wants to squeeze more money out of their crooked system by charging companies like Level 3 extra to provide content that Comcast customers have requested.

Internet customers are paying to have the data they want delivered to them. Had Level 3 not given in to Comcast's demands, Comcast would have breached their agreement with their subscribers by blocking Netflix content. They can do this because they know their subscribers have no other options for broadband internet.

It's a racket, it's anti-competitive, it's anti-net-neutrality, and it is illegal. The FCC needs to do it's job and prevent monopolies like Comcast from controlling what their customers can and can't get online.

Why Old Media is Dying

It's because people don't trust it. Only 25% of people trust newspapers, and only 22% trust TV news. If your business is selling information, and people don't believe you, you will soon find yourself out of a job.

Scientists Discover a Way to Pull Their Heads Out Of Their Asses

A 2003 initiative to share data and findings among 100 Alzheimer research studies has lead to a new understanding of the devastating disease.

This unprecedented data sharing is the result of a large group of scientists dropping their egos and getting together to get shit done--a rare feat in academia.

I can only hope this is the first in a growing trend of scientists acting like adults and working towards a better understanding of everything.

I'm looking forward to the science wiki featuring all data and findings of all the scientists in the world. I can only imagine what would happen if all the best research minds in the world collaborated to create a repository of their collective knowledge.

To quote the Instapundit, "Faster please."

7.5% of the World is on Facebook

500 million people are on the Facebook. It's a little crazy when you think about it.

iPhone Likely Coming To Verizon

According to insiders, Apple's Taiwanese contractors are working on a new Verizon-compatible CDMA version of the iPhone. Previously, iPhones only worked on GSM networks, used by AT&T and T-mobile.

This should be a boon to both Apple and Verizon, as the most popular smartphone + the best cellular network = lots of money.

Police Using Facebook to Connect with Community

As I found in a recent news story, the Police Department of Holly Springs, NC has started a Facebook page to better communicate with Holly Springers.

This is a great use of technology to open channels of communication between citizens and the government institutions they support, and it puts a familiar face on what could be a daunting organization.

I hope this idea spreads like wildfire.

China Lite

Following in China's footsteps, the Iranian government is cracking down on their people's ability to communicate on the internet. The government has drastically throttled the internet, slowing it to a crawl, and it has blocked e-mail service from Google and Yahoo.

This internet slowdown comes in anticipation of the 31st anniversary of the Iranian revolution. The government of Iran is looking to avoid a PR nightmare like the one they had during last June's election, when citizens used services such as Twitter and YouTube to transmit their protest globally.

Some communications experts believe that the authorities’ efforts to block Gmail could be related to Google encryption, which prevents the government from reading e-mail. Yahoo and Hotmail have not been similarly affected, one monitor said.

Whatever its motivation, the government described its e-mail disruptions as well intentioned. Saeed Mahdyun, a telecommunications official, told the semiofficial ILNA news agency that Gmail would be blocked to encourage users to switch to local e-mail services.

The government announced last week that it was starting a national e-mail service to replace foreign ones, as a way to build “trust” with the people. But the opposition says most people use Gmail and Yahoo precisely because they are suspicious of local e-mail services, which they strongly suspect are monitored by the government.

Iran is maintaining 6.5% GDP growth, but suffers from 15% inflation and 12.5% unemployment. Iran echos China's authoritarian internet policy, but without China's strong economic growth.

The situation in Iran is deteriorating. Many of the people seem resolved to change their government, but the government shows no signs of backing down. More blood will be shed before this is over.

[NYTimes via HuffPo via Kevin]

Iran: The Camera Phone is Mightier than the Sword

Iran is hurtling toward civil war, with the general populace finally fed up with the incompetent and often violent leadership. During the many protests, dissidents are being imprisoned, beaten, and tortured.

In the past, we would likely not learn of the government putting down the uprisings until months or years after the fact. However, in today's constantly connected world, we are learning about these events as they happen, through picture messaging and services like Twitter.

Watching your continuing coverage of the people of Iran continuing their fight for freedom I was struck, and touched, by the presence, in every picture, in every piece of footage, by the universal presence of cellphones and cameras. No matter how chaotic, no matter how frightened they may be, the protesters held their phones high. Not a brave few but a brave many pressed into the violence, stood right next to the regimes thugs and pointed their cameras. It seems like the ultimate act of defiance; no matter how you try to shut us down or shut us up, we will expose you. You can kill us, but the world will know that we never stopped fighting.

I urge you to continue to use your platform to show us this incredible fight. Before this started, the people of Iran seemed alien and vaguely threatening. Now, I see a young woman, veil shoved back and cellphone in the air, and this lefty atheist woman sees a sister clear across the world.

The government of Iran cannot brutalize its citizens without the entire world knowing about it in real time, thanks to information technology. I always knew the Internet was a game-changer, but I had no idea it could actually save lives.

The Web empowers people in a way never possible before. Keep snapping those pictures, people of Iran, we are behind you.

Comcast Buys NBC from GE

The future of television content distribution is happening inside Comcast. They know that owning the content they broadcast is good business, as it cuts out several layers between production and broadcast. That's why they bought a struggling NBC.

In a joint statement announcing the agreement, Brian L. Roberts, the chief executive of Comcast, said the deal was “a perfect fit for Comcast and will allow us to become a leader in the development and distribution of multiplatform ‘anytime, anywhere’ media that American consumers are demanding.” The deal’s genesis lies in frequent flirtations over the last several years between Comcast and General Electric, although serious talks began in March. For Comcast, the purchase is the realization of its long-held ambition to be a major producer of television shows and movies.

Key words: anytime, anywhere. This is the future of television, where having TV means being to watch a show anytime, and anywhere, and this acquisition brings us one step closer.

This announcement comes in the wake of Comcast's recent PR problems, where they have been repudiated for data caps and prejudicial traffic shaping.

We shall see if the Net Neutrality proponents' doomsday scenario comes true, and Comcast begins slowing competitor traffic to boost the ratings for NBC. Something tells me they're smarter than than to attempt maneuver like that, as the public eye is squarely focused on their ethics, as well as their network.

Evil/Genius: Verizon Wireless

Have you ever noticed the button on Verizon phones for Get It Now or Mobile Web? It's the large button in the middle of the D-pad or some other prominent location, and you're always hitting it accidentally.

Well, every time you hit it, if you don't have a data plan, Verizon charges you $1.99 for use of its data network. Multiply that small charge by the thousands of people who accidentally hit that button, and you've got a $300 million business, according to an anonymous Verizon employee:

"The phone is designed in such a way that you can almost never avoid getting $1.99 charge on the bill. Around the OK button on a typical flip phone are the up, down, left, right arrows. If you open the flip and accidentally press the up arrow key, you see that the phone starts to connect to the web. So you hit END right away. Well, too late. You will be charged $1.99 for that 0.02 kilobytes of data. NOT COOL. I've had phones for years, and I sometimes do that mistake to this day, as I'm sure you have. Legal, yes; ethical, NO.

"Every month, the 87 million customers will accidentally hit that key a few times a month! That's over $300 million per month in data revenue off a simple mistake!

"Our marketing, billing, and technical departments are all aware of this. But they have failed to do anything about it-and why? Because if you get 87 million customers to pay $1.99, why stop this revenue? Customer Service might credit you if you call and complain, but this practice is just not right.

"Now, you can ask to have this feature blocked. But even then, if you one of those buttons by accident, your phone transmits data; you get a message that you cannot use the service because it's blocked–BUT you just used 0.06 kilobytes of data to get that message, so you are now charged $1.99 again!

"They have started training us reps that too many data blocks are being put on accounts now; they're actually making us take classes called Alternatives to Data Blocks. They do not want all the blocks, because 40% of Verizon's revenue now comes from data use. I just know there are millions of people out there that don't even notice this $1.99 on the bill."

Very clever, Verizon. Glad I'm not on your network anymore.

[Pogue @ NYTimes via Gizmodo]

Screw Net Neutrality, The Internet Regulates Itself

Yesterday, I came across a story about Comcast, the nation's 2nd largest cable provider. The story surrounds a Comcast FCC filing concerning a bandwidth throttling scheme to slow down bandwidth hogs in order to preserve the network for other customers.

Its network throttling implements a two-tier packet queueing system at the routers, driven by two trigger conditions.

Comcast's first traffic throttling trigger is tripped by using more than 70 per cent of your maximum downstream or upstream bandwidth for more than 15 minutes.

Its second traffic throttling trigger is tripped when the Cable Modem Termination System you're hooked-up to – along with up to 15,000 other Comcast subscribers – gets congested, and your traffic is somehow identified as being responsible.

Tripping either of Comcast's high bandwidth usage rate triggers results in throttling for at least 15 minutes, or until your average bandwidth utilisation rate drops below 50 per cent for 15 minutes.

Basically, if you max out your bandwidth for over 15 minutes straight, Comcast will slow you down. That's trigger one. Trigger two occurs when your actions on the internet are congesting your local node. After both triggers, you will be slowed down for 15 minutes.

The blogosphere, on a hair trigger after Comcast's last foray into throttling, spread this story like wildfire after it popped up on Slashdot. Cooler heads paid attention to the date of the original story, which was nearly a year ago.

This system, launched in January of 2009, replaced Comcast's old tactic of using forged TCP packets to throttle upstream P2P traffic for all users, all the time. The new system is actually an improvement, but Comcast's beating yesterday continued.

Electronista joined in, posting a story proclaiming Comcast's throttling as new. They amusingly linked to the Inquirer without giving Slashdot any finder's credit, or noticing the story's ripeness. Pretty soon even our forums started to fill up with posts from confused Comcast users (1, 2) suddenly outraged by a year old change. At this point, entire legions of Internet users were outraged by -- a twelve month old improvement.

To refresh for those who apparently haven't been paying attention: Comcast's old network management techniques included booting users off the network for excessive consumption without defining "excessive," and forging TCP packets to screw up everybody's upstream connections. Comcast's new throttling system was implemented in January of 2009 and combines a clear 250GB month cap with a throttling system that only temporarily targets heavy users on congested nodes.

The reason we don't need any new Net Neutrality legislation is because we are perfectly willing and able to regulate ISPs ourselves.

Comcast's last attempt to throttle their network was a violation of existing law. Their recent throttling scheme, though actually an improvement, still elicited a strong, if somewhat misguided, backlash.

Comcast is in good company though, as they are not the only ISP to feel the sting of consumer scorn. Time Warner Cable attempted to roll out a new tiered pricing scheme, but was thoroughly rejected by consumers.

Consumers are paying attention. They will take the necessary steps to ensure no company hinders the Internet. And they will do a better job of it than the government.

Existing legislation has proven sufficient for the FCC to regulate the internet. I'm going to agree with the Father of the Internet and say we need no new Net Neutrality laws at this time.

How the NFL is Changing Television

Despite my deep love of the NFL, I also know it is a money grubbing machine. However their greed, as it so often does, is leading them to innovate.

Their new service "NFL Game Rewind" allows fans like myself to watch every game from this season and last online, without commercials. The only limit is that you can't watch games live, and the system is off while live NFL games are being played. Other than that, it's the equivalent of having every game from this season and last on DVD.

All this, and the cost to me was a paltry $25. I believe this was a reduced, midseason rate, but regardless it is well worth it to a fan like myself.

As more and more media make the shift to the Internet I hope we see more innovation like we see in the NFL. I imagine they would stream games live, too, if they weren't hampered by their contracts with the major networks.

Cable companies fiercely resist customer demand to buy shows or channels ala carte, but the Internet may allow us to circumvent them completely.

All because greedy companies like the NFL want to make a few extra dollars.

Best New Podcast

This Week in Google, with Leo Laporte (TWiT, Tech TV), Jeff Jarvis (Buzz Machine), and Gina Tripani (Lifehacker). If you are in any way interested in Google, technology, or the future of the Internet, this podcast's greatness will smack you in the face. I suffer a whimsical black eye every week from this podcast's analysis of Google's attempt to harness the power of the Internet.