Comcast

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Big Brother Is Watching... and Talking Back

Comcast redefines customer service by reaching out to bloggers

(Newser) - Some bloggers who have vented online about their Comcast cable service have gotten a surprising—and, for some, a creepy—response: a reply from a customer service agent. Like a growing number of companies, Comcast monitors social network sites, public blogs, and message boards for complaints, but now it's taking...

Comcast Hackers: Company Dismissed Our Warning

Teens await police, say they may strike again

(Newser) - Two teens who wrested control of Comcast’s homepage and webmail for 5 hours yesterday say they warned the company before the hijacking but were brushed off. In an interview with Wired, the two anonymous teens were triumphant about their assault on the ISP but expected to be arrested. “...

Hackers Take Over Comcast Website for Several Hours

Hijack homepage at registrar, redirect to cryptic message

(Newser) - A message that hackers had “RoXed” the Comcast homepage took over the site for several hours last night starting a little before 11pm. Apparently hackers got control of the site’s domain name at the registrar, Network Solutions, and redirected it to servers hosting the hijacking message. A rep...

For Some US Towns, Internet Access is DIY

As providers focus on big markets, locals take net into own hands

(Newser) - Around the world, firms and governments are ramping up the speed and availability of internet access. But in the US, telecoms are focusing mainly on big-city markets. To avoid professional brain drain, some smaller cities and towns are investing in more powerful infrastructure, the Wall Street Journal reports. But the...

Hi-Def Fans Allege Low Blow
 Hi-Def Fans Allege Low Blow 
Apr 21, 2008 3:16 PM CDT

Hi-Def Fans Allege Low Blow

Cable's compression of HD signals water down the product, connoisseurs say

(Newser) - TV enthusiasts are miffed that high-definition channels aren't looking as good as they should on expensive home-theater systems, the AP reports. Without much spare bandwidth, compressing the signal is cheaper for the cable companies than increasing capacity. "They have to figure out a way to deliver more HD content...

Internet Bigwigs Fight NY Law on Tracking Web Users

Companies say they have a right to collect information for advertisers

(Newser) - Google, Yahoo and a bevy of Internet biggies have joined to fight a proposed New York state law that would limit their ability to collect information about people's web habits for advertisers, reports the Wall Street Journal. The coalition says the law would endanger the future of online advertising and...

Comcast Bends Under Net Neutrality Pressure

Promises new system for managing network, probably by end of year

(Newser) - Comcast is changing the way it manages Internet traffic after an intense public and FCC outcry over its blocking traffic from BitTorrent users. To cut use during peak hours, the Internet provider will stop targeting specific applications and instead slow its highest-bandwidth users’ traffic, reports the New York Times. Still,...

Comcast, Time Warner Weigh $1.5B WiMax Investment

Companies would back Sprint/Clearwire plan for nationwide network

(Newser) - Sprint Nextel and Clearwire, looking for funding in their bid to build a nationwide high-speed wireless network, may have found partners in Comcast and Time Warner, reports the Wall Street Journal. The country’s two largest cable operators are weighing a combined pledge of $1.5 billion to the project;...

DirecTV to Get With Times, Add On-Demand

Satellite service will combine DVR, web streaming to deliver it

(Newser) - Challenged by cable and phone-company competitors, DirecTV will offer video-on-demand for the first time, a combination of DVR and broadband-connected content with significant limitations. Because the biggest satellite-TV provider doesn’t use terrestrial connections, it’s been long unable to offer instant play options. Its new plan will store some...

Net Neutrality May Slow Downloads
Net Neutrality May Slow Downloads
Mar 11, 2008 12:20 PM CDT

Net Neutrality May Slow Downloads

Prioritizing data could be more efficient, experts say

(Newser) - The principle of net neutrality can be taken too far, some experts say. The internet could be made much more efficient—and downloads faster—if network managers were allowed to use info about the content they're sending, a Princeton engineering professor tells Technology Review. That would allow them to prioritize...

Apple's iPhone Rules Restrict Competition

Banning of VoIP, browser bundling echoes antitrust cases

(Newser) - Apple’s iPhone software development kit is facing criticism from net neutrality and antitrust critics, Computerworld reports. Apple has indicated that voice-over-IP programs like Skype will not be allowed on the iPhone’s AT&T network, as its a direct competitor for AT&T’s voice service. Comcast, Computerworld points...

Warners Swallows New Line
 Warners Swallows New Line
Feb 29, 2008 3:06 AM CST

Warners Swallows New Line

Studio falls in latest Hollywood cost-cutting move

(Newser) - New Line Cinema, the studio that created the Lord of the Rings blockbuster franchise, will be folded into the Warner Brothers unit of Time Warner, reports the Los Angeles Times. It's a cost-cutting move and part of a trend that has seen DreamWorks swallowed by Viacom, and Miramax downsized by...

Comcast Stooges Pack FCC Hearing
Comcast Stooges Pack FCC Hearing
Feb 27, 2008 6:00 AM CST

Comcast Stooges Pack FCC Hearing

Cable and ISP giant accused of hiring seatfillers to silence critics

(Newser) - The future direction of the Internet could be at stake in the FCC's decisions on net neutrality, but one of the ISPs concerned did its best to keep opponents out of a hearing on it, Portfolio.com reports. Advocacy group and fierce Comcast critic Free Press says the firm hired...

FCC Ready to Defend Net Neutrality
FCC Ready
to Defend
Net Neutrality
Feb 26, 2008 12:30 PM CST

FCC Ready to Defend Net Neutrality

Agency says it will step in to stop ISPs from blocking access

(Newser) - FCC boss Kevin Martin told a hearing yesterday that the government was "ready, willing, and able to step in" to stop Internet service providers from restricting traffic sent by rivals, the Wall Street Journal reports. Comcast is accused of acting improperly by slowing or blocking access to file-sharing sites....

The Broadband Police Are Coming
The Broadband Police Are Coming
Feb 15, 2008 12:07 PM CST

The Broadband Police Are Coming

Analysts fear impending crackdown on high bandwidth users

(Newser) - Enjoy your broadband while you can, because it won’t be this way forever. Consumer advocates think ISPs will soon have claim to have no choice but to crack down on high-bandwidth users or applications, in order to keep their networks afloat. Already Comcast has drawn fire for slowing file...

Comcast Kills Payout Plan for Founder

Shareholder angst leads cable giant to drop multi-million-dollar benefit package

(Newser) - Responding to shareholder complaints, the 87-year-old founder of Cable giant Comcast will cut his annual salary to $1 and the company will scrap a multi-million-dollar death benefit negotiated in December that would have paid heirs his salary for five years, the Wall Street Journal reports. Ralph Roberts, father of CEO...

Imus Bounces Back After Scandal
Imus Bounces Back After Scandal
Feb 3, 2008 6:05 AM CST

Imus Bounces Back After Scandal

Advertisers and former guests happy to be part of Big Mouth redux

(Newser) - The once-axed radio host Don Imus has re-emerged on the airwaves largely unscathed by his racially and sexually disparaging remarks about Rutgers' female hoop stars, the New York Times reports. Both advertisers and call-in guests—including John Kerry, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mike Huckabee—have nearly...

AT&amp;T Might Filter Internet Traffic
AT&T Might Filter Internet Traffic
Jan 23, 2008 6:58 PM CST

AT&T Might Filter Internet Traffic

Aim is to punish illegal file-sharing, but privacy concerns abound

(Newser) - AT&T is considering steps to filter the Internet traffic it provides in order to stop illegal file-sharing, the AP reports. CEO Randall Stephenson, speaking to the World Economic Forum today, likened the company's role as passive participant in copyright infringement to witnessing a crime: "It's like being in...

Comcast, TiVo Team Up in Boston
Comcast, TiVo Team Up
in Boston
Jan 22, 2008 10:24 AM CST

Comcast, TiVo Team Up in Boston

National service will roll out later

(Newser) - TiVo and Comcast have rolled out their promised joint service in the Boston area, with national distribution to follow. The service sends TiVo software to Comcast-provided digital video recorders in a first that TiVo hopes to repeat with other cable providers, USA Today reports. TiVo lost hundreds of thousands of...

Investor Says Oust Comcast CEO; Reaction Mixed

Stock down 43%, but problems are industry-wide

(Newser) - With Comcast's stock price down 43% this year, a major shareholder has called for the  cable operator to give CEO Brian Roberts the boot. The proposal has met a tepid response, the Wall Street Journal reports. The call for Roberts' head is premature, say analysts and investors, especially given the...

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