Category Archives: technology

5 Things I love/hate: Verizon FIOS

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So we’ve had Verizon’s FiOS service for a little over a year (actually it’s a year for their Internet service and about 9 months for TV). So here are 5 things I love and hate about the service:

5 Things I love about Verizon FiOS:

  1. Raw Speed – Verizon’s FiOS Internet is so much faster than Comcast’s service – and the word is that there’ll be a 10% increase in speed soon.
  2. Picture quality – When we got our HD TV last year we were very disappointed in the quality of non-HD  stations on Comcast.  The quality was so degraded, that we missed our old analog set.  Not only are the non-HD channels significantly better, the HD channels look better too.
  3. Price – This is hard to compare because the services aren’t the same, but I’m getting more channels, faster internet, for less money.  Case closed.
  4. Multi-room DVR – with this service, a show you record on one DVR is available on any box in the house.
  5. It works – our Comcast service went down so often, it felt like I was being ripped off.  So far, so good on Verizon.  Aside from my modem dying, the service has been pretty good.
And in the spirit of fair and balanced reporting
5 things I hate about Verizon FiOS:
  1. On Demand – They have it, but Comcast had more network shows (CBS and NBC primarily) on demand.  Hoping that this changes with Verizon soon.
  2. Messages – Comcast would let you know through your box of any free HBO or Cinemax weekends.  If there was a special, that red light was on letting you know.  The message red light has yet to turn on on our FiOS box.
  3. The On Screen Guide – Too much going on.  They recently upgraded the guide – I wish I could go back to the old one.
  4. Multi-room DVR – yes I loved it too – but one thing: if you record an HD show, then you have to watch it on an HD set in another room.  Being as we only have one HD TV, that reduces the usefulness of this service significantly.
  5. No CN8 – I shouldn’t complain because at least FiOS has Comcast Sportsnet, but when both the Sixers and Phillies were in the playoffs, that pushed a lot of the early season Phillies games to CN8.
All in all, I highly recommend the service.  It’s had a great start, and it’s sure to get better. And best of all – you get to call Comcast and cancel – what could be worth more?

Blogger wakes up

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So Blogger realized the error of their ways and fixed the problem where you needed a Blogger ID to link within a comment.     On VDog’s site there’s a great email from Blogger admitting to the fact they eliminated the URL field prematurely.

One thing of note – if you self-host your own site like I do, you need to obtain a OpenID.   Great instructions here on getting a OpenID for a self-hosted WordPress site or any other self-hosted site.

Reason 2,362 why Blogger sucks the big one

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I know this. It’s why I left blogger for a self-hosted WordPress blog over a year ago, but you’d like to think that seeing people leave them would inspire Google to greater heights. Nothing would have pleased me more than to see Blogger become a great option for bloggers and to make me eat my words, but alas they do nothing but validate my decision.

Recently Blogger decided to remove the ability for those that comment on blogs they host to link back to their own blogs. What galls me about this is the total ignorance of what blogging is about. One of the best things about what blogs have done to the Internet is how encourages community, sharing with your peers, to circumvent the structure that we’re so often asked to adhere to for no good reason. It redefines what we call a friend. I had three people at my wedding whom the relationship we have was built primarily through blog comments.

What further galls me is that this change was unannounced, and with all the controversy, there seems to be no response from Google.   I talk about poor customer service all the time, but it seems   no one gets it. The #1 key to keeping your customers is to talk to them.   This change happened at least 11 days ago and nothing.

Apparently Blogger is planning a move to a different system called Open ID at some point, but there are no details of when, does it matter? People need to move off of this system or demand more. If you just look around the web you’ll see that this is raising a big stink (I’ve added some links below). What do I suggest? I moved my blog off of blogger over a year ago and have nothing but good things to say about WordPress. They offer their blogging software for free for self-hosting or you can have WordPress host it. If you don’t like how something works in WordPress, it’s easy to change it. Plus they have a built in tool for moving blogs from blogger. That’s my first thought – otherwise people need to tell Google they’re wrong for doing this.

More on this:

Suburban Oblivion – Blogger.com No Longer Allows Links to Non-Blogger Sites in Comments

Matts Nutts SEO and Blogging – Google Lets Down The Bloggers

What’s Wrong Around Us? – When Brilliant Men Have Dumb Ideas  

PENSIEVE – Blogger Backlash   (ooh – talk of boycotting commenting on blogger hosted blogs)

The Junk Drawer – More About New Blogger Comment System  

Blogcatalog – Blogger blogs URL feature disabled  

Google 411

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I love Google.   Every day there is something new from them, and chances are, they’ll do it better.   The old rule of taking something and improving it by 10%.   Yahoo! was firs in search, Google took it and did it better.   There are many RSS readers, but I really like Google Reader.   (I don’t love Gmail, but they’re allowed one pass).

Anyway,   if you keep your eyes on the Google Labs – that’s where you’ll find a lot of the things they’re testing.   One such thing is Google’s Voice Local Search or as we all know it, directory assistance.   Call the Google 411 number 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411), tell the system what you’re looking for, and it will either dial the selected number or offer you other listings.   And it works pretty well.

So what’s the big deal?   It’s free.     My directory assistance on my mobile phone costs about 99 cents per call.   This, you can use all the time and get charged nothing more than your airtime charges.

Try it out.

Movie talkers beware

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hughes-215493385-1180488977_thumb.jpgRegal entertainment is releasing a remote control to it’s frequent movie watchers that would allow someone to alert theater management of rude patrons (read idiot teens on their cell phones).

It’s a shame that we even need devices like this, but I advocate even more agressive means.   How about wiring everyone’s chair with a noise detector and electrical wiring?   Go over a certain amount of decibels and get a shock to the nether region.

Just a thought.