Charter, Take Two
Some of you may remember my last run in with Charter's Cable TV service. If not, I'll go over it briefly, but first, I'll note this was especially painful for me, because I have long been a proponent of the vastly superior nature of cable over satellite. Cable's bi-directional, high bandwidth, fiber driven network can run circles around satellite, and can certainly give AT&T's upcoming Project Lightspeed/U-Verse fiber-to-the-neighborhood a run for its money (I tend to be dubious about IPTV). But, here I am harping on why cable is the best presently available and yet can't get cable TV to work.
Charter installed Digital Cable last March at my home after they offered to make it worth my while to get a triple play (telephone/internet/video) from them, as opposed to just telephone and internet. Essentially, they offered to beat the price of Dish Network and throw in all the premium movie channels. Unfortunately, they installed a DVR (Moxi) which did not get along with analog channels, and channels 1-99 were still analog. After much ado and no solutions from Charter, I managed to get them to refund the half month of service “received” (albeit in an unusable form) and in the end, they did make it up with an additional credit and a 1 year price drop of $5 on the high speed internet.
So, fast forward to this week. As I understand it, sometime in recent months, Charter finally started up Digital Simutrans, the system by which they simultaneously send analog and digital signals of channels 1-99, allowing digital boxes, such as the Moxi to go “all digital.” Moreover, I spent time in the Ozarks, where the hotel rooms have cable TV; this leads me to want cable because cable, unlike Dish Network satellite, provides local weather on the 8's on the Weather Channel. Even worse, I've been itching to try again ever since I produced a 3 minute segment for Lindenwood's public access channel and was unable to watch it since satellites also do not get public access channels.
So, I called. And called again. And again. Charter has about as many different pricing schemes as Pizza Hut has pizza specials. Many of them were cheaper than Dish, but only until all the extras were added on. Finally, I pulled out my trump card: I had called AT&T and found out they were cheaper than Charter for a triple play of phone, internet and TV, and I let Charter know I was aware of that. Suddenly I had a wheeler dealer guy on the line who offered various “retention” incentives until the price ended up somewhere between $5-$10 cheaper than the current arrangement of phone and internet through Charter and TV through Dish Network. They also gave me free installation, which they insisted they did not offer any longer a few hours earlier, and all of the movie channels again.
Charter is coming to install the system on Monday. We'll see if it works this time.
What'd I Just Do?
So, I was looking through American TV's ad this morning for their warehouse sale and noticed they had Mac minis (PowerPC) starting at $299. I called up and while my store did not have any, they had two in the St. Louis area — one 1.42 GHz/256 megs of ram and one 1.25 Ghz/256 megs of ram for $349 and $299 respectively. Both are the combo drive models, but that's not so bad.
I bought both of them. They're going for more than that on eBay, after all and they have a 15 day return policy if I get buyers remorse.
I thought I'd mention this truly great deal in case anyone has an American store in their area. Seems like a great deal. I have a sample copy of OS X Server that I'm going to put on one of them. Maybe the other will be an extra computer workstation or something, I'm not sure.
Tee Hee Hee: I Made Some Spammers Mad
Well, my new SpamAssassin auto-rejection seems to be doing a good job. I got this automated letter letting me know I was removed from the EDEALSSUPER list (as if I ever cared to be on it to begin with). Note especially how impassioned it is about how this must have to do with the quality of my e-mail service. Content based bouncing of spam must be becoming common place enough that now spammers are trying to convince the user that the anti-spam savvy ISP is providing the user with bad service when the exact opposite is actually true.
From: LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM
Subject: Your removal from the EDEALSSUPER list
Date: April 6, 2006 11:00:07 PM CDT
To: Address Removed -Tim.
Reply-To: EDEALSSUPER-request@LISTSERV.VERSUS.COMFri, 7 Apr 2006 00:00:07
You have been automatically removed from the EDEALSSUPER list
(eDealsSuper) as a result of repeated delivery error reports from your
mail system. This decision was based on the automatic error monitoring
policy in effect for the list, and has not been reviewed or otherwise
confirmed by a human being. If you receive this message, it means that
something is wrong: while you are obviously able to receive mail, your
mail system has been regularly reporting that your account did not exist,
or that you were otherwise permanently unable to receive mail. Here is
some information which may assist you or your local help desk in
determining the cause of the problem:- The failing address is TBUTLER@UNINETSOLUTIONS.COM.
- The first error was reported on 4 Apr 2006.
- Since then, a total of 2 delivery errors have been received.
- The last reported error was: Probe failed.
PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE THIS MESSAGE. While you can of course re-subscribe
DO NOT LET TECHNICAL PEOPLE CONVINCE YOU THAT THIS IS NORMAL. It is never
to the list, it is important for you to report this problem to your mail
administrator so that it can be solved. This problem is not specific to
the EDEALSSUPER list, and also affects your private mail. This means that
YOU HAVE PROBABLY LOST SOME PRIVATE MAIL AS WELL. Anyone trying to write
to you during the same time frame will probably have received the same
errors for the same reason. The EDEALSSUPER list is but one of the many
people who may have tried to write to you while your mail system was
malfunctioning.
normal for a mail system to claim that a valid, working account does not
exist, just as it would not be normal for the post office to return some
of your mail with “addressee unknown” when the address was written
correctly. It is true that some mail systems are less reliable than
others, and your technical people may be doing the best they can with the
tools they have. But, ultimately, the level of service that you are
receiving is the result of a business decision, and not something due to
a universal technical limitation that one can only accept. Reliable mail
systems do exist, and it is ultimately up to you to decide whether this
level of service is acceptable or not.
Playing the System
In my opinion, in the realms of technology presently available, satellite TV is at the bottom, followed by cable and finally the new fiber systems (AT&T U-Verse and Verizon FIOS) are at the top. Given that fiber has not arrived here yet, cable is the lesser of the two evils in my opinion. I like cable's bi-directional abilities, I like having access to community service channels, and I like having the local weather on TWC (call me odd, but even with a computer that can provide instant weather, I still love the Weather Channel).
Given that, every so often I call up Charter to see if they can beat my current Dish Network price. For awhile they did, then they didn't and now they can again… but there's a problem: they don't have any standard, two-tuner Moxi Box DVR's, only four tuner Moxi Box tuners that come with the Moxi Mate for a second TV (it is like a dumb terminal that works with an upgraded Moxi Box). That system is really nice, but it costs a whopping $24.95 extra a month — $10 more than a standard Moxi. It seems there is such a high demand for standard Moxi Boxes that it is impossible to get them for about 1-2 months.
Figuring that U-Verse should be here soon, I decided to call up AT&T. The benefits of AT&T are substantial, if they could beat Charter's deal for Internet and Telephony. Unlike Charter, AT&T can offer a quadruple play (land line, Cingular wireless, DSL and TV). For the moment, AT&T resells Dish Network and I found out that existing Dish customers can not get AT&T | Dish, so even switching to AT&T would not allow the “perfect” bill convergence just yet. But it is still tempting. AT&T offers a package that is $10 cheaper per month than Charter for Internet and Telephony for the first year, plus $3/month off the existing Cingular account, plus $50 in the form of a Visa Gift Card, plus $60 back if you keep the service for four months. All of this is a “buy back” promotion to bring stray customers back into the arms of Baby Ma Bell. After a year, however, the price is $28 more a month than Charter.
Of course, switching is easy, so it might make sense to play the two companies against each other: switch to AT&T now and then in a year, get whatever “buy back” promotion Charter wants to offer. Alternately, I think I'll cut to the chase and see if Charter will try to instill customer loyalty by just giving a better deal right now.
The Crazy Long Meme (Part I)
Christopher answered this really long meme, and I thought I would do so as well. It is a rather nice one. Given its length, I decided to split up the answers into two parts so that it wouldn't grow tedious reading my answers.
Feel free to provide your own answers in the comments.
1. Your name spelled backwards.
Reltub Ythomit
2. Last incoming call on your phone.
Pastor Mark Friz, calling last night to ask me to run the projector this morning.
3. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?
According to my download history, it was Splunk, sometime last week. I was going to try this nifty log file search engine on my server, but it wouldn't install.
4. What’s your favorite restaurant?
I've done this one before! Let's try different classes of restaurants, to make this interesting:
Fast Food:White Castle — if you haven't had White Castle in the last month, life just isn't right.
Pizza (Delivery/Takeout): Pizza Hut. It is the best pizza under one roof. (SM)
Pizza (Restaurant): CPK. The California Pizza Kitchen knows gourmet pizza; I like everything I've tried there. I especially like their signature Barbecue Chicken Pizza and their Tostada Pizza with Lime Chicken:Southwestern black beans, sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses topped with chilled shredded lettuce, fresh tomato salsa, green onions and crispy tortilla strips with our garden-herb ranch dressing. Also available with grilled lime chicken.
Quick Service: St. Louis Bread Co. (a.k.a. Panera Bread outside of its home city). I love their Panini sandwiches and I.C. Mochas, among other things.
Two Star Restaurant: The Hen House (of Bourbon, MO) has the best fried broasted chicken around. I think I'm fudging this a bit, the Hen House is more like a “1.5 Star” restaurant, according to the definition of two star restaurants, but maybe — twenty asisaid points to the person who can identify this allusion — the restaurant star rating code is not a set of rules so much as suggestions.
Three Star Restaurant: Lewis & Clark's is one of the best values in the “moderate” ($12-$15) entree range. They have the best blackened fish I've ever tasted, great spuds, delicious salads and breads and a comfortable atmosphere. It is the best dining available, in my opinion, on Main Street/the St. Charles Historic District.
Four Star Restaurant: Devil's Pool at Big Cedar Lodge (Ridgedale, MO) is a casual setting, but I think it can be placed in the four star range justifiably. Their entrees grow a bit pricey at $18-$20 for dinner, but the flavors are bold and exciting, without getting exotic. I personally love their grilled chicken with chile lime drizzle. Their house salads and ever changing selection of breads are also very good. Deserts are tasty too. Portions are extremely generous, hence I've only had desert to-go.
Five Star Restaurant: I've never eaten at one, although I think Devil's Pool could easily qualify from a culinary standpoint, although not from the other aspects.
I'm not an expert on ratings, so I checked my selections against Mobile Travel Guide's definition of two, three, four and five star restaurants, which you can see here.
5. Last time you swam in a pool?
Some time in late August in an “ool,” as the pool store sign puts it (think about that one). There are advantages to having your own pool, even if it is just a Costco-purchased inflatable 4 footer (they are so cheap, and yet so convenient!).
6. Have you ever been in a school play?
No. I have been in a few Sunday School plays in the past though. I'm not an actor.
7. 2 or 3?
3.
8. Type of music you dislike most?
Rap. But, edging close to that lately is 80's music. Even some stuff I use to like now gets on my nerves. Enough with the stupid synthesized instruments and weird voices. Music is suppose to sound good!.
9. Do you have cable?
If you mean, “do I have a non-antenna based way of receiving TV,” yes. If you mean literally cable, no. I have a dish. I'd like cable, and keep talking to the cable company to arrange a suitable “triple play package” (It seems odd when I call that I already have the cableco's digital phone and high speed Internet but not TV). I think the price is finally right (again), and they've gone to digital simultrans (so I'm told, see part 1, part 2), but I'm waiting for them to get some more DVR's in again.
Assuming they really did launch the simultrans system, cable will be completely and unequivocally superior to satellite. Cable does not go down in the weather (unless the utility poles are knocked down, of course), cable provides more local programming (TWC WeatherScan, TWC Local Forecasts, public access channels, etc.), cable provides more HD programming, cable can provide a triple play package and cable can provide bi-directional services such as interactive TV (iTV) and Video On Demand (VOD).
Nevertheless, in the long run, I'm putting my money on AT&T U-verse (“Project Lightspeed”) fiber service as the ultimate in communications: faster internet, digital TV, digital phone service and Cingular cell service on one bill (a “quad play” package). It uses IPTV for the television portion and has the advantage over Verizon FIOS that they don't have to do a new cable run all the way to the house wanting the service, only to the subdivision. C'mon Mr. Whitaker, start upgrading the St. Louis region, please!
10. Have you ever ridden on a 4 wheeler?
I believe so, long ago. Definitely, and more recently, if you count a John Deere “Gator.”
11. Have you ever made a prank phone call?
Only to my grandpa (we use to bug each other on the phone all the time).
12. Boyfriend/Girlfriend?
No. I'm trying to wait on God about this one…
13. Would you go bungee jumping or skydiving?
Emphatic “no.”
14. Farthest place you ever traveled?
Timbuktu. Ok, not really; in reality my traveling is rather unimpressive, but I'll admit it: the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.
15. Do you have a garden?
Yes, but it's been taken over by vines.
16. What’s your favorite comic strip?
That's a tough one. Probably a toss-up between Drabble, Pearls Before Swine, Foxtrot and Dilbert. Which one depends on my mood.
17. Do you read a newspaper every day?
Yes, the Post-Dispatch. I shouldn't admit this, since I'd like to write for them again, but they're really ruining the paper with all of the ads in it recently.
18. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem?
Beyond the first verse, I have some gaps that require humming.
19. Bath or Shower, morning or night?
A combination bath/shower is preferable, IMO. I go with night only because I'm not enough of a morning person to make it anywhere on time in the morning if I bathed in the morning.
20. Best movie(s) you’ve seen in the past month?
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). Late December/early January is my movie viewing time of the year, so I've seen a bunch as of late, but that was the best. Also notable was Holes (2003), Shrek 2 (2004, which I saw at the cinema), and Johnny English (2003, repeat viewing). The worst movie I saw during my movie viewing extravaganza? Guess Who (2005), which came highly recommended by several people. I only watched about an hour of it and then turned it off — it was moderately offensive and unamusing.
21. Favorite pizza toppings?
Supreme/Deluxe, usually. I like a pepperoni and onion if I get a Pizza Hut Pan Pizza, however. I've already talked about some of my favorite CPK choices above.
22. Chips or popcorn?
Depends. Usually chips, but movies go best with authentic theater butter and popcorn… I mean popcorn with butter.
23. Have you ever smoked peanut shells?
I'm with Christopher on this one — I didn't even know it was possible. For the record, I've never smoked, inhaled or otherwise been connected to any kind of smoking device (other than second hand smoke in a restaurant
).
24. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant?
No. Are you nuts?
To be continued… tomorrow.
Trying Ubuntu
I've always liked Debian GNU/Linux distributions, but I've never gotten around to trying Ubuntu. Given my appreciation for GNOME and simplicity on top of the aforementioned appreciation for Debian, I decided it was time to give it a whirl.
Presently Ubuntu is installing itself on my Shuttle XPC which I have just given the new name of guildenstern (I'm tired of my Dilbert derived naming scheme for computers). I'll post in the coming days what I think. This will be the first entirely new distribution I've tried in quite some time.
Apple Stock Price Humor
This is very interesting. Could it be a massive Wall Street conspiracy?
The Revolution Moves On
Well, for the first time in ages, there is a top tier x86 OEM that provides a real choice for a better OS. Apple today unveiled two new Intel Core Duo systems, which you can read about at OfB.biz. The new MacBook Pro laptop looks like it should be a really serious competitor to the current premium ultra-light laptop contenders. It will come with up to a 1.8 GHz Core Duo dual-core processor and a whopping 256 megs of video ram. The system is 1” thick, includes Apple's amazing backlit keyboard, a new ExpressCard slot, and an extra bright (Cinema Display bright) screen. I want one, although my trusty 12” PowerBook isn't ready to retire just yet — I may wait for the rumored 13” widescreen Apple laptop, which is more the size I like to haul around. The new iMac was a bit of a surprise release, but looks even better than the recently updated iMac G5.
The new iLife '06 suite looks great, with serious improvements for vidcasting, photocasting and podcasting, a new application (iWeb), and some major upgrades to the program I use the most: iPhoto (which now can manage up to 250,000 photos). The improved real time special effects in iMovie look great to me too. iWork '06 isn't such a dramatic improvement, but looks good. I have not yet bought a copy of the latter, which maybe I shall do in the coming weeks (along with an upgrade to the new iLife).
As a side note, as of today, I am now the proud owner of a small chunk of Apple. A crumb, really. Or a fraction of a crumb. I managed to buy 10 shares of Apple stock right before the keynote began. I've been thinking I should buy some shares for several years — and had I bought 10 shares a few years ago, I would have made a nice chunk of change. Where the stock will go from here, I don't know, but I made $30 today as the stock went up during the keynote. Maybe I'll buy 10 more shares a few weeks before WWDC '06.
Thinking of Phones
My cellular contract is ending in two weeks and I'm pondering a new phone. The one I have, a Nokia 3600, has served me well, but I'm thinking I might be able to do better. Particularly, I love the built in camera, but at 640×480, I still regret when I only have my phone and not my camera. I don't expect my phone to replace my much more serious digicam (a Sony Cybershot DSC-S75), but I would like it to take printable quality photos if possible. As much as I like the pictures from my Nokia for the fact that without the camera in it I would not have them at all, they are usually less than perfect.
So, for the last six months or so, I've been following the new Nokia N90. It has a Carl Zeiss lens, 2 megapixel CCD, flash, digital zoom, etc. It is in a flip phone form factor, which it uses to provide a twistable viewfinder for the camera. It looks really nice and runs an updated version of the same Symbian OS with Series 60/S60 interface that the 3600 runs. However, three things emerged that dampened my enthusiasm. First, the price is $499 with a two-year contract (it is $799-$999 without). Second, it is supposedly very slow and unresponsive. Third, it is only available for T-Mobile presently.
Ok, so that's not so good. But Nokia has some nice non-flip units in the pipe. I'm not so keen on flip phones anyway, so I've been looking at the N70 and the N80. The N70 is a traditional Nokia “brick” with a 2.0 megapixel CCD but sans the Zeiss lens. The N80 is one of these new slider-style phones with a 3.0 megapixel CCD. The problem is neither of these has yet been picked up by a carrier in the U.S., and when they do, I wonder if they too will be fairly pricey. I'm guessing the N70 might be closer to the $200-$300 range, but that is still a lot of money for a phone. (The N80 is not yet even FCC approved.)
With that in mind, I'm considering either the Nokia 6682 or one of the several Sony Ericsson 1.3 megapixel camera phones (such as the Walkman W600). Sony, like Nokia, uses Symbian, but places the UIQ interface on top of it instead of S60. All of these are in the $0-$200 range, after the incentives that come from reupping a contract with Cingular. My main requirements are that I want a Symbian GSM (preferably with EDGE support) phone, I want it to have as good of camera as possible and I want Bluetooth; I think these phones are the only ones that fit those requirements, but I'll keep searching.
I need to decide: do I bite the bullet with one of these presently available phones or wait a few months and see what comes about concerning the Nokia N-Series phones? I'm leaning toward the latter, but if the prices are astronomical, the wait won't do me much good and perhaps the models I do like wil be unavailable.
Palladium Not in Mac Dev Kits
A source tipped me off that Apple is not including TPM/TCPA/Palladium modules in their dev kits, contrary to earlier reports. I know this is a reliable source, so this looks like it might trump the other reports that have come from questionable parts of the web. Read more here at OfB.
