Comcast Misdeeds

Just when I was happy to soon be freed of the Verizon monopoly, my new datacom provider goes and gets really exceptionally evil, even for a communications giant.

Misdeed #1: it seemed swell of Comcast to offer its customers combined cable modem + 802.11g routers. Well, it turns out said routers are laced with software that gives Comcast remote control and snooping powers on your home work, enabling them to monitor and disconnect services you’re running on the connection you’re paying for. I’m sure glad these units weren’t available when we got our service installed at the apartment yesterday.

Misdeed #2: Comcast recently bought out TechTV, a station whose geeky joy I was able to experience at school for the first time last year, and for which I pined away when back in my home cable market which is apparently not good enough for such faire. It was known that the media giant intended to merge TechTV’s current offerings with a gamer-centric network called G4, but not on what timeline. Now we hear from Leo Laporte, host of popular TechTV shows Call For Help and (previously) The Screen Savers, that the TechTV staff has been given their 60 days notice by Comcast.

I sincerely doubt that TechTV was part of Comcast’s channel lineup in the District, and we’re not going to have a TV (per-se) in the new apartment anyway. But regardless of my personal viewing potential, the folks at TechTV did fine work and just seemed like nice people. I can see from a business perspective that TechTV in its current form may not have been bringing in the ad revenue, but I sincerely hope they keep solid shows like Call For Help, The Screen Savers, Unscrewed, and X-Play (if only to keep the stunning Morgan Webb on national television).

Best of luck to the TechTV crew, and serious bad juju flung towards Comcast for both of these misdeeds.