Cable
I was excited for Six Feet Under to end yesterday. Not just because it was a good series and all that, but also because I had decided to kick Comcast to the curb for WOW (no, not that WoW). I had seen one of their vans in my apartment complex and figured that they were available. Sure enough, I typed my ZIP into the website and found out that I could get WOW.
I checked them out today. First off, their website is teh suck. For example, Java applet at the bottom. Even worse, if you type your ZIP into the form at the top it opens a new window and just as you figure out what it says and start copying down the phone number to call, it closes itself! Their design is, how shall we say, sub-k10k.
So why switch?
- I hate Comcast
- Their web site isn't going to win any awards, but their customer service does (link to the report).
- They offer M2 and movie channels on non-digital cable. Comcast doesn't seem keen on giving me a digital cable box with a serial port, and the TiVo's IR blaster frequently change channels. I'll miss G4 for X-Play, but on the plus side I won't be subsidizing the rest of G4's programming. I think I'm going to pass on digital cable until everyone gets CableCARDs actually working. OK, not everyone, but one company in particular.
- 6 MBps/512 KBps cable modem vs. Comcast's 4 MBps/384(?) Kbps
- I hate Comcast
- Cheaper
- I hate Comcast
I called the number and talked to a woman who seemed nice, but that may be because I was expecting a pleasant experience instead of a Comcast call. I asked her about the upstream on the 6 MBps plan, and she let me know it was "500 K". I told her that I work from home and that I couldn't be without my cable modem for a long time between cable providers. She said they recommend doing the install and only after it's done canceling service, which would result in virtually no downtime. I told her I was sold.
She took my address and then told me that they weren't able to serve my apartment complex, and that my apartment managers needed to file some paperwork in order to allow them to provide service. She emphasized that the process takes a long time.
Maybe I just need to go with an Easynews account, software to transcode everything into MPEG-2 and a couple 160 GB drives for the TiVo once TiVoToComeback lands. Man I hate Comcast, although I doubt they're to blame for WOW
Also, to head off any comments about DirecTV or DSL I do not have a landline and have very little interest in getting one. I hate telcos more than Comcast.