Sanders Media

As exciting as this new age of technology is for me, I can’t help but be leery as well. Between the MPAA and RIAA’s misguided witch hunts and Comcast’s internet throttling, sometimes I think my head will explode. Time Warner Cable is the new object of my ire.

TWC has been trying to convince the press and it’s customers that heavy downloading is sending it’s broadband bill through the roof. Wired.com’s Epicenter blog refutes that claim. The company’s broadband bill fell 20% between 1st Quarter 2008 to 1st Quarter 2009. That’s the same time period that TWC claimed it’s customers were using 40% more broadband. To me, it seems as if TWC is paying less for the bandwidth it uses, but wants to make money off the discount.

They recently attempted to test market bandwidth caps. They had this to say in defending the program:

Internet demand is rising at a rate that could outpace capacity within a few years. According to industry analysts, the infrastructure may not be able to accommodate the explosion of online content by 2012. This could result in Internet brownouts. It will take a lot of money to fix the problem. Rather than raising prices on all customers or limiting usage, we think the fairest approach is to move to a tiered model in which users pay more if they use more.[...]

We have increasing variable costs and we have to continue to invest in the network itself. [...] If we don’t act, consumers’ Internet experience will suffer. Sitting still is not an option.

TWC only shelved this program after some heavy political pressure. They promised to reintroduce it once they come up with a better PR campaign. Basically, they want to try to manipulate us better.

They don’t seem to understand that people aren’t dumb. Pricing for digital storage, bandwidth and other technologies are plummeting. The less they pay, the more profit they receive. Trying to pile profits on top of the lower prices is just plain greedy.

I’ve discovered that my most indispensable gadget is my mobile phone. I’m sure many of you find the same to be true in your lives. I’ve had two people in my life recently buy new phones, and they seem to have reached different levels of satisfaction. Here are a few questions to consider before you buy a new mobile phone.

1. Is the phone easy to use? This would seem to be a no-brainer, but even I’ve succumbed in the past to a sexy looking gadget, only to find it works terribly. As smartphones grow in popularity, the operating systems running these phones become more important. From personal experience, I can confidently advise you to steer clear of Windows Mobile. I’ve found Apple’s iPhone and the Blackberry OS  to be the most easy to use.
2. How much phone do I need/want? It’s easy to be seduced by the features of some phones. However, you must decide what you’d actually use or like. For instance, even if a phone has a 5.0 megapixel camera, it won’t necessarily take great pictures.
3. Which carriers work best in my area? Ignore the advertising. Commercials have no way of knowing what service will work best for you? Talk to friends and neighbors. Check online. You’ll find a plethora of anecdotal evidence regarding the best service in your area.
4. How is the phone ergonomically? You want the phone to be comfortable. If you’re like me, and carry your phone in your pocket, then you’ll want the phone to be slim. Is it comfortable to hold? It’s no good to have a phone that you can’t wait to “not use”.
5. Is the body of the phone solid? If it feels like a toy phone, then you know you don’t want that phone. One thing I loved about the original iPhone was it’s metal body. That phone wasn’t going to break easily.

Sometimes it’s best to do some research. My best experiences with mobile phones have been those I’ve investigated. Ask yourself these questions, and you’ll likely get a phone you love.

Have any of you seen the recent ad campaign from Verizon? It shows a new service that allows your home phone to communicate with the wireless phones of your entire family. Comcast is developing a device that allows a shared phonebook, as well as instant messaging.

These products highlight the convergence of our digital services. Where we once had completely separate services, we now find them coming together. These include our television, mobile & home phones and internet access. This has surely been aided by the relaxing of regulations regarding cable television. In my community, Comcast fought tooth and nail to prevent AT&T from providing their television service.

While there are certainly concerns about all of our eggs being in one basket, it is exciting to see where this technology will take us. Let’s hope the competition in local markets will be a win for consumers.