Tag Archives: netflix

A Whole Lot on Net Neutrality, A View of the End of Civilization, and Some Happier Things

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This entry is part [part not set] of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

Today was a big day in the fight for Net Neutrality.

It was another big push to fill the public comment boxes at the FCC with our very solid desire that the Internet remain open and accessible, regardless of what company gets it to your screen.

Cable companies and phone companies (like Comcast and Verizon) have been fighting tooth and nail–mostly by throwing tons of money at lobbyists and campaign funds–to make sure they can squeeze profit out of both sides of the transaction without providing any better (and, if the content producers don’t pay, considerably worse) service to their customers. Their customers who are already paying more for less than a lot of other countries that are wired.

This goes along with the impending decision on the merger of Comcast and Time Warner, the number one and number two cable broadband providers in the U.S. (Their main argument for the merger is: “No, really, it won’t change anything… it’s not like we’re in competition with one another anywhere.” Yeah. I think I see the problem.)

Legislated net neutrality isn’t a perfect solution. But, right now, it’s the only thing that will stop the current business practices that Netflix has been loudly fighting. Their traffic was more or less (unofficially) held for ransom. Users, who had paid both Netflix and Comcast already for access, were finding their films buffering or not loading at all. Fingers got pointed all over the place, but the facts have shown that the slowdown happened at the connection between Netflix and Comcast. A spot where, mysteriously, no other data streams were having any real problems.

Ultimately, Netflix paid. And then Verizon and Time Warner, seeing that the gambit worked, did exactly the same thing.

You can only imagine how much power that gives these transmission companies.

Especially if they, say, have a competing product. Like, maybe, OnDemand… which lets people (people who pay more to the cable company) to stream movies and television shows.

Anyway, there are a few stories in the feed that really lay things out well. Don’t just take my word for it… give them a read.

Speaking of the feed… here it is…

Affordable Housing, Role Playing Games, Legal Wranglings, Inspiration, Tragedy, and Everything Since Friday

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This entry is part [part not set] of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

Yeah, apparently I’m skipping Friday updates more often than not. I should stop that. Actually stick to my own schedule.

One of the big topics that ended up being discussed today in the stream was the whole rich/poor divide and the idea of affordable housing… spawned by an article about a new building in NYC that’s going to have a separate entrance for it’s less privileged residents (who they agreed to take in so they could get a tax break, mind you).

The topic of “affordable housing” comes up frequently here in Maryland. Particular in Silver Spring. The issue is a little different than it is in places like NYC.

Here we have the problem of people building a lot of expensive housing that is then bought/rented by people who mostly work and play in DC. This leaves people who work in Silver Spring (which has a wide diversity of jobs and pay rates) unable to afford to live there (in some cases), pushing them farther out where public transportation is less viable, leading to a bit of a traffic problem and a bit of a parking problem (which leads to all sorts of other problems… like local businesses being able to do solid business because people can’t get to/part at them easily or actual residents not being able to find parking/get around easily during the day).

A number of members of the community here are very interested in trying to build and maintain an actual community. One that’s vibrant at all times during the day…. not just during rush hour. What’s been in place has been slowly slipping away as development has boomed and busted a few times. (Most of what’s being built are one or two bedroom apartments/condos… not conducive to people with families, encouraging more transient people who go elsewhere to put down actual roots.)

It’s an interesting situation. A problematic one. And one I know I haven’t come up with a good solution to (mainly because I’ve got some very mixed feelings about all the affordable housing solutions I have seen–some of which were laid out in the article that Nancy shared–but some of those concerns are at odds with my desire to have poor people actually treated as people, since I’ve seen that be one of the best ways to help someone get back on their feet).

Needless to say, a number of people disagree with me on a lot of those points.

I’m okay with that.

Like I said, I don’t have an answer, so the discussion obviously needs to keep going on somewhere.

Here’s the extra long feed (which contains a few interesting discussions or starting points, so you should check it out)…

Awesomecon Flashback, Modified Mario, Elegance, Ramone-less, and Various Other Bits of Stuff from the Weekend

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This entry is part [part not set] of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

The weekend wasn’t anywhere near as productive as it should have been.

Sure, I finished off another canceled series or two from my Hulu queue and finally got around to a couple of movies I’ve been meaning to watch for years. Even read things that weren’t being displayed on a screen (I think we call them “books”). But there was more I probably should have done.

There’s a big difference between “should” and “could”, though. I don’t think I legitimately could have been much more productive. I needed the break, as seems to be the case often. Life in the “regular” world by a “normal” schedule just grinds me down more now than it ever has before.

I know there are reasons for that. I’m working through them as best I can. But, well, it’s slow going.

So, instead of being as productive as I “should” be, I do what I can when I can and learn to live with that.

But, there were still a lot of fun links to be had over the past four days.

Here’s hoping you enjoy them.

 

Working the Pole, Cat vs Lizards, Star Trek Rumors, Disturbing Statistics, New Games, and a Spike-covered Bear Hunting Suit

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This entry is part [part not set] of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

Ridiculously busy day, again. And my time at home after has been largely spent watching videos that have come out of E3… so many awesome looking games that I’ll likely never play (and, if I did, likely would get quickly frustrated with).

I remember when computer games first became “a thing.” Right back around when home computers started becoming “a thing.” One of the first “big deal” games I just had to have was the 7th Guest… a puzzle game with the impressive inclusion of live video. Had to upgrade the computer–CD ROM drive and RAM–in order to play it. I’ve still never finished that game (and I just bought it again, for less than 1/10 the cost, a few months ago).

Around that same time, Nintendo and Sega were duking it out for the real home gaming market. I know my NES got a whole lot of use through the mid-80s and 90s. I may still be able to make it through the first two or three worlds of Super Mario Brothers with my eyes closed. I never had an Atari, so the NES was the first big deal thing (other than the VCR) that hooked into the TV and kept me entertained.

Things have changed a lot in the intervening decades. Now, games are announced more than a year in advance, cost more than they ever have, and often come out for multiple platforms. Heck, we have multiple platforms–and all ones that put the old clunky and pixel-jagged stuff I grew up with to shame. Nintendo is still holding on, but it’s certainly been eclipsed by Microsoft’s X-Box and Sony’s PlayStation.

Totally amazing, technology, really.

But, I never stuck with the console game stuff. My SuperNintendo was mostly unused. I didn’t get a first generation X-Box until the 360 came out… and, even then, it mostly gathered dust. Now I just keep buying games on Steam for my computer (when they’re on sale) and kind of playing them sometimes.

I never really got into the first person shooters when they were first big–with DOOM back in my college days. World building and turn-based world conquering were more my style. I’ve logged more hours on the titles in the Civilization series than is probably healthy.

So, yeah, I’m impressed by the stuff I’m seeing from E3. But I know most of it really isn’t for me.

I’m sure that won’t hurt their sales figures any.