Broadband Archives - Page 15 of 23

Security Alternatives to Norton

Internet security month continues here at Zatz Not Funny. Personally and professionally I’ve had a hand in this arena to varying degrees over the years. As our origin story remains untold, you didn’t know that we launched “Project Safety Net” before ZNF morphed into a digital media blog – and the site was intended to provide security guidance for lay people. Like my mom.

As Norton periodically blocks our site from visitors, I’d like take this opportunity to provide some alternate solutions that might serve you better.

The false positives seem to have started about 15 months ago, when various Norton products or components would throw up an interstitial web page strongly encouraging visitors to steer clear of ZNF. One regular reader kindly alerts me when this happens, as he did yesterday, and has previously provided screenshots (above) that’s allowed me to file reports with Norton. Additionally, Norton’s incorrect flagging led to a rather entertaining exchange on the Roku Forums a few months back. From “Village Idiot” :

I have good reasons to trust Norton. – i have no reason to trust you. I DON’T trust some site i never heard of before. It would be really stupid to throw away a trusted Norton program for an unheard of site. Good luck on your site. I just don’t need the risk.

Chumby Rolls Its Own 8″ Widget Station

After seeing Sony and Best Buy harness the power of their widget platform, Chumby is following suit with their own dedicated kitchen companion. And given its styling, that’s where you’ll want it — versus the Sony Dash which is equally at home in the bedroom as a super-powered Internet-connected alarm clock. The upcoming “personalized Internet … Read more

What If Verizon FiOS TV Was an App?

Verizon FiOS TV CES 2011 3

When Verizon launched FiOS TV, it launched it as a hybrid QAM/IP service – using QAM for broadcast television, and IP for VOD services and widgets. That’s about to change. Quietly, and very much behind the scenes, Verizon has been running an overhaul of its infrastructure in order to be able to deliver everything over IP. This is not IP as in the free-and-clear Internet, but IP as in a managed IP network used to deliver both multicast and interactive content.

In a meeting with Verizon exec Joe Ambeault here at CES, I learned that the company is very much committed to moving everything to its new IP platform. Consumers watching traditional FiOS TV should never see a difference, but by transitioning to IP, Verizon will have an opportunity to deliver its television service to a wide range of web-connected gadgets in the form of an app. In other words, FiOS TV will become just another service you buy in an app store – accessible across multiple screens and delivery platforms. In theory, consumers could even bring their own broadband to the table (FiOS or otherwise) and just layer FiOS TV on top.

The implications for this paradigm shift are a bit overwhelming, but in the short term, we can think of it just as a way to get access to content on more devices. If FiOS TV is an app, there’s no reason subscribers can’t access their shows from a tablet, smartphone, or laptop. The content doesn’t get delivered as part of a parallel TV-Everywhere system, but as a single IP solution that goes across every screen that consumers might want to use. We’ve seen hints of this in the new FlexView brand, but the model goes much further than anything we’ve seen deployed yet. As far as Verizon is concerned, the technical challenges have pretty much been solved. Again, in theory, consumers who don’t have access to FiOS Internet could get the television service added on to an existing non-Verizon ISP contract. That won’t happen any time soon, but the reasons are purely commercial, not technological. And the commercial situation is changing all the time.

LTE Comes to Town

We already knew there would be a big focus on LTE at CES this year, but I guess I wasn’t convinced that there would be a lot to show on the nascent 4G network. Color me surprised to see not only new handsets leaking out, but a Healthcare Access Terminal, an LTE-based app for digital … Read more

AT&T Gets the Tablet/TV Connection

While Comcast and Verizon have been the most vocal about connecting the TV experience with tablet devices, AT&T announced a new technology today that shows the U-verse operator isn’t letting the TV/Tablet trend pass it by. According to reporting from Engadget, the new tech uses Wi-Fi to connect mobile devices to AT&T set-tops. It supports … Read more

Comcast Live Streaming & VOD Coming to Tablets

We learned last fall that Comcast had some new tricks planned for the Xfinity TV app, and an announcement this morning provides a bit more detail. (Business Insider SAI posted the news first.) Comcast will launch a new “play now” feature later this year for the iPad that gives access to “nearly 3,000 hours” of on-demand … Read more

This Old House: Goodbye SDV, Hello FiOS

fios-install1

The backstory… We moved into our new (old) home about three weeks ago. And, to be efficient, merely transferred our Cox cable and Internet services. Unfortunately, the migration wasn’t quite as seamless as I had hoped – including blown scheduling by Cox and several days without service at both the old and new locations (without restitution). Additionally, regular readers should be familiar with my ongoing switched digital video pain and Cox’s restrictive CCI Byte implementation… leading to severely crippled TiVos. So no one should be surprised I’d want to give Verizon’s FiOS a try. Given reader encouragement in the comments and an upcoming siding project, we accelerated the plan.

My original goal had been to run both Cox and Verizon services simultaneously, reserving the right to terminate the install at any time, but within 10 minutes of the technician surveying the landscape he started severing legacy coax – which is when I realized there was no turning back. The installer (Matt W.) very patiently and expertly accommodated every request and performed outstanding, detailed work during his 6.5 hour visit. Not only that, he refused every offer of a beverage and a generous tip.

Now I did inform Verizon ahead of time that I’d ordered service, but I’m not sure I received any sort of special treatment. In fact, it could have worked against me…

fiostv-tweet

First Impressions: Xfinity App for Android

If you’re an Android user and have been dying to try out the new Xfinity app, you’re wait is over. Comcast released the app for the Android platform this week, complete with email inbox, digital voice account access, TV listings, on-demand menus, and access to your myDVR Manager app. The new Android implementation is solid, … Read more