Have you heard the latest on Comcast?

[coffee412]

Comcast, Affectionately known as comcrap is getting into the home computer repair market. Seems weird that I have not heard anything about this in the news. Seems like you would like to warn people of what they are going to do :p!

I was watching fox news and a commercial came on talking about comcra* and how they will come to your home and fix your computer. Oh the joy of it all!

Top 5 reasons why it will not work out:

5. Everyone will look for comcast in the phone book but they changed their name to Xfinity!

4. Comcast will not know what Linux is!

3. Comcast will have to buy you a new computer after they are done with it.

2. No one likes comcast so who will call?

And, The number one reason?....

1. They NEVER SHOWED for the appointment!!!!!!

:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:

[earthpigg]

#1 reason it will work:

The vast majority of "my computer is broken" scenarios involve things that any basically qualified nerd can solve.

For the rest, subcontract to a third party. Spread the costs of that subcontracting out amongst all customers, so no particular customer feels the pinch.


Plenty of non-nerds have few problems with comcast. My girlfriend and her roomate love xfinity, for example.

[Old_Grey_Wolf]

I had Comcast several years ago. When they upgraded their network to 7 Mbps, the modem they leased to me couldn't work above 4 Mbps. A Comcast technician come out to replace the modem with a newer one. The technician saw that I was dual-booting Windows and Linux. He knew what Linux was. He asked me to boot into Windows so he could use a CD to activate my new modem. I told him I would prefer not to have their software on my computer, and that I would remove it anyway. He smiled, then called the office and told them that it appeared his CD was bad. He told them to manually enter my modem's serial number into the system to activate it. Some technicians know more than others. I don't assume that Comcast technicians are less knowledgeable than others. They have to work with the policies and procedures that Comcast sets; however, some know how to work around those policies and procedures.

This technician looked like a College or University student. He probably worked for Comcast while he was going to school. He knew more than the minimum necessary to do the job.

I am looking at retirement soon. I have considered that I may want to work part time as a computer repair technician for one of these companies in order to supplement my retirement income. I can say for sure that I am more than qualified to do the job.

[magmon]

I smell fanboyism... We've had Comcast for years. I love the cable, and their internet is the fastest I've experienced.

[Thewhistlingwind]

I smell fanboyism... We've had Comcast for years. I love the cable, and their internet is the fastest I've experienced.


+1
This.

At worst they're average (And I do mean worst.) in reality I'd rate them far above that.

[pricetech]

I smell fanboyism.

Huh ?? Am I missing something ??

As to comcrap doing computer repair, there's no way I'd let them touch anything of mine. But as mentioned before, a lot of repairs involve little more than a trained monkey's brain to accomplish, so maybe they can wing it.

Besides, if they can get you connected the first time by "fixing" your computer, they don't have to come out a second time to set you up.

[IWantFroyo]

4. Comcast will not know what Linux is!


I've heard that the Comcast boxes run on Red Hat 9.

It was actually a thread in this forum at one point.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1760167

[Macskeeball]

5. Everyone will look for comcast in the phone book but they changed their name to Xfinity!
Comcast is still the name of the company. Xfinity is a service they offer.


4. Comcast will not know what Linux is!
I don't think that counts as a reason why it "will not work out" (your words). Desktop Linux has a tiny marketshare. From the perspective of Comcast, they can ignore Linux entirely and still be very successful.

PS- I have never had any affiliation with Comcast, not even as a customer.

[Quadunit404]

I smell fanboyism... We've had Comcast for years. I love the cable, and their internet is the fastest I've experienced.

+1. I've had their HD cable since 2004 and switched to their wireless Internet and home phone service back in May 2010 after using Verizon (and its incredible slowness) for so many years. We're pretty much never looking back to the previous cable provider (I think it was AT&T, can't remember exactly) and Verizon again, the exception for Verizon being cell phones as afawk (as far as we know) Comcast doesn't sell cell phones.

[Dustin2128]

I smell fanboyism... We've had Comcast for years. I love the cable, and their internet is the fastest I've experienced.
Hm, ever tried to seed torrents, like you're supposed after they finish?

[lovinglinux]

Comcast, Affectionately known as comcrap...

The major ISP here is Telefonica, which is affectionately knows as Telecomica. :-)

[sydbat]

Hm, ever tried to seed torrents, like you're supposed after they finish?Says who?

Also, if you are torrenting that much, maybe you should pay for a larger up/down package.

[forrestcupp]

Personally, I love Comcast's cable and internet. They're both much better than the alternatives I have available to me. And if I need my computer fixed, I'm not likely to call Comcast, so that's a non-issue to me.

[screaminj3sus]

+1
This.

At worst they're average (And I do mean worst.) in reality I'd rate them far above that.

I find comcast's quality is highly regional (becuase they have mostly grown by swollowing up other cable isp's)

Some places they are excellent, some average, others terrible.

I have comcast (its pretty much the only decent ISP I can get where I live) and they have been pretty good.

[Nyromith]

Since when is this forum only for people from the US? :mad:

[magmon]

@Dustin2128: No. I don't seed because I'd rather not be caught. Granted, almost everything I torrent I have a legal copy of, but I'd rather not have an example-making suit on my hands.
@Nyromith: Since when does the contents of one thread represent the entire forum?

[Dustin2128]

@Dustin2128: No. I don't seed because I'd rather not be caught. Granted, almost everything I torrent I have a legal copy of, but I'd rather not have an example-making suit on my hands.
@Nyromith: Since when does the contents of one thread represent the entire forum?
I torrent stuff like linux isos usually, I can understand why you wouldn't with piracy though.
@sydbat
Other people are giving you their bandwidth, and it's considered impolite to just leech off of that without giving a bit back. And what I was referring to is that comcast blocks seeding altogether.

[magmon]

...And what I was refereeing to is that comcast blocks seeding altogether.

No it doesn't, and the concept is somewhat absurd. I've seeded many, many gigs of Pioneer One.

[coffee412]

Comcrap has always been pretty bad where I live. Its not really their connection though. As long as their connection works its fine. But they do alot of underhanded stuff that makes me sick.
Also, Their help is dismal at best. I try never to have to talk to them if I can help it. They are just not a very good company. Infact, The consumerist.com had a poll a while ago and comcast was right up there in the top 3. So, I know Im not alone here. They do sub out alot of their repairs and that probably plays a large role in it.

Now as for fixing computers, I would have to base their abilities on past performance. So, Since I repair systems for a living I would have to say alot more biz is probably gonna head my way! :p

[Thewhistlingwind]

And what I was refereeing to is that comcast blocks seeding altogether.

That would dampen their viability for gaming. *Stares at his transmission ratio* 3.14, yeah, I seed Linux torrents too.

[Dustin2128]

http://torrentfreak.com/comcast-throttles-bittorrent-traffic-seeding-impossible/
Did they stop doing it then?

[Thewhistlingwind]

http://torrentfreak.com/comcast-throttles-bittorrent-traffic-seeding-impossible/
Did they stop doing it then?

Yes, there was a lawsuit and everything.

[magmon]

http://torrentfreak.com/comcast-throttles-bittorrent-traffic-seeding-impossible/
Did they stop doing it then?

I don't ever recall them doing this. I've had Comcast for at least five years, and I've never been unable to seed.

[screaminj3sus]

I torrent stuff like linux isos usually, I can understand why you wouldn't with piracy though.
@sydbat
Other people are giving you their bandwidth, and it's considered impolite to just leech off of that without giving a bit back. And what I was referring to is that comcast blocks seeding altogether.

No they don't. At all. I am seeding 500+ torrents just fine and am a member of multiple private trackers with a great ratio. I've had comcast for years and years and never had an issue with torrents.

Only issue I've had is I have gone over their bandwidth cap a few times and gotten a sternly-worded letter.

If they did do this it was only in certain areas.

[FreymanX]

Listen the Comcast box you get is LINUX. Alot of things are Linux...cell phones, game consoles, tvs, dvd players.

SO yes comcast will know exactly what linux is. Its called College.

And i love comcast...60 MBS internet is amazing. Try dial up and you'll see what no one likes.

And comcast doesn't revolve around your time and dates. They have a list of people who called before you.

Dont hate on comcast just because you cant afford it.

:popcorn: