Cable Firms Limit Users' Freedoms

Passacaglia writes "An article in the Washington Post reports that a coalition of companies, including Dell, Microsoft, IBM, Sun, and even the BSA, have filed a report with the FCC complaining about how cable providers are placing restrictions on how subscribers use broadband access. This is in the wake of the recent FCC ruling that cable providers need not open their networks to competition from outside ISPs. The restrictions include limits on VPNs, servers, and many things that would make broadband really worth having." Meanwhile, TWC sent nastygrams to people it suspects are using unsecured wireless networks, skimming the info from the public database of wireless access points.

Comments

It all comes down to the users

[alen]

Most users have no idea how the tech works and interacts together. So the solution to huge support costs is to dumb things down. Even helping a user troubleshoot on the phone is an ardous task. Now I don't mean the average slashdotter who knows more than the support people. But the average user who only knows who to click the icons on the screen.

As far as servers, bandwith is expensive. You're always free to purchase the business package which lets you run servers. It's always the small minority who are the bandwith hogs and want it all for less than the cost of providing the service.