Slashdot Mirror


Toledo Uncappers Getting Shafted

Jacob writes "Broadband Reports has a well written article detailing the plight of those Ohio cable modem users who found themselves facing gun wielding FBI agents for uncapping their cable modems. Buckeye Cable has clearly crossed a line and the tech community and consumer groups should be all over them like a wet, angry rag. Kudos to Broadband Reports for not letting this thing die." Granted, those who were indicted were violating their service contracts, but having their posessions siezed by FBI agents is overkill.

6 of 703 comments (clear)

  1. Stealing is wrong by Uhh_Duh · · Score: 3, Flamebait

    These people were stealing a VERY valuable commodity.. bandwidth. For those of you who don't work near the ISP industry, bandwidth is --VERY EXPENSIVE--. $200 per megabit per month is an absolute STEAL (to get that rate, you need to be buying it on the DS3 level). $400 per meg is more realistic on lower levels.

    Cable companies simply cannot afford to let people steal this stuff. Quite literally, someone who is uncapping a cable modem and mooching 10 megabits of bandwidth could easily be costing them several thousand dollars a month.

    I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for these people. What they did not only violated their agreement, but it cost someone else a LOT of money. Stealing is stealing, folks. And unlike the arguments that may apply to software piracy, this really does directly affect someone else's pocketbook.

    --
    -- People who hate Windows use Linux. People who love UNIX use BSD.
  2. Re:how was this overkill? by garcia · · Score: 2, Flamebait

    so one of them uncapped to 100/100. The bandwith of a T1 is 1.554mbs. The most a cable modem will probably get is 10/10. That's a DS3. That's more than $600/mo.

  3. Amen. by dnoyeb · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Amen.

  4. The problem with today's society... by bmetzler · · Score: 1, Flamebait
    Is that no one accepts responsibility for what they do.

    These people violated the contact they agreed to. I support every action taken against them. Perhaps if we'd hold more people accountable for their actions this world would be a much better place to live in today.

    -Brent
  5. Re:There is one word that dignifies this poster by garcia · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    and what makes you say that? You think that people who uncap their modem cfg files aren't breaking the law? They aren't stealing service?

    Are you seriously saying that you don't care that someone else would be taking ALL the bandwith that you MIGHT possibly have? If someone is taking a 10mbit pipe and you are only supposed to have 1.5mbs there are 7 other people that are out of luck b/c of one person.

    Get real, moron.

  6. The truth about the ACLU (wasRe:What's next?) by Zathras11 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Liberarians are okay, except for their stupid stance on drugs (ie, legalize it and crime will go down). The same things could be said for rape or murder (ie, legalize them and crime will go down). As for the ACLU, if you think they are the good guys then I'm afraid for your children too! For a detailed description of the true ACLU you can read the excellent book "Trial and Error: The American Civil Liberties Union and Its impact on Your family" by George Grant. The ACLU supports: Legalization of child pornography, Legalization of drugs, Tax exemption for satanists, Legalization of prostitution, Abortion on demand, Mandatory sex education, Busing, Ideological testing for court appointees, Automatic entitled probation, Public demonstrations for Nazis and communists, and Legalization of polygamy. I doubt the founding fathers would approve of any of those things. The ACLU was founded in 1917 by Roger Baldwin, who said "We are for Socialism, disarmament, and ultimately for abolishing the state itself as an instrument of violence and compulsion. We seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class, and the sole control of those who produce wealth. Communism is the goal." Many other ACLU founding members went on to lead the Communist Party USA. To this day, ACLU board members read like a Who's Who of the American Left! The ACLU (All Communists Love Us, or American Criminal Lawyers Union) is still staffed by communists and socialists who work almost exclusively on the left or extreme left side of the political spectrum, but occasionaly take a case on the right or extreme right side just to create the illusion of moderation (ie, the Nazi's march through Skokie, Illinois, years ago). You have been fooled, but you were not alone. Read the book! And FYI, the left always name their groups that way (like People for the American Way, etc.) Know what you are getting into!