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Does Comcast Hate Firefox?
destinyland writes "Comcast is the largest ISP in America. And they're requiring Internet Explorer for installations — even if you're using a Mac. The Comcast homepage even specifies that the page is optimized for IE 5.5 (which was released in 2000), and 'is not optimized for Firefox browsers and Macs.' With 13 million subscribers, you'd think they could spring for a web developer who could handle multiple browsers. (From the last line of the article: 'I'm afraid to ask how Comcast handles Linux...')"
They hate their customers.
I ran Linux when I last had Comcast installed. They asked "do you have *any* computer here with Windows? We can't do this without Windows." Of course, this was when they were using those stupid install CDs.
The guys who come to wire your house need to be able to configure your computer. Just ask the guy for the DNS servers if it doesn't just work when you hook it up. After this you should be on your way (atleast that is all that I remember I needed from him). You don't actually need to run the software - It's just that the well intentioned installer guys (who 'forget' to lock the TV signal for a nominal fee) can't really be expected to be networking gurus. or even novices.
Cheers!
Atheist: Buddhist in a Prius
Sping for A web developer? OP is significantly underestimating the inertia of large organizations.
The comcast web portal is a highly complex application that no doubt has countless dependencies that has been developed by entire teams of people over the past 6-10 years.
You'd need far more than just A web developer... The cost of such a project (They have 13 million customers used to the current one, and all sorts of other intangibles) would be quite an expensive and arduous undertaking.
1) No, I'm a Systems Engineer, not an Installer.
2) A majority of us use Firefox. Internally, it's the browser of choice.
3) The web page is probably something that hasn't been updated. There are tons of internal projects for that kind of thing. But of course it's done by committee, which takes time.
It's a non-issue, really.
Comcast requiring MSIE on a Mac is disappointing. MSIE is not supported on the Mac. Requiring the use of unsupported software is simply irresponsible.
You'd think that Comcast would care about thier customers enough to not require the customers to be exploitable on the Comcast network.
"yes"
Long answer:
"We're the biggest f-in ISP in the US! Why change now?"
A grim reminder that Win/IE has such a large portion of the market, that the largest ISP in America can do such a thing.
Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
It sounds like Comcast has received a big, fat check from Microsoft.
The Rogers website works very poorly with Firefox [especially without flash], and the PDFs they send out don't render with xpdf, gs, or evince. It's also as if they go out of their way to break things on non-Windows platforms. The Canadian government is going the same way sadly. CRA, MOT and a few others don't render at all in Firefox, or when they do select elements fail and make the pages useless.
... :-(
And the worse part is though they have to go out of their way to break things. I mean there is enough HTML/CSS/etc in common between the two [IE and Netscape/Moz] that every website should at least be functional on both, if not presentable.
Pizza Pizza also doesn't work in Linux which means I have to boot my Windows laptop to get some chow
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
What has happened to Slashdot?
Comcast doesn't hate Firefox. They probably don't see a need to support it. I remember 5+ years ago, running my linux boxes on Charter. They didn't support it, but that didn't mean they had a problem with me doing it.
Here's a hint to the idiot who posted this: DON'T INSTALL THEIR SOFTWARE. YOU DON'T NEED IT. Plug your router/linux box into the cable modem, DHCP, viola, internet connection. Easy as that.
There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
:wq
What is this species, I have yet to hear about it? Is it endangered? Should be call PETA or Greenpeace or what?
Seriously though -- this seems like corporate laziness to the nth degree.
It's amazing to me how many inept non-compatible web-pages there still are out there. I recently went to a page that informed me I was running a really ancient version of IE or Mozilla and I needed to upgrade it right now. Except I was running Opera.
I know, I know, I could get Opera to pretend it's IE. That's still stupid.
Peter
Just give me the friggn settings for my router and be on your way cable boy
Maybe the dude who designed their home page used MS Frontpage and doesn't know any better.
Back when I had Comcast service I never used their installation CDs. I got the DNS info and configured the connection myself . . . and also got about 70 channels as part of my service I wasn't supposed to receive.
They also offer no support. If you call with a trouble report you'd better pretend you are using a Windows machine when they give you their step by step connection test instructions. If they say "click Start -> Control Panel" and you say "I have neither", the problem is obviously on your end.
This is also true if you have only Macs and Linux, which I did at both my home and my studio when I first set those up. Luckily the guy who handled them had his Windows laptop.
By the way, Wild Blue satellite, same thing. They have independent installers, but Wild Blue tech support can't help them if they run into a problem on and only Linux machines are on the customer's end.
"Sacrifice for the good of The State" - The State
You don't need their disk. I've hooked them up for about 6-10 people and the first thing I do is trash that. Just set up the basic DHCP way for single machines and if you're routered, DHCP your WAN side and it's all gravy - takes 2 minutes tops.
I just got a new ADSL2 20mbit connection from my local ISP (cybercity.dk).
So I plugged the router in, saw the installation CDROM and was prepared to do some manual configuration.
But on the CD, there was a Mac version of their router installation program which configured it all and I had typed in my ADSL username and password.
But of course they are not a multi million user American company, They might have like 200.000-300.000 users, I would have expected the other way that a large company would have the resources to support more than Microsoft users.
For quite some time (at least till 2000 or 2001), every machine at Comcast's headquarters was directly on the internet. As in, every machine got assigned a 24.x.x.x address and not firewalled in any way.
Then there's that stupid Plumtree intranet...
Choose another ISP than Comcast. Convince your friends, family and relatives to use something else. (you should of course also convince them to not use IE :) )
Are you insane? Do not ever, EVER, let one of those monkeys install your service. I've seen it happen - they set your homepage to their site, install crapware, etc.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
I have comcast and for the past 3 weeks I've been experiencing persistent disconnections during primetime. I've called comcast several times and once I tell them I have a linux firewall they refuse to help me until I connect a windows system directly to the cable modem.
Unrelated to the lack of linux support, what I see via tcpdump is a complete loss of traffic for about 1 to 3 minutes followed by a large amount (sometimes hundreds per second) of only ARP traffic, followed shortly after that by normal traffic. Can anyone shed any light on that?
This story is inaccurate. When I signed up for Comcast a few years ago, I had the following problem: I had only Linux installed on my computer and the CD that came with the installer only supported Windows and Mac.
I called their tech support line and explained the problem. The first person I got didn't know how to handle it, so they passed me on to their supervisor. The supervisor recognized the problem and knew how to solve it. He asked me for the serial number of my cable modem, the MAC address of the network card connecting to it and a few other minor bits of data. He entered it manually into their systems and told me to reboot the cable modem. It came up perfectly.
Admittedly, needing to call tech support for your "self-install" is a hassle, but it's still a far cry from "not supporting".
You may treat all information submitted above as wild speculation.
Verizon does something similar. When you sign up for their DSL service they ship a self-install CD that "brands" IE, installs a bunch of bloat and requires Windows to work.
If you call them up to ask for help and actively tell them you don't want to install the software, they'll grumble for a while but eventually cave and step you through how to manually connect to and configure the DSL Bridge/Router they ship you.
Right now the install wizard requires IE. However they can still activate you without it, which simply takes longer since the tech has to call in to have your cable modem registered. Soon Comcast is releasing an OS and browser agnostic installation procedure which will remedy all of the fuss. It makes business sense to simplify and streamline the installation process, which at the same time makes the consumer more satisfied. The techs can do more installs when they don't have to care about the OS or browser.
This is what happens when comcast comes to your house and you have all Linux boxes. They set set up the cable box, do all of the wiring and such, sit down at your computer, call back to the office, have the signal sent out, open up your browser to see if they can get to comcast.net. It's not a big deal. If you're doing home installation, then when you to online you just get a message that says "Youre operating system is not supported by this installation, please call to finish your installation." And then /you/ call, and they send the signal and ask you to go to comcast.net. Verizon does the exact same thing.
They say Comcasts hates Firefox or Mac users. But they show screenshots of Safari for Windows, which is not Firefox and not for Mac.
I've had comcast out for a couple installations (both business and home), and some clients of mine have asked me to be there for their installs as well for some unknown reason. If you're reasonably tech savvy and make it known to the installer that you don't want them touching your machines, in my experience they have been willing to use their own laptops to setup the connection using a backdoor tech site accessed through a proxy that doesn't require software installation. Then they just have you connect your computer and make sure you can get out to the internet and setup your account name if you haven't previously had a comcast account. I've never had a problem. Not that I run Mac's or exclusively Linux machines, but I still don't allow any ISP to install anything on a machine that I control - that's just completely unnecessary, and the install techs know it and have procedures for bypassing that if you ask nicely.
Using a Mac is often seized upon by support technicians or customer service squids as a one-size-fits-all scapegoat to excuse themselves from providing assistance.
If I call anyone's support about difficulties (cable modem troubles at home, network issues at work) they will frequently jump as soon as they realize (sometimes after a comically long time) that I'm using a Mac, and declare with infinite righteousness and authority that my problem is definitely "Mac-related." And then they're off the hook, as far as they're concerned.
It doesn't really matter if it's a router issue, or even a bad password -- for some reason, the cause is always "Mac-related." They wash their hands of it and skip away free, easy as pie.
For me, when a technician or supportist utters that phrase what I hear is, "I'm incompetent, and I'm hoping you don't know enough to see that. See the pretty icon? Clicky-clicky!"
It plays into the myth that Mac users are somehow rare -- somehow few and far between. You can bash about market-share voodoo until you're blue in the face, it won't change the fact that it isn't hard to find Mac users. There are definitely fewer Mac users than Windows users, but that smaller number isn't nearly as insignificant as some would have us believe.
"I'm sorry, but the vast majority of our users use Windows. I can't help you."
"As a Mac user, that's very disappointing."
"Yeah, I get that all the time."
These stories are free but worth money.
Two months ago I was forced to call Comcast support for a dead modem. Now, at the time, I was running Fedora 7. The technician (I use that word loosely) was insistent I tell her the time, displayed on the lower right corner of my screen. My attempts to inform her that the time of my computer was irrelevant to a modem that is not syncing. After then giving in and telling her that on my desktop, the time is on the top right of the screen, not the bottom due to me being in Linux. "Ohh well, we don't support Linux" was the answer.
It then took another 12 minutes to explain that the OS of my choice has nothing to do with a modem that is failed. I was finally booted to a real technician after asking for a MAC address reassignment (tip: start using tech words and asking for things you can't actually do over the phone) I was able to get someone who at least understood what happened and send out a new modem.
What does this have to do with the topic? Well, I was asked to check a page at Comcast for terms, during the time I had told the "tech" that my cable was out, as they flat out said they would not support any issues with Firefox, especially under Linux, neither of which had anything to do with the problem.
Next time, I'll tell them I'm in BeOS or V2.
Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things?
Most people I know have to go through hoops to keep the TWC technicians off their computers. I got lucky with my TWC install (which I got only because work is paying for it . . . I lothe TWC). I told the tech, I'd take care of everything on myside of the modem, and he went along with it, and actually stayed until I was up and running with my Ubuntu box going through my router. Good to know there are some reasonable types out there. However for the rr.com local "Home Pages", those have so much active-X garbage going on them, you do miss a lot if your not running IE. However I have little use for their home page, so its not a big deal. I suppose if you want to use their popup blocker, or their email notification tools, you probably would need "their IE". I just say no to such drivel.
Rob Miracle http://www.robmiracle.com
The night before I got my Verizon FIOS internet installed I had nightmares that I was going to end up with Yahoo toolbar, Google Desktop, and Norton Antivirus on my pristine gaming PC. So right before they came I hid my gaming PC in my closet and had my Macbook sitting out. It was very obvious that I had a missing desktop since I had my 5.1 gaming speakers not connected to anything. I figured that I could undo whatever crap they did on OSX better than I could on Windows. They refused to touch my laptop, so I just had them leave the router and I configured it myself. I never found out what was on that CD they wanted to install, but I am sure it was something horrible and evil.
I recently signed up for comcast service (they were 1 of only 2 broadband choices for me). The installer was unable to get my internet service working, all he did was get it where I could open a page with my browser that allowed me to download a windows executable that does some sort of setup for windows machines. I had to wait several hours until the installer had gone back to their service center and processed the paperwork. Then I was able to call comcast and give them the information about my cable modem that they required.
It was totally ridiculous and unnecessary, but at least it is only 1 time. I haven't had any problems since then.
Oh, and the installer tried to charge me an extra $15 for connecting a second cable line (I ran the cable) to the splitter (which was already there). I realize that he is contracted by Comcast to do the work and doesn't directly work for them. This 12 seconds of work for $15 amounts to attempting to steal $15 as far as I'm concerned.
I have used Comcast at 3 different locations and they all required that their router be activated via a web browser. I could guess that the software that they use to activate the router was written in IE 5.5 and they are just too lazy to bother checking to see if anything else works with it.
Let me start off by saying I am in no way a Comcast fan, more like a customer by force since they're the only form of broadband where I live. That being said, you don't have to have Windows for installation. My entire home network runs nothing but Linux, even on the router, and I had no trouble getting my service set up. When the Comcast technician came to unblock the line and perform the install, I told him I did not run Windows and that I would not install their software. He shrugged, then called back to the mothership, giving them the MAC address of my cablemodem and I was good to go. Maybe it's different in other areas...
With that out of the way, I have to agree that their website totally sucks. It's annoying as all hell that I have to enable popups and disable my adblock just so I can pay my damn bill online!
Fortunately, for now the FCC still requires them to allow you to use other ISPs (if you pay more, but it's worth it). No telling how long that will last, though.
Lacking <sarcasm> tags,
I made him install the Comcast software on Windows running on a Mac via Parallels. It was easy enough to un-install when I was done. He was really confused though because it was a Mac... with Windows on it.
>"I'm afraid to ask how Comcast handles Linux...""
There isn't anything to 'handle'. Just run the line and gimme the ip. If I'm smart enough to choose linux over the wannabe os, I'm smart enough to configure the ip.
I don't understand why broadband companies insist you have to 'install' their service. The service comes across the coax, NOT on a cd.
I had Comcast cable installed recently. I told the installer that his install CD wouldn't work in my computer, took the interface down and then brought it back up, and I was all set with an IP address and surfing in less than 3 minutes. The install CD, as far as I can tell, just installs garbageware and pokes around in your network settings (making sure you have DHCP enabled, etc...)
There's no conspiracy here. Think about it. Comcast doesn't want to have to send a tech AND an installer out to your house, and the average installer isn't going to know anything about configuring a computer to connect to the internet, whether it's running Linux, Mac OS, OR GNU/Linux. Comcast wants to hand the installers a stack of install CDs, instruct them to pop one in the drive and click Next->Next->Next->Finish, collect your money, and rush off to the next job (the installer doesn't want to be there any longer than he has to either, he gets a flat rate per job, so the longer he stays, the less money he makes/hr)
Comcast "requires" Windows/IE because they want as ubiquitous a platform as possible. Imagine it taking twice the work on their part to add GNU/Linux/Mac, Firefox/Safari/Opera support to their installer. What added return might they see? HINT: Not much.
Any user with a free enough mind to buck the Windows/IE trend is probably going to be able to figure the network stuff out on their own.
Plus, most sensible installers don't give a shit whether or not you actually use their install CD. They get paid either way.
I currently work for Comcast as an internet tech support rep in the northeast US. If I received a call regarding linux or any other unsupported OS, I'd do two things. Ask if they're set up using DHCP. We don't support any other config. Ask if they're using a router. We don't support anything but one computer directly connected. Barring that, I'll poll the modem and ping it 25 times from our servers in Denver. I will also check the SnR to and from the modem. If none of those are out of line, I will have the customer reboot his machine, and if they still cannot connect, they're on their own. We are taught to never provide ANY support to anything that is not windows 2000 or windows xp, or mac os 10.1,2,3, or 4. Just thought I'd shed some light.
Use a little common sense once in a while. --Book of Mooch Ch. 5 verse 14
the signup cd, along with changing your internet connection settings and resetting your homepage to the comcast one, also helps you configure your comcast email (the last time i installed it). without it, i think you didn't get an email address (because it performed acct lookup using its ie based widget).
just a thought, some people care about those things and those folks are the same ones that probably don't mind using comcast webmail (or who have nothing else to use). i'm pretty sure they're not all that inconvenienced by the install cd, but you never know.
I'm afraid to ask how Comcast handles Linux...
It's simple, the responce would be
a) Contact Microsoft
b) Get a copy of Vista
c) Install it
d) Then contact us
;-)
Jaj
Thanks to this wonderful article, we can now continue feeling oppressed because our operating system of choice doesn't get the same hand-holding that the rest of the world does! "Dear Slashdot, would you believe that the cable installer did not know what the Linux kernel was? I BET THEY'RE FUNDED BY MICROSOFT IN A GIANT CONSPIRACY TO BRING LINUX DOWN!"
Seriously, get off Slashdot if you don't know how to set up an Internet connection. You're lamenting the fact you don't get a few browser helper objects, your IE branded, default home and search pages changed, and about 3 or 4 extra things run at startup installed.
Plug your router/linux box into the cable modem, DHCP, viola, internet connection. Easy as that.
True in general, but on Comcast that Just Don't Work(tm). Until you enter your modem serial number, MAC address, account number, customer registration number, magic secret number, username/password, answer to the lame security question, etc. in their IE-only registration site DHCP gives you a 192.168.n.n address that only routes to that site.
First? First to what? First to side with the cable company? No, I think "Last" is probably more accurate. I have Comcast for cable. We're right at the end of last CO on the block. We barely get enough signal to have consistent connections. It took us over a year of yelling at Comcast to get them to take of the TV filter. Why? Because we've had DirecTV since the we bought the house, but Comcast is afraid we're going to steal their TV signal. Before anyone chimes in, no, we don't have a DSL option, Verizon doesn't provide anything worth buying in our area yet, and we're 2-3 years before FIOS is going to be run. No, we don't live out in the middle of "nowhere", just in the middle between 2 "somewheres".
Who is brave enough?
nemesis. Home of an experimental fe code.
My experiences with Comcast in the Western 'burbs of Chicago.
1. Initial setup was they absolutely insisted on having me use a Windows PC to run the setup software. This didn't install anything, but did activate the cable modem. When I told them all I had was Linux, they offered to do it manually but that would "take a couple of weeks". In reality it took about 24 hours for the request to go thru the system.
2. Every time since then, when ever I've seen them do an install or troubleshoot, they don't even bother to ask. The techs bring their own laptop and use their own equipment.
3. Their homepage (comcast.com) refuses to let me log in to check/pay my bill if I use anything but IE on Windows. It just sits and spins with Firefox (Windows or Linux) or Konqueror.
4. Their "Digital Voice" crapped out every time someone got online with something else. You MUST have their premium service to get the 768 Kbps upstream, or do nothing else while you're on the phone, or it won't work. 384 Kbps is standard, and it sucks for voice + anything else. I've since migrated to Packet 8 and have had no issues, even going thru Comcast.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
"We hate Firefox" When I asked if he spoke for himself or the entire company he had this to say "Oh no what have I done I've said too much I haven't said enough" and hung up the phone. This is clearly a conspiracy of the highest order and can only be solved by the internet detectives here at Slashdot you magnificent sleuthing bastards. What's that you say? Nothing to see here move along? I beg to differ, you kings among men. I beg to differ
First time I had an "engineer" - read salesman - "install" an internet package, it was ISDN in 1996 and he got arsey when he couldn't install Netscape and IE on to OS/2 (well, with WinOS/2 he might actually have been able to - I didn't let him).
Second time was with Clearwire Ireland, where the salesman just went to his own car to get his laptop when he realised I didn't have a Windows PC for the router registration app to run on. He then got me to sign off on the contract with "user will configure own network, connectivity tests passed" on it. Far more sensible, although some days that single channel ISDN would be faster...
dumbass!
Well slashdot can't design a propersite either, and taco doesn't care as long as it looks good in his browser, so that seems to be going around.
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
According to this article: http://ajax.phpmagazine.net/2007/05/zimbra_and_com cast_new_communi.html Comcast has Zimbra do it's email, voicemail, etc. Zimbra is based off of Linux, and runs only on Linux/Macs. Assuming that the basis for the Comcast portal is the zimbra client, it will also run better on Firefox, as Zimbra has known slowdowns with IE, which is something they are working on for 5.0 http://www.zimbra.com/products/roadmap.html.
Comcast focuses on its biggest market first. No one can disagree that Windows has the largest market share, so that is what Comcast will do most of its training and development towards. Plus, it may be easier to rebrand IE anyway.
I agree with the above statement that the website probably hasn't been updated. However, it is a jump from the company doing what is easiest for them to their actions being malicious. Instead of assuming everyone is out to get us (They only support IE? Then they must want to destroy Mac and Linux!), let's look at their real motivations - the bottom line with the almighty dollar for the shareholder.
OK people, let's try to get this on the first try: SUPPORT COSTS MONEY AND IT IS A UNRECOUPABLE EXPENSE. The less support I have to pay for, the more I can give back to my stock holders, who ultimately run the company and decide the fate of things. It's easier for them to write/maintain/support the IE install. They don't have to worry about whether or not the installation guy or customer is capable of using IE. I mean let's face it, whom this day and age is not capable of clicking.
knowlegable. I have had their service installed at three locations in different cities. I have always told them that there are no windows machines in my house and that they cannot touch my router, switches, or computers. They were always happy to tell me all the configuration numbers and they have worked with no problem. On the third install they had to use some kind of call/response program that activated the service to my house, but they had an installer for the mac and for windows. I let them install it on an old mac which I hooked to the network for just that one instance and then promptly removed. The install tech said that it should not be necessary to run that program, but otherwise the (people he had to call in to) would have to look up a number and read it to him on the phone, which they failed to do correctly twice). I have only been to their customer control page one or twice. It would not work on firefox but was fine with safari.
So, which accredited engineering school did you become a "Systems Engineer" at? Same as the "Sanitation Engineers?"
Regardless of whether or not the readers of /. can access the Comcast site with their favourite browser or not, the bigger problem which is (nearly) always ignored is the website's compatability with assistive technologies such as screen readers and adapted keyboards.
Websites that are not developed to standards are 99% likely to not work with these sorts of adaptive technologies causing major problems to people with disabilities. Unfortunately, without a successful legal test (or morals) case companies like Comcast can continue discriminating against this group of internet users and get away scott-free.
Unfortunately it's not just Comcast who are guilty of this. Most websites on the Internet are inaccessible to anyone not using IE/Firefox on a regular desktop or laptop pc.
I work in a call center as a comcast tech support "Customer Account Executive." Which is fancy crap for being a phone monkey. I also happen to have a crappy CS degree, and thus looking at comcast from the inside, know how much crappola they have on the go. Others may have mentioned the comcast install cd, and that is really why it requires IE. The CD contains a few drivers for usb hookups, IE6, and the "activation wizard" which sets up a secure proxy to the reg servers, creates a primary UID (people are 70% less likely to quit or change services if they use the ISPs e-mail), and then installs the comcast toolbar, which last I checked only works in IE. Also if you go to comcast.net and dig down thru the layers of flash to the download section they have several deals with other companies to point out plugs for their stuff. By insisting on IE those morons can also develop easy toolbar junkers.
The tech when they show up for install often will try to run the cd cause it's the quickest way to install. Every modem is manually activated in our database by it's mac, the CD's server connection gets the PCs IP and then tracks back through our network to find the modem providing that, then it compares it to the one listed on the account. That is also why they'll insist on bypassing routers, it won't work with internal IPs. If there are no viable PCs for the CD, which also works on macs if they have IE & stuffit installed and remember their admin password (shocking the number of mac users who don't know that one), the tech calls the comcast provisioning line where they can activate the modem using the pcs IP or by getting the modems mac from the tech. You know that video a few years ago of the tech asleep on a customers couch? Guess who he was calling. There were often queues of up to 30 mins to get to those guys.
The other CAE people doing all the troubleshooting and so forth here are hired en mass, often out of highschool, given 3 weeks training, and tossed on the phones. We have a standarized trouble ticket program that has a pretty good line of questions that would lead even the most blind monkey to the correct solution, but more CAEs don't like it since it takes time to go thru the whole thing, and performance is measured with a stop watch. Three months at the job and if you've half a brain you'll know all the right questions anyways.
The problem is that intelligent people don't often call in, since most intelligent people will fix any computer issues they have, and bring a modem to a local center so they can swap it that day. No, the people who call are your 70 year old first time computer users who want to see the pictures on their new devil box. It may sound funny until you have a 70 year old with a tracheotomy actually ask you that.
But in defense of comcast, *shudder*, they don't prohibit you from using Firefox, Opera, or Safari or whatever. They just don't wanna have to spend the extra time to train the monkeys to recognize the differences and the differences in troubleshooting each of them. Turn over at this job of course is wildly high, and so that extra training isn't worth the investment.
How much were you paid by MS to astoturf?
I once did suggest to a customer service rep that I shouldn't have to pay the same rate for fewer services, but I couldn't even make the drone on the other end of the phone line understand the point.
The key to working with Comcast is to have some basic technical knowledge of cable internet. Once you show you know the lingo and you know the basic technical aspects, you'll either get the support person to "talk up" to your level immediately or switch you to someone that knows. Most support people have at least heard some of the terminology, usually enough to know if they're in over their head and need to route you to someone else.
For example, if you buy your own modem, NEVER say "I need my new modem INSTALLED." Say "I need my new modem PROVISIONED". 95% of the support people will know right away what you need and won't bother asking you about Windows and you'll be online 15 minutes later.
Know how to get to the status page of your modem (usually http://192.168.100.1/ but may vary depending on model). Know that your downstream signal needs to be between -10 and +10 dBmV. Know that your downstream SNR should be above 33. Know that your upstream power should be between +30 and +50 dBmV. When my signal dropped because of a splice in the line gone bad, I didn't tell Comcast "my internet don't work", I told them, "my downstream power is -16, which is out-of-spec, I need a tech to take a look at this". I had a tech out the very next morning and was back online by the afternoon.
Also, whenever you have a problem, BEFORE you call do the mantra of restarting your cable modem, router, and computer. Even if you know this will not fix the issue, do it. Then take the router out of the loop and do it all over again. Then when you call, tell them you did all this already. This will save time.
In all the times that I have had to call Comcast for technical issues, not once did the subject of Windows ever come up.
Karma: Frotzed (mostly due to the Frobozz Magic Karma Company)
I had comcast for a while, and while it ran fine for several months, one day I had connectivity issues. I called their service line, and told them I was unable to maintain a steady or stable connection. They told me to load up IE blah blah. When I told them I was running linux (mandrake 7 at the time) I was told "Sorry, we cannot help you. Linux does not have the right software to connect to the internet or transfer files." This poor sap seemed to believe it too. I moved 2 months later. Now, my area's time warner cable service has been sold to these fuck holes.
There is a whole generation of IT people who grew up knowing nothing outside Microsoft. (By generation I mean some kind of IT generation, say 5 years). They exist in their little ecosystem of microsoft products and anything else makes them uncomfortable. These guys are still largely around, I work with one guy, he automatically assumes Microsoft has the correct answer, even when intellectually he can be convinced there is nothing special about them.
...
I guess Microsoft deliberately nutured this little ecosystems; not just in the positive sense of focussing on developers, but in the negative sense by their careful marketing and PR speak aimed at FUDding everything else.
This is nothing new to Slashdot. What's perhaps interesting is that there are still lots of techies in this mindset, when people here clearly feel things have moved on
For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert. - Arthur C. Clarke
Pretty much every ISP does that. It's because the don't want anyone messing up the installation through that little automated disc that messes it up enough on its own.
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
What is there to install with cable internet?
What slashdot reader dutifully installs all of the provider's junk-ware from the install package? There's nothing to set up. DHCP and done.
... I can tell you that its no surprise.
I don't work at Comcast, but two people I know as friends do, and being a "web developer" my self, we can have those bitch sessions over beer where you talk about how things are at your job...
Comcast is one of those huge companies that NEEDS to be cutting edge, but refuses to give their employees the tools or flexibility to do so. I hear stories of people having to bring their own computers to work, because the work stations their given are so locked down by the IT structure that its impossible to install plugins, or use that random text editor thats great for java script in that one sitiuation. We've all been there, you need a sample of code, so you hit up google and go get it. Well, Comcast is probably blocking the internal network from that one code sample site.
I won't even mention what its like trying to get the software you need. Most "get it" other ways and either somehow force the install on to their work station, or again, use their own computer.
When its hard to even do the work, I can imagine how hard it is to do GOOD work.
Comcast might be a decent broad band company, and they might have an OK website. But any time you hear about why it sucks, its not because of who works there, its how they're forced to work. One of the guys who works there's resume reads like a FWA (http://www.thefwa.com/) award list... Comcast SHOULD be cranking out awesome work, but the corporate structure prevents it.
Firefox 2.0.0.5 has been released, this version fixed the firefoxurl:// bug. http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/2.0.0.5/relea senotes/
Listen... I've got comcast. when I got my install 9 years ago I told the installer "I don't do windows".
He said no problem all I need to do is check the line with my box, we'll call the mac address of your cable modem
in, and what daemon are you running for dhcp? Well... I connected my cable modem after it was called in, turned it on.
Booted up the powermac g3 that was to function as firewall/router/email server for the house. And wham my entire house was
online. No problem. If you get the noneducated desk support people then most of the time you need to go with the flow and
bullshit. Usually the techs are up on the stuff, unless they are a newbie. well 9 years have passed and I run Linux and OS/X
for operating systems and they are online on comcast. no problems.
This is stupidly alarmist. Yes, they have an install CD that runs on Windows. All it does is:
a) Get a private DHCP address, before modem registration. All modems, when not registered, can get one of these.
b) Use a web page on the private network to register the modem. This is as simple as a web form with a Register button.
c) Once registered, the modem resets itself, obtains it's new configuration.
d) PC regains DHCP from the modem, this time getting a public address.
This is not rocket science, and you can do every step of it with Linux or Mac. Yes, 85% of their installation techs don't know HOW, and only know how to let the CD walk them through these steps, but it's super easy. On top of that, YOU can call Comcast, read them your modem's MAC address, and get it registered yourself, skip to step d. I've done this 4 times for replacement cable modems.
This is all just plain TCP/IP and web pages. There is no magic. And yes, I have only three Linux boxes at my house, no Windows or Mac at all.
That install CD stuff is just a gimmick so they can load up their crappy software on your PC and high-jack homepages and such. Just call them during the install, sound all mad and stuff, tell them just how terrible IE is. They will activate your account on their end. I dont even tell I run linux.
I had a friend that thought you HAD to use Yahoo's startup icon/web portal to "go to the Internet", because that's how it was in the setup instructions. I'm sorry, but it's not Yahoo's fault if this guy didn't have enough sense to switch his home page.
And it's not Comcast's fault if they have example instructions on how to get things going. They can't be expected to list EVERY browser in the world, and cover every type of internal home network setup.
VOTE!
And that is sad. Just plain sad.
The cable internet monopoly in action.
"I don't think it's selfish, to eat defenseless shellfish." -NOFX
Did everyone forget how Comcast was able to monopolize the cable market?
They were given a great wad of cash in the mid-nineties by MicroSoft. Within the year they had taken over MediaOne and several other smaller local cable territories. I suppose that M$ is calling in their favors.
cat sig >
I have encountered the crapware Comast nightmare as well, but discovered there's an easy solution. Call Comcast, and tell them that you had it all installed and it was working, but now has suddenly stopped since you moved your computer room or something. They may need the MAC address off the cable modem, but they'll reset whatever they need to at their end and you can just connect using DHCP. I've done this a couple of times, and it's worked fine.
For those who've had no problems, your local Comcast setup might be different. Around here (New Hampshire), when you just try to connect Comcast gives you a rewarding web page that says you need to install their software before you can connect, and blocks all other traffic.
Nothing to see here, move along.
Up until a few years ago, I had used Comcast ever since the first rollout of high-speed internet in the 90s. I've never used their install disks, and I've always used Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox and it was never a problem. To install, I just enter the DNS/IP information just like you normally would. In recent years, DHCP has taken care of that for me anyway. And setting up a Linux router was just like setting up any other router. The only anomoly is you must know that the cable modem only responds to the first MAC address it sees, so if you swap routers you need to power-cycle the cable modem.
Every time I've ever had to do a setup, SBC DSL, AT&T DSL, TW-RR, anything, I either do it over the phone, or just tell the tech I have to do it for security reasons, and have them walk me through it step by step. They tell you to click start, I open a console. Granted some linux guru's may not have enough windows savy to be able to fake it, but it's not that hard to figure out what they want you to do if you listen. When they expect the CD to autorun, just tell them it's not, feed them a few lines... there's not a company out there that doesn't have a manual option, windows machine or not. So many people are focusing on getting these companies to recognize your altOS, instead of just getting the problem solved. Aside from getting program specific responses, there's nothing you can't mimic in OSX or *nix to fool your average installer or phone tech. Only time i've ever had problems was with onsite installers, and I just gave them a coke and told'em to sit back and enjoy the break on the clock while I do thier job, there were more than cool with it so long as I signed the ticket.
An I.T. motto in the hands of an idiot is a dangerous thing...
I just went thru this on my Mac. /. crowd is affected by those.
The install package is built around IE on their CD.
You need it and its associated script/files to crank up the modem without central office intervention.
Once it's over, you delete IE and its stuff and you're back to normal with your apps of choice.
Oddly enough it's the only place I know of to get the death knell version of IE Mac.
I never use the Comcast web portal, so maybe it's also needed for The Fan (is it still around?) or video email, but I doubt the
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
Well, linux does leave a lot to be desired from a tech support point of view. The gui widget for controlling the network cards is (if it even exists) in different locations depending on which distro you run, and which desktop version you run. Even if you drop down to the command line (assuming the user knows the root password), there's no consistent location, or naming convention for configuration files. Linux can be surprisingly variable in certain aspects of its makeup. Until linux is easy to support, it won't be supported by most companies.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
They will end the call if you tell them you run linux. It was something just short of hanging up on you. "We don't support that OS... bye ". And the funny thing is that I wasn't asking for them to support the OS, I was asking them to support their networks. So when I called back I said I was running XP and gave them the information they asked for.
Your company just got a huge helping dose of bad publicity from an influential market sector, all because you were too lazy to update a simple webpage. Granted, as of now there isn't much choice when it comes to choosing an isp or cable company, just as ten years ago there wasn't much of a choice other than AOL. Well, time and technology change fast, don't be too surprised when we have a choice we'll head for the exits in droves. Right now, I'm actively looking at a place to live that will allow me to use a decent ISP other than Comcast, because of your insane policies.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
I've had Comcast Internet service hooked up twice in the past year and a half. Each time, that dreaded proxy page was the only thing I could browse to, insisting that I "activate" my account (via an ActiveX control in IE). Each time, I called Comcast and insisted I wouldn't use the activation page, and within 5 minutes a rep was able to "active" my account remotely.
Definitely annoying, but it's absolutely not necessary to install anything.
Lots of sites dont work 100% on firefox. Youtube does work completely on linux64 firefox. I think its a flash issue.
My comments here are my own; I do not speak for my employer.
Although it may not seem like it, a general shift from "What's Linux?" to "We don't support Linux" among tech support people *is* an improvement.
Tired of FB/Google censorship? Visit UNCENSORED!
People keep posting work-arounds and tricks to get Comcast to work, to which I say: screw that, I've got better things to do with my time. If a company as big as Comcast can't see the benefit of OS and broswer agnosticism, then they don't deserve my money.
All I've ever had to do was plug my modem in to my system, refresh my NIC in a terminal (ipconfig /renew - or service network restart) and I'm online. What "installation"?
Nor is it unique. Around 5 years ago TurboTax suddenly started "requiring" IE. It check and if it wasn't installed, it installed it with the program and made it the default browser. It "needed" it because the instructions were in HTML. Any browser would would. And in fact it did. We did the install and changed the default browser back again (Opera, at the time) and it worked fine. This, after TurboTax tech support swore down and down (there was no up to their "help") that it absolutely required IE.
The same thing happened with Dragon Naturally Speaking, in the last version before MS bought it and built it into Word. Same checking and forced install, same rationale, same story from tech support, except we finally got one guy to admit it would work with another browser after we told him we'd already done it.
We had Adelphia for telecom at the time. They also force installed IE with their software. We just didn't install their software since it was nothing but IE, some help files, some self-promotion, and AOL and Earthlink install programs. The important stuff, ports and s4erver names and whatnot, were in the instructions, and Opera read those off the CD just dandy. Whenever we called for tech support they asked if we had IE. We said no, we had Opera. They said they didn't support that. We said we weren't asking them to support the browser, we wanted them to fix the problem with the line or network, and in fact I forbid them to attempt to provide "support" for anything from the wall plug in because I didn't trust them to leave my system in the state I wanted it.
Kickbacks. That's what it comes down to. Probably not direct monetary kickbacks, but something like reduced support charges for their own Windows Server software as long as they standardized their network by having everyone use one "standard" browser. Then again, this was Adelphia, so it might well have been payola.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
I've read all the Comcast installation and horror stories here, and I have to toss in I didn't have any of these.
:-)
When I had Comcast internet installed several years ago, I opted to buy my own cable modem, and had it bought before Installation Dude showed up. He checked the connections on the outside of the house, etc. He came inside and checked the connection from that end. Then he pointed at the computers sitting on my desk and asked "Which one of these is the hookup?" And I replied with "If you don't mind, I'd prefer to do my own install on the computer itself." He smiled and said "Hey, less work for me! Here's a CD, and if you have any problems, here's the phone number for the help desk. Sign here please (hands me clipboard with form). Can I pet your dogs on the way out?"
As far as the Comcast website goes, I've never had a problem there either, even though I use Firefox. Since their own pages have absolutely no useful content, I never go there
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
"you'd think they could spring for a web developer who could handle multiple browsers."
It's not the developers you jackass, the decisions are made at a much higher level with little or no input from the actual technical people. Like any big company.
I just installed Comcast Highspeed in Pgh on a Win 98 box. IE was only need for the installation setup. It crashed - badly. The installer was able to push the info to the modem via a 1/2 hour phone call to the home office.
Beyond that, I use a WRT-54G for wireless throughout the house and it works fine with a variety of OS's. No need to pay extra for multiple PCs
NOTE: The WRT-54G setup is the key which took an additional 1/2 hour to setup after the installer left. DO NOT USE MAC CLONING - Its the wrong approach.
And here's the equally bad logic: the last time I called them about e-mail problems, they told me they only support Outlook Express; they do not support Outlook.
Or it could well be simply that they're following the rationale suggested by many other posters: pick the most common system and stick with that, it makes the scripts for level one support easier.
I've never needed to install anything to have Comcast cable. Worst comes to worst, just tell them you have a console and may buy a computer later on. Or say the computer doesn't have a network card and you'll get one later.
Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.
The install disks are so the install techs don't actually have to be knowledgeable - it automates the basic operations.
Comcast officially supports only the common denominators they know: Windows, IE, stand alone computers. From peers, any OS or browser will work, but if you have issues, Comcast cannot help you because it's beyond their knowledge.
I put up with their unstable network, flaky modem and horrendous customer service only as long as I had to. As soon as Verizon FiOS hit the area, I dropped Comcast ASAP. If I ever move again, I'll only go where FiOS or DSL is available. No cable ever again, not from Comcast, Time-Warner or any other low-brow, low-tech provider.
One thing I can say is that TimeWarner/Roadrunner has things right. When you do a Self install, all you really need is Mac address of the modem. Yep that's it. If it doesn't work you call self-install support and provide the modems MAC and should be up and running. The only thing I dislike is that the homepage/support pages are all flash based and I wished to hell they'd get off their asses and at least configure the support pages to plain HTML for the FAQ and server settings.
Mod me up/Mod me down: I wont frown as I've no crown
I had a modem replaced and the new modem's config/info/etc pages would only work on IE. Why? Not any fancy javascript or bad css.
Pages were served with the Content-type image/gif. IE ignores the content type, firefox does not (and I can't find any way to make it).
We've secretly replaced Slashdot with new Folgers Crystals - let's see if it notices.
I had Comcast. IE is used during the install, so the modem can be provisioned without calling them using IE scripts. Once the modem is taken care of, you can hook anything you want up *that isn't a server* I had an old Linux box running for a year in my router's DMZ, and they never called me on it. Was pretty much zero traffic though. I had a friend who hosted the server for some 3-d shooter for a couple of games, and Comcast threatened to disconnect (weeks later) if he did it again. (Why is it always a "friend" with the problems?)
I had Comcats for about 5 years, moved three times. I never had any problems.
My in-laws had Comcast for 6 months, then moved to another house in the same neighborhood. In the 1 week that it was disconnected, their (leased) modem's serial number was "being used" in Denver. We were in Arizona. Since it was leased, we just swapped it at the office. That was the only trouble with Comcast Internet that I've ever been part of.
Are you saying that you hate their customers too? ;--)
I bought my own Linksys modem, called them and gave them the MAC. Online in about 10 minutes. NO install disks, NO downloads. Firefox and Mozilla on XP, Vista, Ubuntu, and Redhat....NO problems.
I'm a Comcast customer and use firefox and safari on Mac OSX and Windows without any issues with Comcast whatsoever!
My s/o and I live in an area that had Adelphia, pre-merger.
We had to "provision" twice.
The second time was quite fun. As I can't use Firefox to provision my machine because they only support IE on the provisioning app, and I only run gNewSense and Ubuntu, I had to call technical support and have them provision.
Forty-five minutes into the call:
"Lady, I have 12 Ubuntu (GNU/)Linux computers in my apartment. I can boot any of them, hook them up with a straight Cat-5 cable to the cable modem, type sudo dhclient eth0, and have them pick up a lease from your provisioning server, because I was able to do that with two different machines before I even called.
Why are you still trying, after 45 minutes, to get my girlfriend's sole Windows machine to attempt to find your provisioning server, when it's clear that the Windows networking just doesn't want to find it, after multiple reboots and reconfiguration?"
She didn't have a good answer; told me to boot the Linux machine, then set everything up on her end.
Everything just worked; haven't had a problem since. The problem isn't technology--it's wetware.
Three years ago at my last apartment, I signed up for Comcast Internet. I didn't have a Windows partition on my PC, so they couldn't complete the setup. I called customer support, told them that I was running Firefox on Linux. They said that they didn't officially support that kind of installation, but hey, all the install program does is change your browser's proxy settings and visit a web page. Support told me the proxy server's IP and what URL to visit. 5 minutes later, I'm surfing the web.
Sure, it would've been nice if the installer had instructions for those of us who don't choose to use IE on Windows, especially since the procedure is so simple. But all told, the experience wasn't a bad one. And I didn't feel discriminated against.
OK you got me. Microsoft forced me to do it.
No money though. Ballmer just sent me a photo of a mannequin with a chair embedded in it's chest with the word "You" scrawled along the bottom.
Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and stupid comments are intentional.
I put my OpenBSD router on Comcast's network. Their install software is completely unnecessary. Just set your outgoing NIC to "dhcp" and all is done.
And what about all of the people out there with Linksys routers? This is the stupidest story ever posted on slashdot.
The main issue with this is in some areas it seems you have clueless scripted support....with any provider. Since I know what the reactions would be from windows when I have a DNS failure, I just....lie and tell them what they want to here to get what I want. For example, when they ask me to do all the windows crap that would identify whether I would get an IP from DHCP, I look at my web browser on the router's web page and see if it can get the external IP. When it can't, I tell them my PC is not getting a DHCP address. They always ask if the lights are flashing in this case and then I will tell them yes and that usually gets them to identify there's a problem on my segment of their network.
By far the most common thing I am finding with Roadrunner is they never update the network outage/status page. That tells me this page isn't automated and someone has to actually enter the updates by hand which means it will never get updated unless it's planned or unless they have it fixed quickly. I know the LAST thing on my mind after a long outage is updating outage messages or making a help desk ticket entry.
Gorkman
When I got comcast internet "installed" (and I use that term loosely) The individual installing it had ZERO idea how to get the connection working in Vista, and I had two other machines each with a different distro of linux and of course he knew even less about getting the connection to work on them. So I paid the 75$ for the install of which he did absolutely nothing!
When I got Comcast, the CD I was provided not work as my computer was not Windows. I called them on the phone and told them I was running Linux. They said OK and got the computer working. No problems whatsoever.
"if only i had known i would have been a locksmith." -albert einstein
When I got Comcast to install my cable I told the guy that I didn't want the software on my PC. I explained my concerns and the fact that I have had cable internet before without needing any software, he called into his tech support and told them that they would need to activate the account because he wasn't able to do it through software.
I think it makes it easier for them to activate accounts but it is by no means the only way to get set up with Comcast. I think that regular CSRs would be able do the same thing, if you are doing a self install, you just need to bitch and moan that your install CD is busted, or you don't have a CD drive to install the software, or that you absolutely refuse to install the software because it is not necessary to being online.
Slashdot is kind of like Playboy; we aren't here to read the articles.
My brother in law has Comcast because he's in their executive ranks. A year ago on his home computer there was constant Microsoft LAN messaging popup spam - on a machine that Comcast had provided and configured for him. He just accepted it as normal, but I quietly turned that feature off.
I'm all for ISPs not blocking ports - but allowing messaging through that's only supposed to be for LANs?
"with their freedom lost all virtue lose" - Milton
I've used comcast (previously known as AT&T) since 1997 as a home customer, and I've never "installed" anything. I have never used their portal. Why would you? What would be the point? I subscribe to them because they are simply my connection to the outside world, and they are (in my case) *very* reliable and *very* fast. All you have to do is plug your router into their modem, and turn on DHCP. oooo. Yeah, that's hard.
lsat psot!!!one!!!!~!!! LOLerskates!
I hate Comcast. Why do you have to install *anything* to get their Internet service working in the first place?!? I just wanted to register my modem on their network and let it do it's thing. I shouldn't have to install any proprietary software at all. What if my only PC was running linux?
I'm glad I'm finally done with Comcast. Unfortunately, the local cable company that services our new place apparently doesn't want my money very bad....it's been a month and I'm still don't have any cable hooked up. I think I need to start my own ISP....
I've had mixed luck signing up folks with AT&T using a combination of Firefox and Opera under Linux. They have some stylesheet or something that puts the back / next buttons off the browser pane, no matter what. Its silly that they'd have to go through so much trouble to make something so broken, but they managed to make the extra effort. Thanks alot guys.
We installed using Windows, using the required Internet explorer, then uninstalled windows, installed Fedora, then bought a Mac and have been broadcasting our old MAC address ever since. This is probably JUST because they're too lazy to change their installer. To their credit, this probably isn't a trivial task; so far as I can tell the installer communicates with software installed at each local broadcast point, so updating this may be a bit of a headache.
-sk
Almost every ISP i ever had gave me the same answer "linux not supported"
Before Bellsouth got bought out by AT&T I would tell the support techs I was running Linux and they'd actually be impressed. One tech sounded relieved, then went on to say, "Well, we can skip all the stupid questions." And got right to the solution.
No problems with AT&T...so far anyway.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
I've had comcast internet for about 3 years and was never given any software cd to install. the technician who installed the line called up someone on the other end, gave them the modem serial number and my address/phone # and everything "just worked".
this happened in my old apt and in the house I bought last spring. once he got off the line, I hooked up my laptop (in the apt it was a windows laptop, in the house it was my powerbook), set the ethernet port to dhcp and I was online ready to go.
granted, i have yet to go to their comcast.net website as I have no need to. my comcast account is linked to my gmail account so any email they send me is to my gmail account.
hell, I wouldnt even know my comcast.net login anyways....
the history of the world
When the Comcast installation guy came to hook up my connection, he had no idea what to do with Linux. I booted the computer for him, he stared at it for a while then looked at me and said, 'Where's the control panel?' I told him it was Linux, and he didn't seem to know what I was talking about. After a few minutes I went to get my wife's laptop which runs Windows. I don't think they hire people with much knowledge about computers - just grunts who they train to click this button then this button.
I have Comcast. And Linux. And of course Firefox. It hasn't yet caused any problems at all.
Comcast and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints both boast 13 million members. Interesting. I wonder if being LDS requires Internet Explorer as well?
Ditch that useless linux thing and switch to a real, professionally made OS made by a serious corporation. It's time you losers get over this fixation on a useless toy OS cobbled together by kids from all over the world.
Windows is the most used OS, with a market share that is totally unbeatable and growing every day. Vista WILL be the new standard, get over it. It's time you admit defeat and join the real world.
In order to keep getting the promotional rate, my roommates and I sign up for Comcast every 6 months with a different name through the self-install kit. It NEVER works. The thing is crap. To be fair, the last couple times I just called the number that goes direct to a reasonably knowledgeable tech that the idiot customer service person gave me a few times ago. They're great, they just hook me right up, no CD required, and then reset my cable modem so I can use it under the new name. Why they have to unlock it, I have no clue...it's not like it's a cellphone...it's way cheaper and seems way less likely to get stolen.
Obviously, I tell a better story than: "I'm cheap, please help me do something borderline against the rules." Sometimes I have my girlfriend call. Techs will do whatever a female voice says to do.
Odd ... since when did a DHCP client require Internet Explorer?
"Keep at least 3-6 full bottles of hard alcohol on hand, a 2 week resignation notice,..." - Poetmatt
Meh, I have Comcast and I think this is sort of a non-issue really.
To get their service going:
Call Comcast, deal with the stupid support people and get your account set up.
Throw whatever disks they give you in the trash.
Connect modem to router.
Enjoy pretty fast service (at least in my area).
What's the problem? I don't use their web portal (or at least very rarely) and the modem that I bought works fine with their service and my router.
SIGFAULT
Am I missing something? Although I have Earthlink for my ISP, I don't use their software to access the Internet. I use whatever browser I feel like, and what ever e-mail program works for me (currently Outlook, although I have used Thunderbird!)
I recently moved and Comcast, for whatever reason, insisted I needed an onsite installer for the new location. Shockingly, they were correct as the cables had all be severely damaged and new ones were needed. I didn't feel so dumb about the fee after I watched them do all this work.
:)
At any rate, the time came to provision the modem and I just said "I don't have a computer." You can imagine the sideways look THAT got me. The truth was, my computer had not been moved in yet. I did, however, have a Wi-Fi enabled cell phone (Nokia E70). I said "I'll just be connecting a router anyway." So the tech went about her business, pulled out her own laptop, setup the modem and everything was ready to go. I then proceeded to plugin the Airport Express I had brought with me, waited a few moments for it to boot up, then connected and successfully tested the connection with my phone.
I guarantee you I did not need Internet Explorer for that
I read the script, and I think it would help my character's motivation if he was on fire. -Bender
Pizzum Pizzum works just fine with Linux/FireFox for me, I've used it to order more pizza than my doctor would approve.
I am one of those who had their Time Warner franchise taken over by Comcast as part of the Adelphia deal. As far as hating Firefox, their first line tech support only knows how to configure Internet Explorer and Outlook express. As far as I am concerned, using Thunderbird should be a far bigger concern. I have had numerous issues with the POP3.comcast.net server and SMTP server (mail.comcast.net). The errors all point to a problem on their end. In one instance I told the chatroom support about how they should change one of their SMTP settings ( "soft bounce" and it should be set to "no" so that it reports: "550 Requested action not taken: mailbox unavailable (e.g., mailbox not found, no access, or command rejected for policy reasons)" instead of "450 Requested mail action not taken: mailbox unavailable (e.g., mailbox busy)" ). I have not seen that problem since. For a number of months I experienced POP3 errors. I was told to turn off my Antivirus mail checking. I actually raised this issue through the escalation department. The problems seems to have trailed off lately.
Overall, I have been happy with the on site installer (who was a contractor) and with the high speed network service. I plugged my router in, configured the security and away I went with DHCP. I have used Firefox with no problem. I have used a number of different Linux and UNIX systems on my internal network with no problem. Just do not call them for support. As earlier posters have pointed out, Comcast contracts out to a national help desk located in Canada. The support folks are instructed to give minimal help. Their chat software has some canned instant responses like: "Our network appears to be working here." and "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Have you Meta Moderated t
Lets put it this way. You are ATT. Your phones work with your service but Nokia (just hypothetical) phones do not allow for your service to run properly. They will work, just not as efficiently. Now say some Nokia Fanboy decides he's going to make his own and mass produce/sell them. Would you as Apple support his phones on your support lines? No you wouldn't. Why? Because if you screwed something up, your not only liable for the damages but you have to find a way to repair.
Now lets say your using Firefox. How is comcast going to insure that, if they fux your stuff up, that 1. Your issue is easily correctable and 2. It wouldn't cost them a dime. It's simple. You just advise that there is no support for that software. You would only support products that have a definitive demarcation. Meaning, if IE won't load your sites where does comcast send you? To Microsoft. A company/entity that supports that product. If firefox won't load it where would comcast send you? To the firefox community? Ha. Try telling your customer that they have to figure it out on they're own after telling them you support their broswer. It's much easier to say, while we don't support your software, it will work on our systems. You just won't recieve any help from us because we don't support it.
The same goes with Linux. You won't catch any knowledgeable tech support rep from Comcast telling you that the service wont work on Linux. They just wont help you figure out your issues because if they screw something up where do they send you? The community? Ha. Try telling your customer that they have to look for their own answers because there is no magic fix all phone number they can call. And you guys jump all over the linux thing like black people jump to racism. The truth of the matter is that Comcast wont support any Microsoft OS older than windows XP anymore either. Why? Because Microsoft doesn't support them. And where would they send you for help if they screwed up your network settings to the point they couldn't fix them? Microsoft? No because you have Windows 2000 and Microsoft doesn't even support it.
Once again a bunch of people Mob together and complain about things they can't change, things that wont change, and above all else things they have no idea about. Before you start complaining you should do a little research and make sure your complaints are warrented. Otherwise you just end up seeming like a bunch of monkey's hopping around screaming at a flower because you have no idea what it is and it wont move.
Arguements begin now. Just keep in mind that when you argue: it wont matter, Comcast will NEVER support a product that isn't thier's, when the money for that support comes out of pocket. If they're is no ONE END ALL PROBLEMS PHONE NUMBER that they can give you, the support will NEVER be there.Another thing to also point out is that Microsoft pays Comcast well enough to offer the support with no problems. Do you think Firefox ever stopped to think, hey maybe if we offer them money to promote our product, they'd support it for our users? Or even linux for that matter. It all comes back to that out of pocket expense. Why do you think Comcast user's get McAfee for free? Becuase its a great product?? Hell no, it sucks. But McAfee PAYS comcast so that thier product gets pushed out to more people then they would have ever hoped to reach. And when those customers like the product they get for free they buy the addon's (like the spam guard they offer for a discounted price). And hopefully when those customers leave comcast they decided to keep mcafee.
You want to be free and open source?? Great. Do it, I love it to. But that free aproach usually means your not going to get any type of sponership (which is what Microsoft is sorta getting from comcast) because you have no money to pay for that sponsership.
This is Slashdot! Give me the latest gadget, bug, or OS project! This ain't english class so don't confuse the two!
/. leans left, but I'm proof that a young earth creationist, evangelical Christian can have "excellent" karma on this site, in spite of numerous posts that unequivocally declare that God exists, and it's possible to know him personally. If you're reading this post, don't know who God is, and have questions about what it means to have a personal relationship with God, please email me. :)
The key is balance, and choosing your battles. Many of my postings are focused on technical topics and do not mention my world view.
But Herr Heisenberg, how does the electron know when I'm looking?
I had an absolute nightmare setting up Comcast's online service for a friend. The experience still causes me to have nightmares. I will never again setup someone's Comcast, and never recommend their service to anyone.
Slashdot editors approve crap like this, but not a story about Sprint-Nextel terminating 1,100+ customers due to excessive complaining...
How do I get a job here.
I wouldn't be too worried about their logos, as long as they don't do browser checks and prevent Linux and Mac from using their site at all.
I have a Comcast cable modem and it works great - the day it stops working great I will stop using Comcast.
"With 13 million subscribers, you'd think they could spring for a ..."
Have you seen their commercials? You'd think they could spring for a decent marketing department, too.
I had seen them do the same as well. Annoying. I tell people not to use the provided CD. No point. If you must, then use VirtualBox, VMware, test machine, etc. with Windows.
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
I think comcrap, is being cheap and they don't want to spring for a web developer. That would cut to much into their bottom line. I mean how many web developers can you hire when you charge you more than $100 ( in SF ) for digital cable, HBO & Showtime a month per household.
Only trolls mod down, so they can read things under their bridge!
Only 'flamers' flame!
Does slashdot hate my posts?
Comcast is a worm farm and they refuse to listen to their customers when those same customers tell them how to fix their service and make more money at the same time. Their greed and incompetence are indefensible; their shareholders should roust out the current management and put in somebody with some bare minimum of technical competence. They'd make tons more profit if they killed off the malware that generates over half their packet traffic, and they could allow people to run private servers with the released bandwidth, which would make their service better.
Not since I switched to DirecTV.
yahoo/att wouldn't let me setup my dsl without IE! We should boycott these ISP's that run linux on there own systems but won't let users run it!
The Rogers website works very poorly with Firefox [especially without flash]
Rogers handles my phone service but not my internet, however I've had no problems paying my bills using FF at their site, granted they do rely on Flash too much. I've viewed the PDF formatted bills in Linux just fine, though they are somewhat glitchy when I try to print them (I've only even bothered to do that once--why waste paper when you pay online anyways?)
The Canadian government is going the same way sadly. CRA, MOT and a few others don't render at all in Firefox, or when they do select elements fail and make the pages useless.
Actually, the government seems to be going the OPPOSITE way--in my experience they have been slowly but steadily IMPROVING cross-platform support. I filed my tax return with FF, and used FF (on Linux, no less) to get my passport. My beef is that they over-engineer their sites. Why are things like passport applications and census questionnaires implemented using big, slow, Java (cr)applets when normal secure web forms suffice for most banks, provincial gov'ts, etc?
And the worse part is though they have to go out of their way to break things.
I don't think they go out of their way to break Firefox, Linux or any other particular target--they go out of their way to be needlessly complex though, and complexity leads to fragility. Remember we are dealing with big-old-telcos and governments here--their developers are paid by the hour, often work there because they can't find work elsewhere, or don't want to because it's low stress, etc. They don't seem bound to schedules or budgets (though you wouldn't know it by the terms of some of their contracts--but in-house is different).
Anyways, you CAN get these sites to work on macs, linux, whatever browser (in fact, CRA specifically supports FireFox by name, and if you use an unmentioned browser like Epiphany it doesn't block you--it merely warns you). The problem is that they do craptacular things like over-use flash or java for no logical reason at all, so if you find you are having trouble, you should first make sure you've filled up on the requisite plug-ins before cursing them as Microsoft lackeys.
Pizza Pizza also doesn't work in Linux which means I have to boot my Windows laptop to get some chow
Why don't you PHONE Pizza Pizza like normal people would do? I see limited appeal for using the 'net for takeout or delivery fast food. The 'net is more useful when the orders/choices are more complex and/or you have more options like recurring deliveries, etc, which is nice if you get your groceries delivered.
Tech: Okay, you'll have a $90 set up fee on your next bill. You have a nice day.
Bill 'em $110 for training their tech.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
Linux is not supported.
However, a simple call to the number which appears on your screen while attempting an install lands you a tech (mine spoke English in an intelligible accent) and ten minutes later you've got internet.
Not as easy as self install, but it wasn't a pain or impossible.
-Tim Louden
Half flame, half interesting? Well I apologize if it sounded like a flame. I don't like monopolies of any sort. Its not your fault, nor is it Comcast's fault unnecessarily. The cable industry grew up having monopolies for specific areas, and they are products of that business environment. I optimistically look forward to a future, where that is not the case.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
Last year I had Comcast installed on two occasions. The first was a self-install, and I called tech support to complete the registration and get the configuration details. This was on a Mac.
The second time I had installers come by, and aside from not leaving slack in the cable (which I'd requested) and picking an email username without consulting me (when I was in the next room), I had no issues actually connecting the service to my Linux gateway.
In general, it is safe and legal to kill your children. -- POSIX Programmer's Guide
Obviously this is Microsoft's doing. It couldn't possibly be that the ISP in question are run by idiots, are willing to save any money any way they can by only supporting the most popular browser in their ignorance and greed.
M$ does pressure ISPs to do dumb things. If you think M$ does not have the ability to harm Comcast with an "update", you are sadly deluded. Cox people have told me that M$, AOL and other lean on them to block ports and do other dumb things.
Now why is insisting on IE 5.5 insanely stupid? Let's count the ways:
Doing what M$ tells you is like drinking Jim Jone's cool aid. It's not in your best interest and you won't be going to heaven.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
I went through this frustrating bit recently, and it looks like it may be the "wizard" which is just a bunch of web pages viewed through the browser - in part from CD I think, and in part from the web. It's possible the web stuff uses old-skool IE-specific code. It was rather amusing seeing IE 5 being installed on OS X just to set up my connection.
The techs like to use a CD installer which uses Internet Explorer to configure the cable modem. ...would be able to use their own PC or equipment to do this. When I had DSL installed in 1999 the tech was a bit confounded at my Linux box and couldn't use his Windows CD on my machine. It was a little inconvenient for him perhaps but nothing insurmountable. He used the serial "terminal" port and my miniterm to do it (hypertermnal or any other sort of thing would work too). The DSL modem I have today still has a terminal port.
These days most people where I am use the self-install kits (even those who are not "geeks"). With the address on the sticker affixed to the modem they can remotely configure, or you can configure yourself (unconfigured modems typically direct all HTTP to a config page, which works in any browser). My preset DSL provider doesn't even need any numbers--just your name and billing address for verification.
It floors me when I STILL see those stupid CDs--all they do is mess up your PC ad I tell people that I'm helping out that the first step is to throw away the install CD if you got one from your ISP.
since when did anyone need a browser to setup comcast?
I got a modem from comcast, I took my Apple Airport and plugged it in, and it worked via the normal Airport admin application.
NOW, I cannot argue that comcast sucks real bad and seems to care not one iota about it's customers, but that's different that saying my mac can't connect cause they forced me to use IE.
I had Comcast Broadband for about three years. (I've since switched over to Earthlink broadband, which uses Comcast's wires, their modem, etc)
Comcast themselves don't support anything but MS Windows because most of the time, the people coming to install the broadband stuff are contractors who aren't paid to know two or three different operating systems. Instead, they are trained to know one (if that), and that is MS Windows, preferably Win2k or WinXP. I think that's the biggest reason for the "Windows only" support. Trying to support more than one operating system increases the complexity of the support structure they would have to maintain, and since most of the users are using Windows (and those that aren't are probably going to know what they're doing anyway), it's the most cost-effective approach.
That said, a Windows system is only necessary for that initial configuration, where the cable modem is registered with the local network. After that, they couldn't really care less what one does on their "LAN side" of the modem. If problems arise, though, you're on your own, unless you have a Windows system you can use for walking through the troubleshooting steps with Support.
For example, I have several computers on my LAN. Comcast (and now Earthlink) doesn't care. If I were to share my network with my neighbors and war drivers, I'm sure they'd have something to say, but as long as it's my own personal use, they don't say a word.
I used my kids' WinXP system for doing the initial configuration. Since then, I have had systems running Solaris, Linux, MacOS X, and several flavors of MS Windows.
When politicians are involved, everyone loses.
Any web developer anywhere EVER that used dirty javascript tricks to actually refuse to work with any browser buyt their 'blessed' version should be beaten with a whole forrest of clue sticks. If the version they support is no longer available, they should then be tarred and feathered then tossed into a cage full of predators.
Is that all? "User Agent Switcher" for Firefox ought to do nicely then.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
IE 5.5 has less than 1/10 th of the market. IE might make up the majority of browsers, but the versions are not consistent and each requires it's own work arounds. You are better off coding for or installing Firefox as far as market share goes. They can put that on the CD without causing problems and have something that works on 100% of their customer's computers.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
I can't even log into their online system via Firefox to pay my bill - the log in machine just keeps spinning its wheels. Their drop-down DHTML navigation menu don't work in Firefox either. When I switch use IE, mirroring my FF actions, everything works like butta. I filed a flaming complaint w/ their webmaster but I doubt anyone gave a crap.
I am Jack's smirking revenge.
they standardises on a single browser to cut down their costs. too bad their chosen browser is the most buggy and standards-avoidant piece of software ever made. it probably won't take long until customers standardise on a different supplier.
... they don't have to.
The software is just for their own software stack complete with adware and so on.
Really you're just plugging a router into their cable modem anyway. And from there your router doesn't care if you are running Windows, OS X, Solaris, Linux, OpenBSD, or OpenVMS (I can confirm all of these because I did them all... on Comcast!)
The software kit is something most geeks don't want anyway because it's just adware and additional revenue stream for the scumbag ISP. Comcast is about as plug & play as any other broadband ISP.
That whole "we need to install stuff on your system to verify the connection" is a load of crap.
They don't need to install anything on your comp to "enhance your experience" or whatever. Want to know how they handle Linux?? The comcast guy came over to install my cable modem, took one look at my debian box (the only desktop we own, we have 2 laptops which are windows machines and weren't unpacked yet) and said he couldn't complete the cable modem installation and that we wouldn't get any service.
After much grumbling he left & the internet service worked fine. They only want to install junk on windows boxes so they can re-brand your browser (internet explorer) as I saw on my neighbor's machine. The only thing they "need" to do is register your modem's MAC address with their servers for whatever reason...
after the initial installation which was totally bogus, I have no complaints about the service. Don't let them install anything on your machines. They don't need to & if they don't "support" FF, so what?? at least they're not gonna rebrand that browser too & install 50 million toolbars...
Can a company BE? I mean, they MUST still have some Unix or Linux boxes in their infrastructure, right? It is nice tho, that they have SOME enlightened/awares techhies who know about Linux and aren't afraid to talk about it on the phone.
DAMN YOU, COMCAST. It's NOT your BUSINESS what BROWSER or OS your 'cash generators' use. You need to give an IP, block malware, and keep the HELL out of the CPE/homeowner side of things. Stop treating your clients like idiots by stop demanding that shitware spyware/backdoor ware/malware be installed on their systems. If any customer uses a router, then YOUR server that binds to IPs and MACs should ONLY be looking to bind to the router NOT the individual computers.
GROW UP.
I ONLY use you when I sign up because your effective monopoly/gigantism leaves few or no other choices, and I don't want a landline phone. Otherwise, when wireless (permitted by whomever provides it) is viable for me, I'll take it.
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
I had to call them and talk to tech support to get them to "activate" my modem because their software breaks half way through on OS X.
..don't they eventually leave each other?
I changed ISPs because my decent one was swallowed up by TELUS which royally messed up my nice little setup--they warned me that it would happen, but didn't say exactly what would happen or exactly when.
I went with "basic small business service" from a company called Radiant--it is the same kind of DSL, largely riding on the same TELUS networks, but Radiant does the admin. I get multiple fixed IPs, no ridiculous bandwidth caps, and tech support is staffed with actual techs. My plan is basic--CONNECTIVITY ONLY. They do not provide me with email addresses, do not host domains, don't block ports or provide firewalls or proxies or anything on their end--they offer those services with other more expensive packages.
One thing they DO regualrly do is scan their entire network and have tripwire-like software to alert them to problems. Within minutes they can find open mail relays, worm-infested IIS servers and so on--at which point ALL traffic involving the affected MAC address is blocked until theproblem is resolved. This is a very nice policy for professional services compared to the block-and-filter-by-default policy of residential/consumer service.
In any case I now have the freedom to establish my OWN firewall policies, host my OWN email and webservers, set up MY OWN VPN and whatever else--so I don't have to rely on the ISP to make sure those things are online and properly configured, whether it is filtering false-positive-SPAM without telling me, or imposing file attachment and mailbox size restrictions I don't like. I can use apache with mod-perl and whatever database and Perl or PHP scripting to my hearts content, all with my ISPs blessing, because if my server grinds to a halt it really only affects me.
I love the idea of "connectivity only" service and very few ISPs seem willing to offer it. At the consumer/residential level, there should be that kind of service too, with just a single DHCP address supplied behind a simple NAT firewall so a person can just plug and go. Really who needs an email address from their ISP nowadays anyways, when everybody has an email address through work, or gmail, or hotmail or yahoo already? The less they have to offer, the lower the cost for the same or better reliability and bandwidth (I pay almost the same for my service as some others in the US pay for crappy Comcast like service). How many people actually USE their ISP's web pages and CDs and whatnot? Even my retired parents almost exclusively use their hotmail accounts because, even as relative beginners on computers, they realise that they can't be bothered with the pain of an email address that cannot move between ISPs. I think a LOT of people would go for under-$20/month 2.5Mb/s DSL "connectivity only".
I had been using my Debian machine as an in-house file server, and it had been having sketchy internet access for a couple of days when all of a sudden, *piff*, the internet disappeared. After trying everything, including installing a new ethernet card, trying a new cable, etc., I got on my mom's Mac and asked a Comcast rep why my internet was down - and they told me that a) they don't support Linux, so it's unlikely the internet would work anyway (completely besides the point and not the case), and b) Linux is a server, and they don't support servers, so they blocked that computer at my house. Search for "comcast" at binaryfreedom.info and you'll see another story about how Comcast hates Linux.
From TFA:
He doesn't need to know anything about a Mac. He needs to know how to fix or replace the *&#$ing modem. Then if he wants to test it to be sure it works, just whip out his *&#$ing laptop that has the *&#$ing Comcrap software on it.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
freedom is coming... freedom is coming... freedom is coming, oh yes i know
I don't care if AT&T is in bed with the FBI, NSA and the CIA...they can even plant a surveillance camera up my ass before I EVER go back to Comcast.
If I had to choose between Comcast and no Net access at all, I'd rather go without. That's how much I loath that company.
"Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
is also Windows only. Telus refuses to accept the existence of anything other than the Redmond OS.
It's possible to set everything up without Windows boxes, but the process is such a PITA that I wouldn't go through it myself, just glad I have a suitable laptop to use.
Once I was a four stone apology. Now I am two separate gorillas.
Ok, so you're a volunteer shill. You're still a shill.
There are very sound technical reasons to avoid running Exploder, especially on an untrusted network. You don't have to be a Mac or Linux partisan to realize this. You might want to lock your copy of Exploder down even if you still have chosen not to dump it. Doing this would be motivated for the same sound technical reasons for dumping Exploder in general.
In short: Why should someone trying to sell me network services be perpetrating piss-poor network practices?
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
Who's a shill? And what are they shilling? I honestly don't get if you're talking about me or Comcast. Either way I still don't know what's being shilled.
If you want to know the reasons why Comcast require IE on their site I suggest you look at the other replies that have been made by several past and present employees of Comcast. Notice how it has nothing to do with Microsoft paying them off, which was the ridiculous claim that I first replied to.
PS. I love how you call it Internet Exploder. It really makes me think you're completely objective and mature in your reasoning behind not liking that browser. It doesn't at all make you sound childish and petty. Before the outrage-brigade come running I'll point out that I don't like IE either and I'm writing this from Firefox on Linux, but that doesn't mean I have to be so blinded by hatred that I feel the need to blame every cloud in the sky on one company because of my dislike of their dominant position in modern computing.
Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and stupid comments are intentional.
Are you convinced that it's that simple, that they can dynamically stamp out every worm/virus/trojan/spammer as it pops up without accidentally dropping even one legitimate packet? Are you also aware that your suggestion is not unique in any way, and has been peddled as an answer to every ISP out there that carries substantial traffic?
I am also obliged to point out some of the larger trite counterpoints, such as increased cost for doing the filtering, customers complaining that now the ISP is being a big brother, is the ISP even responsible, etc. etc.
This has already been played out.
I'm using a Comcast-supplied modem that the tech set up for my Mac several years ago. He knew exactly where to look for Internet options on a Mac, and he used Mozilla to test things out. Last time I called support I got a chatty support person who said because I was on a Mac there was a whole host of things she didn't have to bother checking. Went right to diagnosing the modem and line.
I originally sent this to Cringely about a month ago but I guess he didn't feel it was a strong enough issue. We were in the process of moving. I decided to return back to Comcast broadband after a year with Verizon, for no other reason than the extra bandwidth when playing first person-shooters. We have several computers, most of them running Ubuntu or Kubuntu Linux. Comcast told me I would need a computer at the site when the technician came for the install. I grabbed two of our computers and took them to our new house. When the technician came to the house I told him that the computer was Kubuntu. He had "no idea what that [was]." I explained to him that it was Linux and he told me he could not do the install and tried to tell me of all the glorious things I would miss if I did not have XP, such as the Comcast Toolbar - oh boy! I explained to him that I knew that Comcast would run off of any system as it gives out the IP address via DHCP. He agreed and said that I was free to complete the installation myself and he would just look over my shoulder to answer any Comcast specific questions that might arise. We started the router - everything go. I started Kubuntu and opened a terminal. Ifconfig showed an IP address and DNS servers - everything was still fine. I opened Firefox and - *BAM* - hit a wall. All my traffic was directed to a Comcast webpage that told me that I was running an unsupported operating system and recommended that I use Windows or call Comcast. The technician laughed a smug, told-you-so laugh and told me that I could call them but not to expect any real help. At this I begrudgingly admitted that I still had another computer in my car that could dual-boot into XP. I got the computer and began the install with Firefox. After being forced to install 23MB of Comcast crap on my computer, the "real" installation process began, forcing me to use IE7 for the installation. After everything was completed I booted into Kubuntu and all was working as expected. I asked the tech if anyone else had installed with a non-Microsoft OS and he told me "no." I was surprised. Surely someone must have had a Mac? Yes, some did and they, like me, pulled out their Windows computer to complete their Comcast installs. As far as I could tell the only necessary step to gain access to the full Internet was to tell Comcast my account number. For this I had to use XP, IE, and install 23MB of programs? Somehow I just feel dirty.
Comcast provides good connections for the most part (much better than my experience with Cox, and infinitely better than every DSL provider I've ever had to deal with). Their "installation" process is stupid. You can actually just go to their proxy servers and register your modem through any browser. For some reason though, lately they've stopped giving out the IP address. The service runs fine once you get it installed. Why the hell actually uses their ISP's portal as their home page, anyway?
I actually had a guy come in to set up Comcast last year, and he brought with him a CD. Evidently, Comcast gives its poorly-trained techs a CD that they just pop into a Windows system, and it automatically configures the network settings. He was completely dumbfounded when he found out I use Linux:
Him: So, do you have Internet Explorer on that thing?
Me: Well, sorta. *Starts IE 6 in Wine.*
Him: *Puts CD in. Nothing happens. Look of confusion.*
Me: It doesn't autorun. Lesse... *Runs software in Wine. It starts, but is obviously broken.* Well, can't use this. What network settings do I need to configure?
Him: I don't know. I don't understand. Usually, I just put the CD in and it works.
Me: Yeah, well, this is Linux.
Him: *Look of confusion.*
Me: Yeah, I don't have Windows.
Him: Well, we can't do this without.
So I ended up spending the next 3 days on the phone talking to support, trying to get them to register the connection on their end. It works fine now, but all the configuration and registration of the connection is done on the customer side... It seems they set the IP to something non-routable (might be 76.x.x.x, not sure), exchange a few packets with the DHCP server, then it "registers" the cable connection with DHCP and it begins sending out leases.
And, of course, the CD requires admin rights.
grey wolf
LET FORTRAN DIE!
We are talking about HTTP clients that decode HTML here.
Impartiality really is quite irrelevant.
So is maturity.
OTOH, your rhetorical virtue is eliminated equally well just by bringing up such things.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
Who's a shill? The guy who was gushing about the 10 years of Exploder dominance would be a good candidate.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
(DSL) Replace the router's MAC with the MAC from the computer you used for setup. Worked for me; the DSL modem stopped "accidentally" disconnecting itself after I did that. Oh yeah, ignore the "we don't support home networks" garbage from your DSL rep.
I expect something similar will work for cable modems (but cable modems never gave me problems with routers).
Saying they support IE only is one thing, but can anyone point out a page that doesn't work? I have never viewed Comcast's website using anything but firefox, and so far haven't found anything that doesn't work. Granted there are a lot of pages I haven't visited, but it appears to work fine.
I've been using comcast since around 2001 (roughly 6 years) and never really had too much of a problem with them. Sure they have the same problems any other cable internet service has with peak time and such, but they've always offered me a fairly adequate service for home use. I've never had to register their modems (I've been through quite a few over the years), nor have I ever had to install any software. I never use their website, so I could really care less about it supporting Firefox (other than my occasional open source zealotry). I'm not really a fan of their business practices, but they're really no more evil than any of the other big corporations (which is to say they pull some dirty, underhanded sh*t occationally, and try to influence the gov't way more than they have any business doing)...but once again, I'm sure they're no worse than the likes of AT&T (formerly BellSouth), which is the only other decent ISP in my area.
;)
I do have to say though, that as soon as I can switch off copper to fiber, I'll drop Comcast in a heartbeat
"A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
Just ask them that you run linux and you don't want their crummy software installed and they will let you through. Easy as pie.
Gushing? You mean the part where I stated a simple fact? Or are you actually disputing that Internet Explorer was the dominant browser for around that length of time? If you'd bothered to read on you'd have noticed I was saying that IE's dominance became an excuse for hack web developers to write IE-specific code, and lamenting the fact that to a lesser degree it still happens today.
I don't know how your mind can be so twisted as to think that any of my posts were "gushing" in support of Microsoft or could be construed as shilling Microsoft or its wares. You need help.
Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and stupid comments are intentional.
just curious
I'd need the existing hardware infrastructure of Comcast, a few cheap PCs, a set of free software tools plus about 20 hours for glue code. Call it a week, once the will to get it done exists. Hint, if you don't understand how this is possible: Read the DNS RFCs and study the DOCSIS2 spec. Are you also aware that your suggestion is not unique in any way, and has been peddled as an answer to every ISP out there that carries substantial traffic? Um, if you mean have I been saying this for years in many public forums, yes I'm aware of that. Other people who have equal or better understanding of the problem can see the obvious solutions as well as I can, I'm sure. I am also obliged to point out some of the larger trite counterpoints, such as increased cost for doing the filtering, customers complaining that now the ISP is being a big brother, is the ISP even responsible, etc. etc. Not a problem. ISPs only have to take action against customers generating traffic that is in violation of their customer service agreement (and only a subset of the currently prohibited traffic, in fact) and they have enough existing processing power to do so at this time. If they do it right, they can provide a profitable and useful service to the infected customers that they will be grateful for - "hey, you've got a worm, here's a web site that the antivirus vendors pay Comcast to be on; choose your vendor and disinfect yourself".
In real life, there is no added cost whatsoever to managing a network correctly except salaries, and the payback for hiring competent people will far exceed the outlay. This has already been played out. Yes, it's been played out a million times in large corporate and campus networks all over the world. I deal with hundreds of networks that do not have the problems Comcast has and do not have the fiscal resources or hardware infrastructure Comcast has - yet, they do a better job than Comcast at differentiating legitimate traffic from malicious traffic. My own network has been up for 10 years without a single spam, virus or worm exiting my systems - it's not impossible for PROFESSIONALS (i.e., the people Comcast refuses to hire because they are too shortsightedly greedy to pay them) to do this.
Maybe the developers of the games page didn't test with firefox, opera and safari.
And comcast didn't want to pay more for making them compatible with the other browsers, since Linux users don't usually play such games, and Mac users are usually busy doing more important things than playing web games, like designing and creating mashups.
Why all that "trouble"? Are those games so important? I don't think so.
The article is just a troll.
Careful! You know these linux types promote freedom of choice and thought until you decide that you happen to prefer a Microsoft product.
Heavens! How could you??
You've read my mind and put into words my exact same sentiments. If only FTTH would come to S. Florida. Alas, all I have to look forward to is AT&T getting their act together and offering the VDSL here. I ain't holding my breath though. As far as Comcast goes...meh, the service has been rather decent despite their total lack of concern for the people who make them rich - their customers. I can't stand dealing with them, but they're the best out there right now as far as broadband goes. My connection is up 99% of the time and always fast. How can I complain about that?
They also hate KMail, Linspire, Thunderbird, and Eudora, even though they have instructions on the Comcast website on how to set these things up to work with the Comcast email servers. They actively sit around and brood with their hatred for alternative browsers, even though their help site has instructions on how to make Firefox your default browser. They hate Firefox, Opera, Camino, and Safari, even though they say these browsers will work with their service.
Yep, they hate anything that's not from Microsoft.
Penny - plain text accounting
And it's no use complaining to the "tech support" script reader about it.
Well I don't subscribe to Comcast now I really don't want to. I don't like companies that tell that you must you one type of application or device to do something. All it means that you are limited your scope of people you can get to use your service which most case is a bad thing. Even Apple decided to allow some of their products to used in MS Windows and this part of the reason that Apple products are popular.
If I were a Mac or Linux user I would switch to another ISP to protest this move by Comcast that you must use Internet Explorer use their network services.
the installer.
Most people I know don't use the installer.
They just plug the modem into the firewall
and go on with life.
The only time you need the installer if you are suckered
into using the USB modem.
Other than that...
I have 2 linux boxes 1 UNIX and a mac on it with no issues.
Now if you call for support and say I don't have IE then your screwed
The script readers are only trained for IE
-- I am the NRA, enough said...
Verizon, at least in Maryland, is sending out standalone modems and wireless routers to its customers that reject connections from Firefox, Opera, Win Safari, Konqueror, and Dillo because they aren't IE. If Linksys can make a browser-independent configuration routine, why can't Verizon??? And, in this area of Maryland, the only choices a consumer has is Comcast and Verizon. Other DSL vendors like Cavalier only resell Verizon.
If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?
I actually had to get the login and password by using the CD with a temp windows install. Then went through their authentication. Once that was done getting it working in Linux was a no problem.
I tried both PPOE on the modem and PPOE via Linux and both worked. I now have a Buffalo router with dd-wrt on it and it does the PPOE link.
I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
Comcast can easily "push" you online. Get the tech to call in the details. All their online registration does is map you modem's MAC to you address and file info. I recently had to get a new modem and I told the guy I wasn't installing any of thier software on my network. So he "called" it in.
--AD
From my experience the comcast setup doesn't even work on a mac running OS X 10.4. Happened 4 times on 4 different account/machines. Try running it and you'll hit a dead end every time. I've found it just easier to just call them before you setup and have them setup over the phone. Comcast may suck but the speed/price is unmatched.
Just thought I'd chime in to point out that you are fucking stupid.
You are inventing controversy between you and the guy you think is a shill. He doesn't use IE. That's obvious from the get-go. A person who knew nothing about this stuff would probably realize that IE is not a great program just from reading his stuff. You think it's cool to hate Microsoft and you want to be the biggest MS bully or something, so people who aren't sufficiently devout, even if they are on your side, get your simplistic and silly and special education level rants.
Are you the douchebag at Fry's who told my wife she should throw away her PSP last night because of the root-kit scandal? Obviously no, but same deal, I'm sure you're a fat sweaty loser in real life. Guess what: Microsoft is a great company that has laid the foundation for software in our world through innovating distribution in computers. Their quality is terrible, but like Wal-mart they made everyone richer through their great ideas. You are a peon spitting up at the toes of giants, but it's all falling back on your pathetic face. Go play World of Warcraft. If you really hate Microsoft so much, start your own fucking company and make your own god damn Xbox, Office Suite, Windows, etc.
Here's an e-mail I sent to Earthlink, my ISP...
l orer/internetexplorer.aspx?pid=internetexplorer )
====
Comcast is the largest ISP in America AND provides "last mile" connection for Earthlink High Speed customers in come areas. They're requiring Internet Explorer for installations and even for viewing one's bill -- even if you're using a Mac.
The Comcast homepage even specifies that the page is optimized for IE 5.5 (which was released in 2000), and 'is not optimized for Firefox browsers and Macs.' With 13 million subscribers, and as a provider of services for Earthlink, a 'recommended' or 'featured' ISP for Apple computers, you'd think they could spring for a web developer who could handle multiple browsers.
No only do their site 'requirements' list MSIE as the ONLY supported browser, since their recent redesign of the site, major portions of it no longer work with Firefox, even though they did before. (For example, the ability to view one's bill, etc.)
In my communication with them via telephone, chat, and e-mail in attempting to see my bill on-line, the repeated response is the following canned reply:
Thank you for contacting us regarding your Comcast High Speed Internet service. The recommended browser for use with the Comcast service is Internet Explorer. To obtain the latest version of Internet Explorer for use with a Macintosh Operating System, please go to
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/DOWNLOAD/IE/ie52.asp
(SEE: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/internetexp
Even after my replying each time that Microsoft not only hasn't supported MSIE for Macs for over four years, that particular link resolves to a "404" response since Microsoft no longer even offers a download of MSIE for Macs, and hasn't for a year and a half, and there is no valid reason for insisting on a seven year old browser version, the response continues as "We only support MSIE."
As my ISP, and as a recommended ISP by Apple, would it be possible for Earthlink to exert pressure on Comcast, your last mile provider and billing partner, for them to quit demanding that Apple Macintosh users use only a browser that was last updated in 2000 hasn't been supported for over four years, and hasn't even been available for download since January, 2006?
I look forward to your assistance in bringing Comcast, your last mile provider, into this century.
Thank you very much for your time and attention,
Tom
so hock up your cable -modem to ure computer.
make sure your computer has a ip in the range 192.168.100.x.
open a browser and enter: 192.168.100.1 as website.
in the modem configure window navigate to "set ip address"
here enter some random number, say 172.16.66.133.
drink lots and lots of favourit alcoholic beverage, e.g. forget the number.
then get some super glue and put a small drop into the rest button hole.
call tech support. have a nice day.
I think the phrase "Great Satan" is fully applicable in this situation.
I have to agree with a previous poster. If Comcast cared about its customers, they could easily afford programmers who can support Firefox. As it stands they don't, and I'm next to calling for a boycott of Comcast over the issue.
I also like the phrase "Capitalist Pig."
I have comcast and run linux without problems. How does your internet service provider have anything to do with the operating system you use?
www.purevolume.com/martyd
That's not what 'the feeling is mutual' means.
You're thinking of, "I feel the same way."
Max.
Not I and my Macs
tl;dr
i have comcast and use linux. the cable goes right into the modem, no software required.
Well, I was down in Virginia last weekend, on an unknown wireless network, when I received the error "Comcast does not support the operating system you are running", with a tech support number. That's all I could get on my web browser. Rather odd, I thought all these protocols were standard, up until .. well, this weekend..
I have Comcast(assholes....) and I use FireFox 99% of the time. So they can go fuck themselves. The only time I use IE is when I need to use a website or service that only uses IE, like NetFlix "Watch Now" service. It only uses IE. But other wise it is FireFox all the way.
I've used "Comcast" since the At&t @HOME days. Back then, special changes had to be made if I remember right - these days, it's as someone above said - just turn on DHCP and plug in - EXCEPT when it comes to registration. You do that when you move, and I've moved about once per year for the last several years.
You have to call them and get a tech to do it manually on their end. Their techs suck, quite frankly, and some just give you the, "we don't support Linux" line, but thus far, I've always, eventually, ran into a reasonable person who did it for me.
Given the plethora of cross platform/cross browser options, it is really silly for them to use Windows/IE only software. YES, I know, 90%+ market share - but what about next gen consoles with internet access? What about future (or current) set-top boxes with some brains and an ethernet port? What about PDAs and cell-fones?
Can these companies really be THAT shortsighted?
Why can't I use Opera on my palmtop computer to register my cable modem with Comcast? Idiots. This is why we have standards. Anything at all that comes down the pike, that adheres to the many internet "standards" even partially, should be able to register their damn service without any finger-lifting on their end.
Philosophically, the deck is stacked against conservative views here. Certainly religious folks are ridiculed. Interestingly Ravi Zacharias says that if all you can do is ridicule a major religious system, you simply have not studied it enough. I hold to Christianity, but Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and others have valid points - it's just that they are not fundamentally True.
;)
I could cherry pick some beliefs from any of them and make fun of them, but that would not be intellectually honest of me. Someone reading this post may suggest that I'm not being honest when I suggest that all religious views other than Christianity are untrue. Please understand that I say that respectfully, and it would be hypocrisy for me to say that they are anything but untrue.
Slashdot is as "fair and balanced" as a Michael Moore documentary. At least Slashdot has a vocal minority who are able to add comments, unlike a Moore movie.
But Herr Heisenberg, how does the electron know when I'm looking?
In Soviet Australia, telcos fear the customers.
as aliens..
Windows without IE?? You've obviously been hacked!! Look, you don't even have Norton!
Okay, I'll bite. I work for said outsourced company. Most people here are and in the other centers the company has are complete retards (though not as much as Comcast's in-house tech support, which they do still have). However, we do provide full support for IE 6 and 7, and as far as I know, NOT 5.5.
The reason is more because they like to stay safe and stick to programs that came with the OS to avoid any sort of '3rd party slippery slope', which would take up an inordinate amount of time training for every little possibility in the OS. Plus, it's damn easy to reset IE's settings and kill off any extensions that are running. Security -> Default, Connections -> LAN Settings -> Blank, Advanced -> Default, and clear "Enable 3rd Party Browser Extensions". Try stepping a user through deleting their Firefox extensions, one by one.
Opening IE (or Safari on a Mac) isn't hard, and doesn't stop you from using it when you get off the phone with tech support...
A few weeks ago I was trying to upgrade to the comcrap 16mbps service (free for 6 months free). The support guy was telling me about the "16 megabyte down and 1 megabyte up", and I said, "you do realize that megabyte and megabit are not the same thing?". To this the guy said quite authoritatively "sir, they are the same thing, it depends on how you pronounce it, I pronounce it megabyte". The service guy then put me on hold and a few minutes later hung up on me. Finally after calling 3 times and getting hung up on twice, I was connected with someone with enough brain cells to upgrade my service without hanging up on me.
I just had a comcast tech come out in the last few weeks to replace a broken router. He was able to do it on Firefox, and if I had my laptop, he probably could have gotten away with it with linux.. Just letting you know.
If the modem can do it, why not? That's one less protocol layer to handle on your router.
I really don't see what makes a "router" special. My PC is in fact a router; it has a second ethernet port which I use with NAT to support a second device. If you run VMWare, you may have it in a mode that makes your PC a router. Those little cable modem sharing devices are routers. The big serious office/telco hardware also counts as "router" of course. What were you referring to?
Any of the above should be happy with the modem doing the PPPoE work. Some of the above can take on the job, but why?
Yeah, I work for a outsourced company WITHIN the Continental United States. Anyway, they basically have the attitude of only supporting software that comes pre-installed w/ the OS. For instance, we are trained on Outlook Express even though everyone agrees it's crap, but it comes w/ the computer and people would freak out if we didn't support it. It's just that the vast majority Comcast customers are Windows users. We are trained in OS X networking and general internet app support... we have walkthroughs for Mac Mail for instance. I'm not sure why we aren't extensively trained in Safari, though we do have info about it in the Comcast knowledgebase. I suspect it's because of it's install base and free availability for OS X that we concentrate on IE. Besides that they want to ensure the main portal looks the same to everyone.
We do have Firefox info in our knowledgebase, though not much. As far Firefox, Safari & Linux support at large it's best effort. But we aren't specifically trained on those apps or the Linux OS.
I'm sure saving money on training is a factor too.. our training lasts 2 weeks and we are constantly getting trained on other network/procedure changes as they are needed. They are constantly trying to improve our knowledge...
But being a GIGANTIC corporation it does suffer from momentum and sometimes not getting down to the nitty gritty details where they could. As far as me feeling any sort of sympathy for my corporate overlords, I think the biggest realization I had was how much effort has to constantly be put into keeping up a network that huge. Especially on the east coast... it seems like the underlying infrastructure is so old/degraded that it's a constant battle. Especially in areas where they recently bought out the previous cable ISP.
In the end I think they are getting way too big for their own good... this has been my experience with every corporate telecom I've worked for so far. I suppose it's the nature of the corporation they lose touch with their base and making changes takes a lot longer.
As much as it sucks, Comcast isn't the only one. I don't think it's so much that they hate their customers as it is that either they don't want more customers, or are to addle pated to realize they chopping out a huge market sector.
That should tell investors something negative.
God I hate you kids and your intolerance, IT LOOKS CRAP in my browser, IT'S HARD TO ME TO READ - that is why i object. Not some flamebait nonsense (that's yourself you are talking about there)
Originally wrote:
Well slashdot can't design a proper site either, and taco doesn't care as long as it looks good in his browser, so that seems to be going around.
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
You may not be interested in pursuing this, and I recognize that there are very many "check your brain at the door" religious folks, but I tend to think of myself as someone who uses my intellect as a component of my faith experience.
Would you be willing to share with me a couple of your "fundamental inconsistencies?"
Respectfully,
Anomaly
But Herr Heisenberg, how does the electron know when I'm looking?
Ah Dwater,
That was a joke, and the meaning was correct and clear. Language is flexible, get used to it.
Cheers,
Peter
When Comcast came out to install my cable modem/etc, they insisted that they only supported Windows, period. I build a Windows machine out of spare parts, installed Win2k, and then let them come out and do their thing. Much less hassle than arguing. When they left, I took everything apart and hooked the RJ45 out of the cable modem into a hub, and things have been fine ever since. I bought a newer cable modem at one point, and just had to call them and supply the new MAC address.
Ah, I see by your use of the word 'joke' that you're flexing language again. Thanks for letting me know beforehand. Now I know you expect a laugh.
Ha ha.
There you go.
Max.
UPDATE
Today there was a very long outage of service from Comcast. I called and they didn't know there was an outage; it turned out that I was the first person to report it.
An hour later when it looked like it was working again I attempted to visit a web site and boom I was at their "download installation software" page for "new" or "existing" customers.
This of course prompted yet another call to Comcast since there is no way in hells acres that I'd ever install their software on my boxes just to connect to their service. After twenty minutes, they sheepishly explained this page as a "mis-provision" change to my account by the first Comcast operator who seems to have "messed" with my account configuration settings.
Things are working again fine after at least six hours of outage. No need to download any software once they fixed the provisioning of my account.
Comcast gets low marks: 3 out of 10 for quality of service calls. Customers who report problems should not be subjected to further problems just because they were the ones who reported it!
ps. A few months back I complained about twelve channels have static and lo and behold they turned off channels, and the others that were having static are still having static. I'd complain further but I'm moving out of this area in a week. Good riddance Comcast.
And thank god too! Any more complicated than that and you wouldn't be posting today.