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Comcast Shoots For New Image, Rebranding As Xfinity

artemis writes "Comcast is making efforts to repair and restore its 'former glory' by the act of transformation, rebranding itself as Xfinity. Hopefully step 2 is an actual change in quality and customer service. 'Comcast will use the Xfinity rebranding to talk up its improved customer service as well as its technical upgrades. “There’s a lot to be proud of,’’ said Steve Hackley, Comcast’s senior vice president for the Greater Boston region. “We want to take credit for it.’’ W2 Group’s Weber said such a rebranding is “a bit old-fashioned’’ and a new name is unlikely to impress consumers. “I think the public is smarter than that now,’’ he said.'"

60 of 356 comments (clear)

  1. Xfinity equals... by aardwolf64 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Xfinity = the amount of time you'll be on hold if you call Customer Service.

    1. Re:Xfinity equals... by binarylarry · · Score: 2, Insightful

      More like XTarded, never again will I use comcast.

      NEVER AGAIN.

      --
      Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
    2. Re:Xfinity equals... by pitchpipe · · Score: 4, Funny
      I think that their marketing guys have been reading too much Slashdot!

      1. Change name to Xfinity.
      2. ???
      3. Profit!

      What a great business plan!

      --
      Look where all this talking got us, baby.
    3. Re:Xfinity equals... by Evil+Shabazz · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Eh, it's not like Comcast is any worse that TimeWarner. In fact, if you can believe it - cable/internet got a ton WORSE in Southern California when TimeWarner took over for Comcast here. TimeWarner has just as crappy hold times, just as incompetent tech support, and don't worry - when you leave, they'll intentionally charge you for your returned hardware even though you returned it.

      --
      Down with the career politician! SUPPORT TERM LIMITS
    4. Re:Xfinity equals... by Conchobair · · Score: 3, Funny

      Xnfinitely stupid move.

    5. Re:Xfinity equals... by RobDude · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm not sure why Comcast gets so much hate. Maybe it depends on the local market you are in?

      I've called Comcast a handful of times and I've always had very short waits and someone who speaks and understands English.

      The most recent call was because of poor signal quality. I spent about 10 minutes on the phone and they sent out a tech the next day. The tech showed up, ran a new line and then took the time to properly attached the cable line to my house; it was a major improvement.

      After that, internet worked great again.

    6. Re:Xfinity equals... by Lumpy · · Score: 5, Interesting

      News flash: They all intentionally suck when there is no direct competition.

      The ONLY places I have seen cable not suck is the rare community where there are two cable providers. Most of the time the likes of Comcast search out a franchise agreement with the city to make competition "illegal" or very expensive.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    7. Re:Xfinity equals... by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 2, Informative

      I'm not sure why Comcast gets so much hate. Maybe it depends on the local market you are in?

      Yes, this is exactly their problem.

      I'm here on a beautiful 16/2 connection that always rocks. I've seen a 5-minute outage at 4:30AM once. It's former Adelphia territory.

      But if you go 60 miles away, everybody who only has Comcast just hates it. You'll hear similar bipolar stories from all over.

      They seem unable to find their winning processes and replicate them into company-wide success. Perhaps they should spend more money on business process management and quality measures and less on branding?

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    8. Re:Xfinity equals... by supernova87a · · Score: 5, Informative

      I have to add my experience with TimeWarner idiocy here.

      About a year ago I called their technical support line on behalf of my aunt in NYC, who had just gotten their HD upgrade or something I don't recall, and the picture was missing the red portion of the signal. (note that your reading that last sentence, there wasn't much room for misunderstanding, was there? You can understand the situation I'm describing, right?)

      The conversation began badly, and went downhill from there:

      Me: "Hi, we seem to be having a problem with our HD cable signal -- the picture is missing the red channel, so everything looks a little bit blue. I've tested this by swapping out the cables from the RGB (whatever it was), reversing them, so I think it's definitely a problem with your cable box, not our cables or our TV. Can you help me with that?"

      Her: "sorry sir, looking in your channel lineup, I don't see any Red Channel."

      Me: @#$!%#@

      Me: regathering politeness, and for the next 20 minutes: "Sorry, I must not have explained that well -- you know how the tv signal has red/green/blue parts? Well, it seems to be missing the red part, so that the color is off."

      Her: "no sir, I don't understand, and please, don't fiddle with the cables, please follow my instruction to turn the unit off and reset it."

      after 20 minutes:

      Me: "Maam, you don't seem to have the technical knowledge to even understand the problem I'm having -- could you please transfer me to someone who does."

      10 more minutes of me getting angry that she won't transfer me. Followed by my filing a complaint with a request to be called back. I get called back, the guy on the line understands the problem immediately, and sends someone out the next day.

      I cannot stand incompetence that doesn't recognize itself. And that a customer service assistance unit would staff its helpline with someone of such stupidity.

      The other thing I learned -- don't get frustrated with stupidity, just leave. Politely hang up (there's no sense in angering yourself, or offending the moron) and call back until you get someone who knows what they're talking about. And I'm not just talking about with cable companies, I've discovered that this applies about life in general....

    9. Re:Xfinity equals... by Rewind · · Score: 2, Informative

      I'm not sure why Comcast gets so much hate. Maybe it depends on the local market you are in?

      It does seem to be very much where you live. I have had awesome luck with Comcast. Only had to call customer service once and they were out there the next day, replaced my modem and everything was just fine. Speed is great (well for US cable anyway). I have tried both the local Knology and AT&T, and both cost more for slower speeds.

      However I have a friend who lives about 20 minutes away who has Comcast and his is awful. The speed makes it almost unusable between 4-6pm. Goes down every other day for an hour or so. Just where you live. Same with any ISP in my exp.

      --
      ?
    10. Re:Xfinity equals... by gad_zuki! · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I call BS on this. Usually a duoploy is just as bad as a monopoly. Considering the cost of rolling out cable, a lot of providers wont enter a market because what happens is a natural monopoly or duopoly forms. Both carriers exceed at poor service and slow upgrades because they know the government wont intervene.

      Ironically, its the government with its line sharing laws that forced the competition to actually get off their laurels. Forcing telcos to sell service to third parties helps the consumer, thats how excellent ISPs like Speakeasy can even exist. So youre 100% wrong. The problem in telcos isnt the regulation its the lack of regulation and the lack of more line usage buying enforcement.

      Not to mention, regulation was put there to curb corporate abuse not to limit corporate growth. A lot of what youre railing against was put in because these companies were doing an ever poorer job for the consumer.

    11. Re:Xfinity equals... by brkello · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I understand your frustration but your expectations are way way too high at that level of support. Talking about color channels will just confuse them. You have to talk "dumb" to them and they have to follow their script. This is how you would have to say it:

      "Hi, my picture looks funny." They then read from their script and do the things you have already done. You can't do it out of order, or they get lost. Then finally. "Ok, it looks like it is a problem on our end, I'll send someone out."

      I know that sucks for us people who are technical...but it makes sense. No one with real technical experience is going to work that job. We would all get better paying ones elsewhere. Just have to know how to talk to them to minimize how long you are on the phone with them.

      --
      Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
    12. Re:Xfinity equals... by seeker_1us · · Score: 3, Interesting
      If you have a real problem, and have done diagnosis, do not waste time with first line.

      90% of first line tech support are idiots because 90% of calls are from idiots whose problems can be solved with simple scripts.

      I've had this problem with Comcast alot.

      "Hi comcast, please activate my cable modem. Here is the MAC address."

      "OK, please run this webpage and it will set it up for you" (note webpage works only for Windows and Mac).

      "I use Linux, please set the modem up for me."

      "We only support Windows and Mac Operating Systems."

      "Listen to me because I'm only going to say this once. I do not want you to support my operating system. I am paying you to provide TCP/IP protocol service. You do not need to know what my operating system is. Go and configure my cable modem now. If you do not know how to do your job, find someone who does."

      (Idiot taken aback because he/she has a response that the flowchart doesn't include.) "Ummm... please hold on a minute"

      Two minutes later "OK we have your cable modem configured now."

  2. Yeah, and Blackwater is now called Xe. by EWAdams · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It ain't gonna help, guys. You're still in seriously deep trouble.

    --
    I piss off bigots.
    1. Re:Yeah, and Blackwater is now called Xe. by BlueBoxSW.com · · Score: 5, Funny

      Still, it's nice of these broken companies to move themselves to the end of the phone book.

    2. Re:Yeah, and Blackwater is now called Xe. by dunezone · · Score: 4, Funny

      Whats a phone book?

    3. Re:Yeah, and Blackwater is now called Xe. by wizardforce · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Phone book (n): A giant slab of shredded tree that can be used to prop open the basement door.

      --
      Sigs are too short to say anything truly profound so read the above post instead.
    4. Re:Yeah, and Blackwater is now called Xe. by rockNme2349 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Due to an unsuccessful rebrading, Xfinity will be rebrading themselves to !Xfinity, a name which they believe will boost their popularity tremendously in customer popularity and poor string sorting algorithms.

      --
      Sewage Treatment Facilities - "Our duty is clear."
    5. Re:Yeah, and Blackwater is now called Xe. by dcollins · · Score: 2, Informative

      Counterpoint: Altria (Phillip Morris)

      --
      We know where leadership by an anti-intellectual "strongman" who scapegoats minorities and likes boisterous rallies goes
  3. And Yet.... by GabriellaKat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I still can't wait for Verizon FIOS to be available in my neighborhood. I loathe Comcast. Its not just that their internet service is shoddy, but even my TV service has shown visual lag and dropping way too often.

    --
    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your politician, and hitting them?"
    1. Re:And Yet.... by KingSkippus · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I still can't wait for Verizon FIOS to be available in my neighborhood.

      Verizon? Sure, that would be nice, but what I can't wait for is Google's gigabit to the home service.

      You know, even if Google itself doesn't roll out to all markets, I really think this could be a game-changer. Anyone else here remember pre-Gmail days, when your ISP or a service like Hotmail may give you all of a whopping 5 MB or so for free, and we were told that that was a lot?

      Google came along and said, "Screw that. You get a GIGABYTE." The webmail world changed, and now, any webmail service that gives you less than a gigabyte or so of storage is antiquated.

      Point is, is Google starts rolling out gigabit to the home, other Internet services will move to catch up. Not so much because of the immediate competition, since Google's market will probably be very small to start with, but so that they won't look like antiquated idiots, offering a server that is literally orders of magnitude slower than what's available out there to others.

  4. bad branding by tverbeek · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I really don't see how a harder-to-pronounce name will make the company any more appealing to customers.

    --
    http://alternatives.rzero.com/
    1. Re:bad branding by Jeng · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It makes it harder to identify the problematic company.

      Your friends may talk shit about Comcast, but they have no idea how good Xfinity is, but damnit they have gotta be better than comcast.

      I believe that is the line of thought.

      --
      Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
    2. Re:bad branding by Glendale2x · · Score: 2, Interesting

      They probably just want a name that angry customers can't tweak into something negative as easily as "Comcast" becomes "Comcrap" or "Crapcast".

      --
      this is my sig
    3. Re:bad branding by RoFLKOPTr · · Score: 5, Informative

      Your friends may talk shit about Comcast, but they have no idea how good Xfinity is, but damnit they have gotta be better than comcast.

      Comcast isn't changing their name... they're just renaming their service. It's going to be Comcast Xfinity now.

  5. Name change = shame by goodmanj · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Nobody changes their name because they "want to take credit" for things they're "proud of".

    Comcast, do you really want to have your name mentioned alongside Phillip Morris ... errr, "Altria"? At least you're not *killing* your customers.

    1. Re:Name change = shame by Yvan256 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Dying of hunger and boredom isn't suicide.

  6. its still comcrap to me by jmanforever · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Xfinity sounds like it should be the name of a sports car company... or perhaps an adult film company.

    1. Re:its still comcrap to me by Jimmy+King · · Score: 5, Funny

      Well, I do use Comcast to access the majority of my adult films.

    2. Re:its still comcrap to me by TubeSteak · · Score: 4, Funny

      The bad news for you is that I also use Comcast to access the majority of your adult films.
      Your technique isn't bad, but the lighting needs to be better.
      /You've just been Xfinitied.

      --
      [Fuck Beta]
      o0t!
    3. Re:its still comcrap to me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Crapfinity
      Xfinshitty
      Xcrappity
      Suxfinity
      Nope, they must not have done that -- Hell I'm half a century old, bet kids could come up with many more. :)

  7. Bad rep sticks anyway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I say it's a fairly transparent attempt to shuffle previous bad behaviour under the carpet, not the hard work to seek redemption that they should be doing instead. Bad management is bad management no matter the name, it'll show every time.

  8. The 90s called, by Ryanrule · · Score: 5, Funny

    they want their "x" back.

    1. Re:The 90s called, by MrEricSir · · Score: 5, Funny

      Unfortunately, the 90's were using Comcast Voice and the call didn't go through.

      --
      There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
  9. You know by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm going to go out on a limb and say that your name is NOT your problem. I'm going to say that your problem is that you suck ass at providing service. You can change the name all you like, so long as your service blows, people are going to hate on you. Conversely, fix the service and it won't be a problem.

    Seriously, I'm amazed how bad Comcast is. Where I live, both Cox and Comcast provide cable service of the TV, Internet and phone variety. Which you get depends on which part of the city you live in. I live in the Cox area. In general, I'm happy with them. They aren't prefect, but they are pretty good. They fix their problems, their speeds are good, etc, etc. My friends on Cox seem to feel the same way.

    Not long ago my parents came to visit, and stayed in a condo owned by friends of theirs. This condo was in a Comcast area. I couldn't believe how bad it was. Not even dealing with tech support, just general usage. The net was amazingly slow, their DVR was a massive POS, etc, etc. I made very little use of it and I found it to be poor quality. I can't imagine how dissatisfied someone who uses it all the time is.

    Rebranding won't fix shit. You have to fix your quality if you want people to respect your brand.

  10. Seriously? by algormortis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    “I think the public is smarter than that now,’’

    Everyone knows this isn't true. Why do you think Comcast still has customers?

    1. Re:Seriously? by Pojut · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Because of people like me who live in an area where my choices are Comcast or Dial-up.

    2. Re:Seriously? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Why do you think Comcast still has customers?

      Because they have an effective monopoly in many regions.

    3. Re:Seriously? by Lumpy · · Score: 2, Informative

      Because most of their areas they are a monopoly.

      your choice is Nothing or Comcast, pick one.

      Ohhh, AOL dialup is still available! or you can get $299.00 a month dsl speeds with 600ms latency with satellite broadband....

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  11. Meaningless names by fiannaFailMan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    WTF is it with this trend of conjuring up completely meaningless words to use as company names?

    On NPR in the mornings I hear about a company that used to be called Horn Murdoch and Cole (a sensible name that tells you they've been around for a while and actually means something) who for some unfathomable reason decided to call themselves "Acretive Solutions," or something. I mean, aside from the impossibility of being able to tell if it's "Acretive" or "Acrative" just by listening to it, what the hell is that supposed to mean? It sounds almost like "Excretive" which calls to mind images of someone taking a dump!

    Accenture, Cingular, Elementis, Altria, I mean, what the fuck is that? At least the idiots at "Consignia" had the sense to revert back to the name that everyone understood and recognized for decades, i.e. 'Royal Mail.'

    Sheesh!

    There's a transcript here of a BBC radio show talking about this very subject.

    --
    Drill baby drill - on Mars
    1. Re:Meaningless names by russotto · · Score: 3, Informative

      Accenture, Cingular, Elementis, Altria, I mean, what the fuck is that? At least the idiots at "Consignia" had the sense to revert back to the name that everyone understood and recognized for decades, i.e. 'Royal Mail.'

      Accenture lost the Arthur Andersen name when they split from the accounting firm. Just in time for the Andersen name to be blackened by the Enron scandal. So, definitely a good name change for them.

  12. Oh lemme try one! by hellfire · · Score: 3, Funny

    Xfinity = how many times smarter you are than the average customer service rep

    Let's keep this rolling!

    --

    "All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"

    1. Re:Oh lemme try one! by frosty_tsm · · Score: 2, Funny

      Xfinity = how many times smarter you are than the average customer service rep

      Let's keep this rolling!

      Xfinity = how long you'll wait for youtube to load.

    2. Re:Oh lemme try one! by Moryath · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Xfinity = the number of customers they want to have locked into their monopolistic areas so they can jack their prices up.

      As opposed to Comcrap: It's Crapatastic, which referenced their crappy service.

  13. Why? by ldconfig · · Score: 2, Informative

    Why does Comcast screw up everything it touches? I still have fond memories of Tech TV.

    --
    The spelling and grammar police can kiss my ass
  14. How about changing it to "XSucksALittleLess" by gestalt_n_pepper · · Score: 2, Insightful

    More accurate, anyway. At any rate, I'll believe something has changed when I can talk to somebody who's not in India, knows something, can make a decision and can understand words like "I measured the Comcast line signal strengh for the last 24 hours and it dipped to just above zero 7 times in that period for a total of 95.4 minutes of non-functioning internet time so GET AN ENGINEER TO YOUR SWITCH AND DON'T SENT OUT THE LOCAL DUMBASS AGAIN."

    Cheers!

    --
    Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
    1. Re:How about changing it to "XSucksALittleLess" by nwf · · Score: 2, Interesting

      That was basically my experience. Tons of clueless techs who weren't authorized to actually fix anything. The "inside" tech blamed it on the "outside" tech and vice-versa. Why one guy couldn't touch wires inside AND outside my house is anyone's guess. The TV picture was full of static, but he said the signal level was great. Amplify a poor quality signal and you get a strong, yet poor signal. Whatever. I'm with Verizon now, but I still get a mailer from Comcast at least once a week wanting me back. Not going to happen after the manager promised he'd get it resolved in a week and call me back. A month later, I was an Xcustomer.

      They actually measured my "high speed" internet connection at 128 kbps download to their own speed test servers. I think it just came down to it would cost more to fix and lose a customer. The fun part was waiting for the tech, who was paid per job, waiting on hold for 45 minutes to get an agent to reset something. That was priceless.

      I had Comcast when living in DC and they sucked there, too. They "audited" the apartment building by just disconnecting everyone and seeing who complained and verified they were a customer. Pathetic.

      --
      I don't know, but it works for me.
    2. Re:How about changing it to "XSucksALittleLess" by nhytefall · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Won't ever happen as long as I continue to have conversations like with their "tech" support:

      Comcast rep: I don't see any problems in your area
      Me: Please check again. I am seeing high lag, dropped packets, and randow route changes in the Comcast network.
      Comcast rep: Everything's okay within 750' of your location.
      Me: The problem isn't there, its further out Actually, it's at [ip address] which is [hostname], and is probably near [address]
      Comcast rep: Wow, how did you see that?
      Me: Traceroute
      Comcast rep: I need to learn to do that

      --
      0100010001101001011001 0100100000011010010110 1110001000000110000100 1000000110011001101001 0111001001100101
    3. Re:How about changing it to "XSucksALittleLess" by Culture20 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Me: The problem isn't there, its further out Actually, it's at [ip address] which is [hostname], and is probably near [address]
      Comcast rep: Wow, how did you see that?
      Me: Traceroute
      Comcast rep: I need to learn to do that

      You're lucky that didn't become "Why are you inspecting the network sir? Hold please while I transfer you to Hostile Services."

    4. Re:How about changing it to "XSucksALittleLess" by PNutts · · Score: 2, Interesting

      More accurate, anyway. At any rate, I'll believe something has changed when I can talk to somebody who's not in India, knows something, can make a decision and can understand words like "I measured the Comcast line signal strengh for the last 24 hours and it dipped to just above zero 7 times in that period for a total of 95.4 minutes of non-functioning internet time so GET AN ENGINEER TO YOUR SWITCH AND DON'T SENT OUT THE LOCAL DUMBASS AGAIN."

      While many of the comments (in the overall thread) are funny, I don't think they reflect reality. Sure, I would like to have more of a choice but that is a different issue.

      I've been with Comcast for many years and I've never spoken to off-shore support. I suppose a quick Google would find if they do or not. Last week I was having trouble using VPN from home. I called Comcast and the call started as voice response which normally ticks me off, but after I told it "Internet" and "I cannot connect" my cable modem reset. Wow. After a few more seconds I was transferred to a live technician who gave me some technical information about my connection. He wasn't local but sometimes they are. In most every case I've discovered they are usually bored techies and enjoy talking to technical customers about the various pieces and will devulge detailed information.

      The last physical visit to my home was for TV/Internet connection issues and they replaced every piece of equipment between my TV and the box on the telephone pole (I have a long run to the pole). The guys were local, intelligent, and new a heck of a lot about what they were doing including measuring signal strength as compared to cable modem proximity to my wireless router (Belkin - I'll get back with my first wife before I buy another one of your wireless routers, and Motorola - It's called shielding).

      My town has various "depots" around town where you can go in and pick up/drop off equipment and talk to people face to face. The line moves fast and the folks there are a hoot. Sure, they want to sell you stuff and I keep saying "no". I have basic cable (only analog channels below 32) and Internet service.

      So maybe your issues are regional or closer to home. Or maybe they are based on a previous experience. I do know that for a company that can tell me to bugger off they treat me well.

  15. Xfinity? Sign me up! by honestmonkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wow, Xfinity! That sounds great. Where do I sign up? I want better service, faster internet and cheaper prices, and Xfinity sounds like it fits the bill. It's got an "X" in it, so it must be ten times better than what I have now.

    Can't wait until it's available in my area.

    --
    Everything you know is wrong, Just forget the words and sing along.
  16. Big step by QuietLagoon · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Hopefully step 2 is an actual change in quality and customer service.

    .

    That step is going to be a huge one for comcast who, in the past, has proven they are unable to traverse to chasm.

  17. I just dropped their service by tigheig · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... so does that make me an XCustomer?

  18. Re:How stupid do they think we are? oh, wait ... by maxume · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Verizon, formerly known as Bell Atlantic (and GTE)...

    --
    Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
  19. Mod Parent Up by mpapet · · Score: 2, Informative

    I can corroborate all of the claims made about Time Warner.

    The universally horrible service of subscription television is why we don't buy any service. It's a nice chunk of change at the end of the year. The shows are out on DVD the next year anyway.

    --
    http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
  20. "Douchefinity" was taken, I guess... by spywhere · · Score: 2, Informative

    ... and a pr0n site probably owns "Assfinity."

  21. At least it is not Xe by bussdriver · · Score: 2, Interesting

    seXfinity? its where the bandwidth goes.

    We used to joke with their employees who shared the building (who joined in:)
    Concast
    Commiecast (we were calling each other comrade too.)
    Comquest (I think their line should be "All your internet belong to us.")

    -
    Xe didn't help that corps image. People still call it Black Water.

    Well, Arther Anderson pulled it off-- how many forgot they are now known as Accenture? (The people who brought you Enron.)
    -

    Who set us up the takeover?

  22. "Competition" by ePhil_One · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Alas, the exclusivity agreements were a requirement to get the infrastructure built, noone wanted to invest the millions to string cable unless they were confident of recouping their investment, and as a one way network, installing it as a "shared resource" where competitors could access the lines after the installation investment was recovered isn't practical.

    I suspect part of the real reason Verizon and other Telcos are stringing fiber to compete with the cable companies is because:

    1) Their cable infrastructure needed major updating anyway, and simplifies management significantly

    2) Their landline business is drying up as consumers move to cell services. This allows them to capture more $$$ per household using the infrastructure they want to install anyway.

    Just spent a week at a friends place with Comcast, their cable internet went out about every hour with use, the techs say a modern spec cable needs to be run to teh house, but Comcast won't do it. I wonder how long it will take once the "Verizon FIOS in here" flyer shows up on their door?

    --
    You are in a maze of twisted little posts, all alike.
  23. So exactly how is this pronounced? by bearwayne · · Score: 2, Funny

    Xfinity.

    ECKS-finity
    ZIN-inity
    CROSS-finity
    OOOOPS-finity
    Hugs-n-kisses-finity
    ?

  24. And In Other News by MightyMartian · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hell - Hell has announced plans to rebrand itself as XBoilingHot as part of its bid to transform itself from the realm of Eternal Damnation into a kinder, gentler den of infinite punishment.

    "This is part of an overall strategy to change our image in the eyes of our customers." Hell spokesman Adolf Hitler said. "I think we've got a bid of a bad rap, in part deserved, but in part because a lot of people just haven't given us an adequate chance."

    "There's a lot to be proud of!" Nebraska regional director Pol Pot said. "We've changed the whole operation around, streamlining it with an eye on increasing overall satisfaction. Complaints have dropped a solid 50%, and we haven't even introduced the new Infinite Voice Mail Queue and the pitchforks with the built in silencers so the agonies of the Damned don't overwhelm those listening to an eternity of Liberace playing the anthem of the USSR at triple tempo in 7/4 time."

    "It's a bit old-fashioned," says senior director of the market research division of Hell, Idi Amin. "I don't think our customers are going to be fooled by slick slogans. But we know they'll notice the difference."

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.