My Tivo HD/Comcast Saga comes to a Triumphant End!

About a week ago, I was in a pit of despair about the fact that I'd had 2 visits from Comcast installers and still my new TiVo HD was not hooked in to my cable. Comcast Customer Support kindly took notice of my blog rant and offered assistance. I was hoping that the "third time's a charm" and I wouldn't need it, but unfortunately that visit didn't go so well either. So, after a call to Comcast Support line, emails and calls with the Support reps who reached out to me via my blog, and a tag team effort by three technicians, everything is right with the world. My TiVo HD is now functioning as more than just a fancy Netflix Streaming receiver.

To be honest, I was hesitant about taking advantage of the Customer Service, especially when they said they would put a note on my upcoming Troubleshooting work order. I've seen that backfire with other companies who essentially mark you as a technological hypochondriac and give you worse service. But, fortunately, that wasn't the case here. Although one tech started to mention another call in which it was actually a faulty TiVo unit and not a problem with Comcast, they were true to their word and stayed for almost 60 minutes to ferret out the mistake made during my last installation attempt and make sure I was receiving all the channels in my package.

Storm Response Forgets Pedestrians

Yesterday, WBZ posted an article and a poll asking whether there should be a law to require vans and SUVs to clear snow from their roofs before driving. This is a fantastic idea and 78% of respondents agree with me. It's not just rude, it's dangerous.

But as I walked to the T in Jamaica Plain the past few mornings, I started wondering if such a law would actually help. After all, there's already a law requiring home- and business-owners to properly shovel their sidewalks, yet every winter major neighborhood streets like Centre (north of the South/Center businesses), Boylston, Paul Gore and Green remain un-shoveled, becoming treacherous moonscapes and forcing pedestrians to walk in the street.

But it isn't just lazy folks (or those in a battle of wills with their landlords) that cause problems. Plows pile giant mounds of snow up onto curbs, blocking the normal flow. In years past, I've just considered this my grumbly fate in winter, but this year it strikes me as particularly backwards. After all, a record number fo commuters switched to using the MBTA this year and most of us require some amount of walking to get to the bus or T stop. It just seems completely outdated that snow removal is still so ver car-focused.

Snowstorm 2.0

What's better than a giant snowstorm where either you got to leave work early or you'll spend 5 hours crawling home along the Pike? Knowing every bit of data about that snowstorm thanks to Web 2.0 tools.



http://www.utterli.com/snow1219
http://www.cafepress.com/snowmageddon
http://www.hashtags.org/tag/snow1219
http://www.flickr.com/groups/937409@N24/pool/

Awesome Women: Molly Wood

I love Molly Wood. As an Executive Editor with CNet, I've been watching/listening to her on Buzz out Loud and my CNet TiVoCast for years. And she just rocks. Not only is she a woman who knows and loves all kinds of tech and gadgetry, but she's a woman who is very pretty but a) on TV (well, okay, the internets, but still) because of her brains, not her looks and b) not insanely TV perfect airbrushed like some tech shows and podcasts use to lure in the guy nerds. Also, she seems to strike a good mom-work balance. She tweets about her kid a lot, but not too much and not horrible tone-deaf parent stuff and she very publicly went through pregnancy, maternity leave and return to work. So, yay Molly Wood.