Newstocks

Suicide

Well, they finally did it. The idiots at Cablevision pulled the plug on channels 7 and 9.

I give 'em six months before they go out of business.

The guys at WOW must be laughing right about now.

CableVision's presumption

It is not for CableVision to decide on behalf of all their customers that they will no longer carry channels 7 and 9 following BBC's decision to start charging for them.

If CableVision are not prepared to absorb these costs then they should pass them on to us, but give us the option of whether we want to subscribe. Those who agree with CableVision that the charges are unfair can decline to subscribe; those of us who think that an extra, say, $5 a month is worth it (particularly if it may enable the BBC to improve the quality of their programmes) can continue to get the channels. Everybody wins.

CableVision's current approach will only aggravate those of us who want to keep getting channels 7 and 9 but will be unable to do so. I want them on cable because I don't want to have to put up an antenna, I don't want the quality to be any worse than it already is, and I want to be able to record the programmes on my PVR. And yes, I am prepared to pay a premium for that, if necessary.

I'm also deeply suspicious of CableVision's claim to be fighting on behalf of their subscribers. If they were so concerned about us, they would have done something about their shoddy customer service a long time ago. Their claims that their customers can watch the programmes online are also untrue - full episodes from ABC.com and CBS.com are only available to residents of the United States.

If channels 7 and 9 do go off the air, we may just cancel our subscription completely. Because of CableVision's failure to get the major networks on their HD service, we are already downloading most of the TV shows we watch from iTunes. The main reason we haven't already given up our $120 per month CableVision subscription is that Mandy watches "As The World Turns", which we can't download. If we can no longer get that show, it's simply not worth us keeping our subscription.

I suspect, however, that CableVision is bluffing. Many of the most popular Bermudian shows, including Oprah, are on channels 7 or 9. I think CableVision would see a mass exodus of subscribers for WOW if they dropped them. While I'm not enthusiastic to see my cable bill rise any higher, BBC should stick to their guns. I may not like what they are doing, but I like what CableVision is doing even less.

Apple support sucks

Last week I purchased and downloaded an HD version of an episode of Dexter from the iTunes store.

When you buy an HD copy of a TV episode, Apple throw in the SD version for free. Apparently this is because the latter will play on your iPod, but the former will not. Both versions appeared to download fine, both are listed in iTunes, but iTunes (and I) cannot find the file for the HD version. And although I can play back the SD version on the PC, it will not sync to my Apple TV.

So a week ago I reported the problem using the iTunes store's "Report a Problem" button. Having heard nothing a week later (not even an acknowledgement that they received my message), a couple of nights ago I also used the email form on their website to report the issue. I've still had no response.

This sucks. The free HD episode of Heroes that I also downloaded had a similar problem. I was all set to start buying most of the TV shows we watch from iTunes in HD, but now I'm worried that I'll have similar problems next time.

The last time I had to report a problem on iTunes (just a few weeks ago, in fact) it took almost a week to get a refund, but I did at least get an almost immediate acknowledgement that my complaint had been received. What happened to Apple support between then and now?

Looks like I'm just going to have to download this episode from BitTorrent instead and watch it on the PS3. In hindsight, it would have been much easier had I just avoided iTunes and bought Dexter on DVD instead.

Fringe

Just watched the pilot episode of Fringe, a new X-Files-like show by J.J. Abrams, the guy behind the excellent Lost.

I thought it was mostly fine, but nothing special - until the point where they pulled out the magic camera. Yes! A camera that allowed them to see the last images on the eyeball of a dead girl, and so figure out the location of the killer. WTF?

Alas, Mandy enjoyed the show, so I guess I'll have to watch at least one more episode. But I really hope that the writing gets better and they do away with the cheap deus ex machina plot devices.

EDIT: Looks like we actually missed the pilot and saw the second episode of the season instead.

iTunes: Trouble ahead for Bermuda users?

With the release of the new version of iTunes, the unofficial Apple weblog has just noticed something in the US terms of service that could have a significant impact on users in Bermuda:

10. Territory. The Service is available only in the United States. You agree not to use or attempt to use the Service from outside of the available territory, and that Apple may use technologies to verify your compliance.

Since Bermuda doesn't have its own iTunes store (although the local iStore was exploring this with Apple earlier this year), residents must use one in another jurisdiction. Unlike Amazon's music store, and many other US-only services, iTunes does not use your computer's IP address to determine where you're connecting from. Instead you just need to have an iTunes gift card or a credit card issued by a US bank (restrictions that are generally easier to circumvent). If Apple were to start checking IP addresses, however, it would no longer be possible to do this, and would kill local use of the iTunes store.

Apparently this clause has been in there for some time, but it's suddenly made me a lot more wary of buying stuff from the iTunes store. Coming when Apple have just added HD TV shows and reinstated NBC, something I have long been hoping for, this is a bitter pill. If Apple start checking IP addresses, will I no longer be able to use the substantial amount of content I have already purchased?