Gizmodo
-
business
AOL and Time Warner to Break Up
AOL and Time Warner will split into two distinct entities by the end of the year. What AOL will do out in the cold without Time Warner's blanket, only time will tell. [NYT]
4,220
34
By Mark WilsonComment by 92BuickLeSabre: First Jon & Kate, and now this? 2 Responses | Other threads
-
internet
Google on How to Change the Internet: You Should Own Your Broadband Pipes
Google policy analyst Derek Slater—who's so obviously related to Christian Slater—explains how to reshape broadband in the US. Step one: Own the actual pipes that run to your house. More »
17,640
Comment by G_Money21: A small city in North Carolina is doing this already arent they? Wilson NC. And guess what, Time Warner (the... 4 Responses | Other threads
-
godzilla internet
Suck It, Fiber: America's Fastest Internet 101Mbps Delivered by Cablevision
Holy. I knew the fruits of cable's fiber-fast DOCSIS 3.0 standard would be delicious, but this is incredible: Cablevision's going to sell the fastest internet in the US next month: 101 blazing megabits per second. More » -
the internet is maybe not dead?
Time Warner Delays Bandwidth Cap Pricing Tests in Texas After Customer Complaints
San Antonio and Austin residents apparently raised enough of a fuss to push Time Warner's tiered pricing test, which was scheduled to begin this summer, back to October. So sayeth a TWC PR rep to the San Antonio Express-News: More »
6,219
By John MahoneyComment by Jeremy82465: Ill be the first to say it, FUCK YOU TWC. Love,A Texan 9 Responses | Other threads
-
the internet is dead
How Much Time Warner's Broadband Caps Will Screw You
Like the virus in 28 Days Later, Time Warner's internet-strangling broadband caps is spreading all over the country. They've got brand new pricing plans too and they yep, they suck. Let's look. More »
25,443
Comment by OCGuy: Why can't I ever live in a Verizon area.. Always AT&T/SBC.. Damn you Time Warner.. I loved you so much until... 8 Responses | Other threads
-
death of the internet
Time Warner Monthly Data Caps Spread Beyond Texas
Texas may be great, but it could not contain Time Warner's HD video-killing monthly broadband data caps, which have now spread beyond its borders. More »
14,637
Comment by A Snake a Snake... OH it's a Snake!: It seems like the transmission technology isn't advancing fast enough to deal with the increasing size of files being sent... 29 Responses | Other threads
-
tv anywhere
Time Warner Ditches Cable Co, Pledges TV Shows Everywhere
Just after Time Warner announced its spin-off of Time Warner Cable, CEO Jeff Bewkes is saying he wants paying customers to get their favorite shows via whatever means they prefer: Cable, computer or phone. More »
9,124
Comment by robot-shmobot: if we pay for it, does that mean there's no commercials?! 8 Responses | Other threads
-
cable
Online Cable Debate Heats Up As Execs Embrace Streaming Tech, Bicker About Programming Model
Even as the cable companies seemingly embrace online cable programming, there seem to be as many unanswered questions today regarding this new path as there are answers. More »
9,617
By Jack LoftusComment by mricyfire: none of this would happen if they weren't such dicks with pricing methods. I can get everything I want TVwise online... 6 Responses | Other threads
-
-
viacom
Viacom Might Pull All Channels (Comedy Central, MTV) Off Time Warner Cable Tomorrow
Viacom wants Time Warner Cable to pay more for its channels, like MTV and Comedy Central. TWC doesn't want to pay. So on Jan. 1, they could all go away for TWC subscribers. More »
14,952
Comment by Dick In A Box: I am a TWC subscriber, and IMO MTV and Comedy Central are more for younger tweens. Not that I feel... 14 Responses | Other threads
-
beefcake
Ogle Cable Guys Between the Hours of Whenever and Anytime
Can't get enough of your local cable guy and his blue paper booties? Order a Time Warner cable guy calendar. More »
5,199
By Jason ChenComment by Shamoononon, Vampire Grater - Now SWF: deadhouseplantz: Hip Nihlist: I see how it is, apparently only pimply faced little geeks desperately seeking the attention and admiration of fellow... 10 Responses | Other threads
-
cable
FCC Fines Big Cable for Ditching TiVo Owners
Ars reports that the FCC has bitch slapped cable companies that adopted the new switched digital video (SDV) CableCard protocol because, as we discussed in the spring, it totally left TiVo owners hanging. Cable companies say they should be free to do whatever they want with hardware; the FCC says, well, you still need to support companies that bend over backward to adopt to your existing technologies. More »
9,564
Comment by JEmlay: For once I agree with the cable company. There is absolutely no reason why they should support anyone but themselves.... 3 Responses | Other threads
-
net neutrality
Giz Explains: How Broadband Usage Caps Will Kill Internet Video
NBC's scheduled coverage of the 2008 Olympics is absolutely breathtaking in its scope: It's broadcasting over 3,600 hours of the world's greatest athletes performing feats that reveal how shapeless and amoebic the rest of humanity is—that's 1,000 more hours than the last 12 Summer Olympics combined. The internet is a huge component of their nearly omniscient coverage. You can even download and watch full-length events. But NBC has a fat red warning on the page: If you've got metered or capped broadband, you might want to think twice before downloading. It's the first shot by major media in the next great battle for the internet's future. Here's why you—and most media companies—should be worried about the new wave of internet pricing.
More » -
fcc
Intel Wants FCC to Make Set-Top Box Ethernet Ports Mandatory
This would be great: Intel reps paid a visit to the FCC to lobby for making ethernet ports a requirement in new set-top boxes, meaning every set-top box would be IP capable. So connectivity like the cable industry's tru2way dealio and home networking would go from bustable industry pact to government mandate. Odds of this happening? Well, there is a precedent like this, and FCC Chairmain Kevin Martin does enjoy stabbing the cable industry in the balls with burning pokers of openness, but nothing's certain. [Ars]
2,250
Comment by hnkelley: Hmmm.... Using the government to solve a problem... Wait, what problem are they trying to solve? The one where... more » | Other threads
-
tru2way
Giz Explains: CableCARD and the Future of Cable TV
The big bad cable industry is under assault. The internet is stealing viewers who can check out their favorite shows on Hulu while fiber and IPTV deliver speed and features they can't quite match. Yet. A new cable internet standard rolling out this year will let them catch up speedwise. To battle the dizzying array of possibilities IPTV offers, the cable industry has its own white knight: Tru2way, a new kind of CableCARD that will deliver real interactive features to cable subscribers, and kill the loathed cable box in the process.
More » -
isp backlash
ISP Backlash May Mean The End of Usenet
Ever since New York's attorney general specifically targeted newsgroups and usenet for child pornography (which is deplorable), there's been a backlash of ISPs dropping support for the network altogether. Crunchgear lists Time Warner, Verizon and Sprint either cutting off all support or limiting it to various non-binary categories, making people who access usenet for an easy way to download free movies pretty angry. Will ISPs dropping it mean the start of a slow death of usenet as a whole, or will third-party usenet access sites (which charge fees) keep it alive for a while yet? [Crunchgear]
4,984
By Jason ChenComment by GarthJobo: Gee whilikers, I found out about this discussion in a usenet newsgroup. My ISP,... more » | Other threads
-
wimax
Sprint and Clearwire Promise WiMax Will Be Totally Open, Can Replace Your ISP
In its filing to the FCC oh-so-politely asking for the okay to merge Sprint's and Clearwire's spectrum assets into the WiMax monolith New Clearwire (helpfully poked through by Ars), they make a lot of groovy promises to stoke the FCC's approval stamp into action. Like it'll be totally open: "New Clearwire will permit consumers to use any lawful device that they want so long as it is compatible" and you can "download and use any software applications, content, or services" as long they're not illegal or mucking up the network. And they're promising to cover 140 million people in the US in 30 months with claims of sustained speeds of 6Mbps downlink, 3Mbps up. Why's this cool? More »
9,214
Comment by R-R: Do they guarantee net neutrality too? and a free Popsicle? more » | Other threads
-
time warner
Time Warner Monthly Data Caps Detailed
We'd heard about Time Warner Cable's test run of consumption-based billing in Beaumont, Texas, back in January, though details were scant. Now they're plentiful. The plans (for new subscribers only) start up on Thursday, but thankfully they're not as bad as we imagined—the overage fee is only $1/GB and is waived the first two months. Plans start $30 for 768Kbps downloads and a 5GB cap, and go up to $55 for a pretty sweet 15Mbps downstream and a 40GB cap. Not egregious, but we still hate it, especially since you'll probably be seeing this in lotsa places, sooner than you'd expect. More »
9,281
Comment by Emma Phillips: Yeah, they are doing it in the Triad area of North Carolina, too. People here are outraged, obviously. The mayors... more » | Other threads
-
wimax
WiMax Joint Venture: Sprint, Clearwire, Comcast and Time Warner With $$$ from Google and Intel, Maybe Announced Tomorrow
Sprint and Clearwire are apparently set to do the almost unthinkable: Get WiMax off the ground. Fortune is reporting that Sprint and Clearwire are expected to announce as early as tomorrow the formation of a massive WiMax joint venture with Time Warner and Comcast. Intel and Google are rumored to be throwing money at the new WiMax party (more?). If you'll notice, this basically rolls up most of the past WiMax rumors into one convenient ball of fun—indicating they were spot on, or that this is just repackaged BS, so don't throw away the salt lick just yet. Godspeed, WiMax. UPDATE: Matt Richtel at the NYTimes corroborates it. More »
3,047
Comment by braker: FYI - WSJ broke this news online yesterday (Tuesday). The post makes it sounds like WSJ was following fortune and... more » | Other threads
-
internet
10 Percent of Broadband Subscribers Suck Up 80 Percent of Bandwidth But P2P No Longer to Blame
The most consistent rationale for ISPs to throttle p2p applications or charge by the byte is that a small minority of users drain a vastly disproportionate amount of bandwidth, like the planet-raping aliens in Independence Day. Om Malik pulls a few of these numbers out of Arbor Networks' CTO, who develops all the traffic management tools your ISP probably uses, so while there's a conflict of interest (portents of internet doom sell more stuff) they have the data. Ten percent of subscribers consume 80 percent of bandwidth, a super-leeching 0.5 percent swallow 40 percent of bandwidth, and the rest like your mom, 80 percent, sip less than 10 percent. But p2p isn't the culprit. More » -
cable
CableLabs Responds to CableCard Screwjob Allegation
The good folks at CableLabs replied to today's piece about CableCard customers getting screwed out of HD channels. To their credit, they did not ask for a correction, because we didn't print anything inaccurate (though they do claim the HD Guru may have). They just wanted us to consider some "clarifications," arguments that go far to highlight the tension (hatred bordering on violence?) that exists between Big Cable and the consumer-electronics companies. The short version: Cable content is always changing, two-way CableCard exists in theory if not at Best Buy, the dongle could work on anything with a USB port and upgradeable firmware, and, oh yeah, you'll probably be buying all-new gear before this thing blows over. Jump for a more spelled out—but still excerpted—version of CableLabs' rebuttal argument: More » -
cable
CableCard Users Are Getting Screwed Out of HD Channels
Our friend Gary Merson, the HD Guru, has uncovered an issue that may soon piss you off. Cable customers who use the current CableCard to decode signal directly in their TV, a TiVo or Windows Media Center PC may soon start losing HD channels because of a change in technology. To conserve bandwidth, cable carriers are moving from a direct stream of video to "switched digital video," which use two-way digital cable boxes to see what customers need then send it to them. CableCards are only one-way, so they can't make use of any SDV coming down the pipes. What does this mean? Merson says that as of April 15, Cablevision has cut off CableCard access to 15 Voom HD channels, and Time Warner will apparently make similar cuts. More » -
industry
Is CBS Blocking Shows From Your DVR?
John Sciacca at Sound & Vision says his DVR no longer lets him record his favorite show, Survivor. Sciacca claims that despite setting his Time Warner box to record every episode of the reality show, when the time comes, it acts as if there is nothing to record. Sometimes, he says, the record light even goes on during the show, but it isn't saved to the hard drive. Apparently he's not the only one stuck without Survivor.
More »
13,296
Comment by justrick: My Windows Media Center just reported that it could not record tonight's Survivor owing to a "broadcast restriction" or some... more » | Other threads
-
net neutrality
Will Your ISP F You In the A? Bandwidth Hogs Beware
As the amount of bandwidth we devour has skyrocketed, so has ISPs' need to police our appetites, even as they offer more bandwidth to whet it. We talked to the biggest ISPs around to get their official positions on traffic management and content filtering to see what's in store for your pipes. Here's where you find out which ISPs may screw you, and which ones swear to Giz they won't. Update: We've got new responses from AT&T and Speakeasy. More » -
yahoo
Yahoo Flirting With AOL Something Fierce, Microsoft Still On Doorstep With Flowers
An unnamed source (aren't they all?) confirmed a rumor that had been floating before: that Yahoo, in order to escape being grabbed by Microsoft, would hurl itself at the second-ugliest suitor in the room, AOL. The new details say that Time Warner would pay some cash up front for a 20% stake in a joint AOL-Yahoo program. The AOL side, valued at $10 billion, would include all properties (such as our worthy competitor Engadget) but not the dial-up service that your grandma and pretty much no one else still has. Microsoft still may get its way, though: Word is that it's teaming with MySpace-owner News Corp for some kind of a three-way proposition. [Reuters]
1,355
Comment by SneakerFiend: @EBone: I think it has to do with the messenger and search engine. I remember when MSN was promoting talking... more » | Other threads
-
wimax
Comcast and Time Warner To Launch WiMax Network, Asking Sprint to Run It?
Cable operators Comcast and Time Warner plan to gather up $1.5 billion to $2 billion in order to get their own WiMax network going, and it's said that they would turn to Sprint to run the show. Now, I don't know what part of this plan makes sense to anyone else, but A) WiMax as a wide-area network technology More »
2,186
Comment by willibes: I'd like to thank some people for being the voice of reason here. Big cable knows that they need... more » | Other threads
-
software
Yahoo Flees Microsoft, Runs to Time Warner's AOL?
Microsoft hating is something of a national pastime, but Yahoo's desire to avoid a Redmond takeover has apparently driven them to seek a cozy relationship with Time Warner. Yes, some geniuses out there are actually concocting "a deal that would fold Time Warner's AOL Internet unit into Yahoo." I'm sorry, but hasn't history proven that working with Time Warner on internet stuff is the business equivalent of trying to conquer Russia in the winter? The joke is, we were actually relieved to hear that the same unnamed people familiar with this deal still think Microsoft's Yahoo buyout will happen. [Reuters]
2,030
Comment by Xeno: @imTheKing: Ummm, MS has Billions in liquid cash used just for this kind of thing. more » | Other threads
-
ads
Time Warner Says Verizon Is a Constipated Gay Man with Magic Fingers
This Time Warner ad taking on Verizon FiOS is so ludicrously hilarious it almost does make want to sign up with Time Warner. In the spot, Verizon is a constipated (wait for it), overly enthusiastic gay-coded dude with magic fingers shooting red lightning and flying Vs (for Verizon!), touting "THE FIBER." It's so ridiculous it almost seems fake. More » -
hbo
HBO on Broadband: All-You-Can-Eat Movie and TV Downloads
If you had just three fewer hoops to jump through for HBO on Broadband, it'd be an amazing service. So, if you have Time Warner in Wisconsin, HBO on Demand and Roadrunner broadband (and Windows), you can download to your PC as much as you want from a catalog of 600 shows and movies they'll throw up every month, plus there's a live feed of HBO on the East Coast. Awesome, right? More » -
bittorrenters beware
All-You-Can-Eat Broadband Is Dead: Time Warner to Charge by the Byte
Reason number 149 I won't move to Texas: Time Warner confirmed it'll be testing a new pricing plan in Beaumont that's based on how much bandwidth you eat up. That's right, hard caps. Totally made-up example, since they haven't released details on the package tiers: Pay $50 a month for 500 gigs, and if you consume more, get slapped with probably obscene overage fees. More » -
going once...
Comcast and Time Warner Out of 700MHz Auction: So Who's In?
Comcast and Time Warner have just declared their total disinterest in the upcoming 700MHz auction. Not that they mattered anyway—the real behind-closed-doors fireworks looked to be between Google and Verizon, who've been publicly sparring over the auction rules for a while. But that might not be the case. More »
2,751
Comment by drdroo: @devGOD: Verizon already announced that they will be joining Google with Android. Why would they bother to 'stick it... more » | Other threads
-
legal eagle
The former head of allofmp3.com was acquitted in a Russian court, avoiding both fat fines and jailtime. Of course, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (repping EMI, NBC and Time Warner in the case) is planning to appeal. [CNN]
941
Comment by awemaker: Doh! Wish granted. www.mp3sparks.com was down for a time, but it's up & healthy! I going to go... more » | Other threads
-
time-shift this
Time Warner Cable's Pseudo-DVR Won't Let You Skip Commercials
In October, Time Warner is going to start rolling out a new DVR-like service called Look Back—emphasis on the "like," since it won't let you fast-forward through commercials and you have to watch a show before midnight on the day that it's shown. You don't get to keep them, either. But, it's totally gratis. More » -
home entertainment
Time Warner DVRs Might Come with Bonus Porn
Someunfortunate Time Warner customer got a "new" DVR unit that happened to be 20 percent full of pornography. Having a couple of small kids around that had yet to be desensitized to porn, he was far from pleased.Having been on a three-week waiting list for Time Warner Cable's HighDef DVR box, it was finally installed yesterday. I turned it on and saw that it worked great. I leave to run the weekend errands and give my wife the remote control and the manual to set up her programs for recording. My wife and my two nieces (ages 3 and 8) sit down to learn how to record DisneyTV shows. My wife pushes the green LIST button on the remote control and up comes the previous owner's recorded content; 20 percent full of all adult content. As my wife tries to figure out how to get out of the menu mode, Hole Diggers—Part 2 starts playing.
Whatever, dude. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. More » -
cellphones
Sprint Pivot: 4-in-1 Package Puts Mobile, Home Phone, Cable and Intertubes Together
Sprint's getting together with Comcast, Time Warner, Cox and Advanced/Newhouse Communications to launch "Pivot," a new 4-in-1 deal that puts your mobile phone, home phone, broadband and digital cable services in one package. The service comes with perks beyond one monthly bill, such as unlimited calling between your "cable home service and mobile phones," and the ability to check email and voicemail from one source. More » -
pcs
Friendly Reminder: Don't Install ISP-provided Software
You know those CDs that ISPs send you full of "helpful" "support" software? The ones that most computer-savvy people ignore? Well, you'd better just keep on ignoring them. More »
2,497
By Adam FrucciComment by Monty: When the FIOS technician from Verizon visited to install our connection a year ago or so, he handed me the... more » | Other threads
-
home entertainment
Time Warner Cable Out of HD DVR Units
It seems cable companies like Time Warner and Comcast were not prepared for the boom of HDTV because they are regularly running out of HD DVR boxes for customers. Time Warner says that the wait for an HD DVR box is two to three weeks because of the high demand. A commenter over at Zatz had to wait four months for an HD box through Comcast. So, Super Bowl-inspired Time Warner HD upgraders are SOL, more or less. It's okay—just because Brian Urlacher won't be in glorious 720p for some doesn't mean that he won't still eat Peyton Manning alive. More » -
home entertainment
Total HD Disc Format From Warner Bros. Combines Blu-ray, HD DVD Into One Disc
Time Warner's Warner Bros. plans to announce a high definition disc at CES that combines both the Blu-ray and HD DVD formats. In other words, the disc—called Total HD—will come with both Blu-ray and HD DVD formated content on it. A little confusing? You bet. And given that companies like LG are starting to announce players that can play both rival high def formats, one might question the necessity of introducing yet another disc format, even if it's supposed to be a uniter and not a divider. Right now, the Total HD disc won't have standard def content on it, but Time Warner has filed patents indicating that it could do so at a later date. More » -
home entertainment
Road Runner Service to Double Download Speed in Q1 2007
Time Warner is quietly notifying some of its customers that it plans to double the download speed of its Road Runner broadband service to 10Mbps starting in Q1 2007, adding that Business Class customers will also get a similar increase in speed. More » -
home entertainment
Time Warner Tests DVR-Like "Start Over" Service in San Antonio
Time Warner picked San Antonio as another test market for its "Start Over" service, a free upgrade to its network that lets viewers use an existing digital cable box to rewind and pause programs. It amounts to a crippled network DVR—not letting you fast-forward, which would let you skip commercials. This San Antonio test follows one that's been ongoing in Columbia, South Carolina for a while. More » -
home entertainment
Time Warner Cable Not Supporting TiVo Series3 Units With CableCard?
This bit of strange news came in via PVRBlog today. Apparently a user at Consumer Fury emailed Time Warner to see whether they will be providing Cablecard support for the upcoming TiVo Series 3 boxes. TW's answer? More »
time warner
Gizmodo Team
Tip your editors:
tips@gizmodo.com
Editorial Director:
Brian Lam | Email | Twitter
Editor:
Jason Chen
Email | AIM | Twitter
Features Editor:
Wilson Rothman
Email | Twitter
Senior Contributing Editor:
Jesus Diaz
Email | AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editors:
Mark Wilson, Reviews
Email | AIM | Twitter
Matt Buchanan
Email | AIM | Twitter
Adam Frucci
Email | Twitter
Sean Fallon
Email | Twitter
Jack Loftus
Email | Twitter
John Herrman
Email | Twitter
Dan Nosowitz
Email
Editorial Assistant:
Chris Mascari
Email
Columnist:
Brendan I. Koerner
Comment Intern::
Nick Ellenoff | Email
Comment Account Questions:
Comments@gizmodo.com
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
