comcast

Comcast to offer identity fraud protection service

Comcast is expanding its free Constant Guard anti-botnet service for Xfinity customers to add identity fraud detection to its anti-malware and secure backup service.

The Internet service provider launched a trial of Constant Guard in 2009 and took it nationwide last September, alerting customers when their computers appear to have been compromised by malware.

On Thursday, the company will be adding Identity Guard from Intersections Inc. to its Norton Security Suite and Secure Backup & Share service. The services are free with an Xfinity Internet service subscription.

Customers can pay more for additional identity fraud protection services such as proactive … Read more

The 404 824: Where we're spinning our way to the top (podcast)

Where would you go if all your neighbors turned into New Balance-wearing, speed-walking zombies? The CDC (unaffiliated with apocalyptic preacher Harold Camping) has some tips on how to survive the zombie apocalypse in a manual released on its Web site yesterday that uses the undead as a metaphor for disaster preparation. On today's show, we're also getting shallow and pedantic about Meredith Baker's newly appointed position as the senior vice president of governmental affairs for Comcast-NBC Universal, a merger that she oversaw as an FCC commissioner, and we're also chatting about a woman who was reportedly kicked off Amtrak for talking on the phone for 16 hours!

The 404 Digest for Episode 824

CDC advises on disaster prep the only way Americans understand: with zombies! FCC commissioner leaves for Comcast-NBC Universal Woman kicked off Amtrak for talking on the phone for 16 hours!

Episode 824 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Comcast updates Xfinity app with streaming video for iPhone, iPod Touch

Comcast has updated its iOS Xfinity TV app to version 1.5, bringing a much requested feature, previously available only on the Apple iPad, to the software.

Apple iPhone and iPod Touch owners can now stream a massive collection of video content from the Comcast vaults over Wi-Fi. At last count, there was more than 4,500 hours of content available through Comcast's Xfinity On-Demand video service. The app also serves as a remote control and DVR controller for supported cable boxes. … Read more

Everyone's an expert in information technology

Over the past decade, we've heard a lot about the coming consumerization of information technology. Well, it's here. The Web, e-mail, mobile phones, automated teller machines, GPS navigators, supermarket self-checkouts, online banking, digital cameras, instant messaging, chat rooms, online shopping, airline e-tickets, iTunes, YouTube, Facebook--you name it. Every one of them puts large swaths of the population in direct, frequent contact with sophisticated IT systems and interfaces. And this is just the short list.

It's an overstatement to say "everyone's on Facebook" or "everyone has a smartphone"--but not by much. Something like 50 percent of the U.S. population is on Facebook … Read more

Clearwire, Comcast, Sprint expands 4G network in Bay Area

Clearwire, Comcast, and Sprint have jointly announced an expansion of the Clearwire 4G network today. The network now includes much of the greater Bay Area. The communities are San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Sunnyvale, San Ramon, Fremont, San Leandro, Newark, Campbell, Daly City, Pleasanton, Danville, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Hayward, Walnut Creek, Mountain View, Cupertino, Milpitas, Pleasant Hill, Santa Clara, and San Bruno. The Bay Area 4G coverage is said to cover around 4.4 million people.

Clearly, this is an advantage for those who want to use 4G devices from the aforementioned carriers. Sprint's 4G phones include the … Read more

FCC commissioner leaves for Comcast

One of the FCC commissioners who approved the Comcast/NBC Universal deal is leaving the commission to work for Comcast.

Meredith Attwell Baker, one of two Republican commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission, announced today that she is leaving her government post when her term expires in June. Baker was appointed to the FCC by President Obama in July 2009.

Baker's new title at Comcast will be senior vice president of government affairs.

Baker was one of four members of the FCC, who approved the Comcast's deal to acquire ownership of NBC Universal in January. The vote at … Read more

TiVo to add Comcast video-on-demand support

One of the major hang-ups for people switching from a cable provider's DVR to TiVo is that the retail TiVo doesn't offer the cable provider's video-on-demand (VOD) channels. So, while you can get plenty of options from TiVo's built-in video service providers--Netflix, Blockbuster, Amazon, and (soon) Hulu Plus--you can't order, say, a prize fight or even the bevy of "free" VOD options available on most cable systems, thanks to the technical restrictions of TiVo's CableCard technology.

Well it looks like that sticking point may soon be unstuck as Comcast and TiVo have … Read more

Comcast delivers solid first quarter

Cable giant Comcast reported solid first-quarter results as it continues to add high-speed Internet customers at a good clip.

Comcast reported first-quarter earnings of $943 million, or 34 cents a share, on revenue of $12.13 billion, up 31.8 percent from a year ago. The results include two months of NBC Universal results. Excluding transaction costs related to NBC Universal, Comcast reported earnings of 36 cents a share. The earnings were 2 cents per share ahead of Wall Street estimates.

High-speed Internet revenue showed solid growth as revenue surged 8.8 percent to $2.1 billion. Comcast's video … Read more

Netflix subscribers now equal Comcast's

The Netflix juggernaut showed no signs of slowing down during the first quarter of 2011.

On the contrary, for the quarter ended March 31 (PDF), Netflix reported worldwide net profits of $60 million, or $1.11 per share, on revenue of $719 million. The earnings for the Web's top video-rental service were nearly twice the $32 million the company saw for the same period a year ago.

A survey of 25 analysts by FactSet Research showed that Netflix was expected to earn $1.07 a share. As for the company's closely watched number of subscribers, Netflix reported that … Read more

Comcast brings 105Mbps service to major markets

Comcast is now delivering ultra high-speed Internet service to more than 40 million homes around the U.S., the company announced today.

Dubbed Extreme 105, the offering provides customers with 105Mbps download speeds and up to 10Mbps upload speeds. The service is available in several major markets, including San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, the cable provider said. It plans to roll it out in other markets going forward.

Reports of Comcast's 105Mbps service cropped up on the Web last year when a forum user posted what was claimed to be a bill from the cable provider … Read more