Today, an odd update appeared for Windows Media Center owners with CableCARDs. Specifically, the ATI Digital Cable Tuner Update which is now available.

Two odd things with this update. One, it claims to be a new update, yet claims to not contain anything new. After updating, users report still being at firmware 1.17. Two, after running the update, things work fine for a few minutes… then trouble starts to happen.

Specifically, the CableCARD setup stops working… completely. Users see a Restricted Content warning on all channels.

As much as I usually tell people to update-upon-release, I’m going to suggest avoiding this one. I’ve already had six people confirm it.

I know it seems like I’m really going after Microsoft on CableCARD recently. This post is merely coincidental. I really do hope that Microsoft improves CableCARD, gets the cost down (competitive with TiVo), and that they finally hash out the DRM fiasco. I’m not a detractor against CableCARD, I actually like it much more than the cable operators… we’re just stuck in last-mile issues with making it work properly.

I decided for once to attend a Microsoft Expert Zone Chat. These chats are buried in the old Windows XP area of Microsoft’s site (for some strange reason). They offer a rare chance for Microsoft leadership (engineers, product managers, etc) to chat right with customers. I wanted to get the straight answer on CableCARD’s DRM limitations.

Issue Recap: Media Center normally only copy-protects shows that have been flagged as such (like shows on HBO… premium channels). However, when a CableCARD is inserted into Media Center, Windows then copy-protects all shows… including unencrypted broadcast content. The FCC has said that CableLabs should not be doing this, pointing the finger at Microsoft. Microsoft has not explained why other CableCARD vendors (TiVo) do not have to do this, while they do.

Microsoft’s unofficial workaround is to physically remove the CableCARD when you want to record a show, sans the added/unnecessary DRM and copy protection.

The response? Not good, in my opinion. Here’s the chat transcript.

A: We work closely with CableLabs and our other partners to ensure that our solution maintains the right balance between compliance with their standards, the needs of the content providers, and providing a good experience for our users. Unfortunately, I can’t speak for or comment on the policies or decision of other solutions.

Q: To be clear, I’m not asking about other solutions. I’m asking why CableCARD on Media Center encrypts unencrypted content. The FCC has said cable operators can’t do that.

A: *Crickets Chirping*

Okay, I made the last answer up (they refused to respond). Granted, the right people to answer the question may not have been in the chat. However, the lack of answers to this all-year-long is not isolated to this chat. Since CableCARD went live on Media Center, Microsoft has stonewalled addressing the situation.

It’s sad. Really. Others started following up, in hopes of getting Microsoft to clarify (and not ignore just me), but they just started ignoring all OCUR/CableCARD questions.

Today, my Westinghouse W3213 HDTV died. I camped outside of a Best Buy for a good 12 hours in 2006 on Black Friday, nabbing the TV for the nice price of $479.99. Just for comparison, Westinghouse’s equivalent model today still sells for $679.99.

But, enough about me bragging, the TV is dead after all. But, wait! I had the foresight to get a Best Buy Product Service Plan (PSP). I’ll let you know how it goes on getting that resolved. Best Buy has my TV, and they’re currently expecting to have it back to me in about 10 days (not unreasonable really).

So, now I’m TV-less, TiVo-less, right? Wrong. Sure, I have Windows Media Center, but I can’t get all my channels on that without CableCARD.

In comes Slingbox. With Slingbox, all my PCs, Macs, and my WIndows Mobile phone just shifted the TV onto my screen, all via Wi-Fi. I have full control of my TiVo HD, just as if I was sitting in front of the (now absent) TV.

Which reminds me, I haven’t yet poked and prodded TiVo over why they haven’t added Slingbox functionality to the TiVo software stack. I shouldn’t need to own a Slingbox to do all this… but hey, that’s a familiar mantra here, I only have a TiVo because Microsoft won’t fix CableCARD DRM.

Even though I only have the low-end Slingbox AV, it works great for handling the different HD and non-HD content feeds. The Aspect Ratio menu lets me break through common headaches, like DTV video that is 480i… but got recorded in 720p. If that sounds like greek to you, don’t worry, it just means that you don’t have to look at a bunch of black bars (letterboxing and pillarboxing). You just see the TV, and it can sit on top of other windows at all times if you chose.

Users that want a 12-inch MacBook Pro really bad (myself included) now have their own discussion forum.

As I’ve noted in the past, I think that there’s still plenty of room in the Mac Portable lineup for a 12-inch MacBook Pro. This is a system that would replace the 12-inch PowerBook G4. Unlike the MacBook Air, that system weights only slightly more, and doesn’t compromise on graphics, optical drive, or (more importantly for Apple), profit margins.

It’s for those reasons that a MacBook Air can’t run Final Cut Studio 2, yet a three-year-old PowerBook G4 can.

The forum in question is a part of 12mbp.com, a site whose home page is in fact a faux Apple product page for the prospective offering.

My only complaint with the forum, is that they’re doing a really bad job of promoting it. The only link to the forum is a “find out more” link buried at the bottom of the home page. If you’re going to have a forum, you need to refer to it as “discussion board” or “message board” or “forum”… otherwise 95% of people are going to miss it.

Update: TUAW liked the article I posted so much, they set up a poll for their viewers to vote on the matter. Go show your 12-inch love.

A list of 10 must-haves for Mac OS X 10.6.

Why am I writing this right now? Tis the way of all things Apple. Now that Apple is wrapping up iPhone 2.0 firmware, Apple will start looking to a unified operating system to upgrade both platforms from. Mac OS X Leopard was a half-Mac, half-iPhone venture… and that explains the long-drawn development cycle.

So, without further ado… here are 10 things that must be in Mac OS X 10.6 (in my opinion, of course).
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Comcast this weekend did something nice to me (not). They blocked my Port 25, without any notice at all.

Now, I don’t use port 25 on most email accounts, I use SSL email over port 587. But, plenty of people do use it.

Worse, Comcast Tier 2 support hasn’t been informed that they are blocking port 25, nor do they have any idea of what to do if your email provider relies on Port 25 (as in, you can’t use another port).

Port 25 blocking has become a popular way to reduce the tide of spam and viruses, which commonly use Port 25. The majority of major ISP customers use web mail, and as such aren’t impacted by these blockings.

Now, I don’t know if I’m simply unlucky, and this is a glitch on my account… or if this is the start of a company-wide move. So, let me know if Comcast is blocking Port 25 on you in the comments.

Update: Looks like I’m definetely not alone. If you see this posting [note: profane language], the comments start around early April, and new Port 25 blocks run through this week. Clearly, Comcast is deploying new Port 25 blocks, and clearly they have no protocol for unblocking.

That’s not good Comcast, I’ll give it (my trouble tickets) a week, then it’s FCC Complaint time.

Despite initial promises of fixing the typos in their specifications, Amazon.com, Best Buy, and Eee PC maker ASUS now refuse to respond to any form of inquiry in regards to the Eee PC’s specification malfunction.

ASUS original spoke on behalf of Best Buy, claiming that they were working with the company to have the specifications fixed, removing any reference of processor speed from the offending product page. Now, when asked for comment, all three refuse to provide any update.

Could it be because the companies are afraid of having to refund Eee PC owners that go ballistic when they learn their machines are one-third slower than advertised? That’s not for me to say… I will point out though that Best Buy just began promoting the Eee PC on their front page.

Microsoft posted a couple of days ago on the WHS Team Blog about a hotfix for fixing a PC Backup issue.

Essentially, backups may fail if the drive uses NTFS Compression. This is not to be confused with compressed files (like ZIPs or RARs), but compression at the file system level. Most people don’t use this, it’s primarily for archived drives that want to maximize storage of every last sector.

From the hotfix’s web page:

“Under certain circumstances, a compressed file may consume more disk space than the original file size. Some sections of a file may use less disk space after NTFS compression. However, other sections of a file may use more disk space after NTFS compression. If the compressed file uses more disk space than the original file, a small amount of data at the end of the file may be lost during the backup process. This data loss results in a corrupted file or a partially-corrupted file, depending on the corresponding file types. The file types that may be affected by this issue include, but are not limited to, CAB, ZIP, JPG, and PNG.”

The update will be made available on Windows Update in the near future (the next Patch Tuesday). However, click the link above to grab the update now. Unfortunately, because this is a bug in the connector software, it must be installed on every client PC, not the server itself.

And no, this is not the major file corruption bug that still plagues WHS. And, will still plague WHS after Power Pack 1 is out…

In a little over a month from now, I’ll be announcing what has been going on, why I’ve been half-offline for all this time, and what’s coming next.

I will say one angle of this does involve publishing. As PhoneNews.com approaches its fifth birthday, it’s time to expand.

Now, publishing is just one part of what’s up, but it is a key part. So, I do have a question for you. If PhoneNews.com was not about phones, what would you want it to be about?

Weird question, I know. PhoneNews.com isn’t just a blog. It has everything from a five-figure community, to a  wiki stretching into the four-figures (page-wise). It’s got a mobile version, and it has a Facebook community that is on track to out-pace Sega’s (teaser: we’ll have a campaign soon to make that happen).

But, I do want to know… because it will really help things to come together. In 2003, PhoneNews.com was relatively alone in the mobile media. The mobile media is now clearly a saturated marketplace. But, don’t worry about that. I want to hear all your outlandish ideas, all your great ideas, and everything in-between.

One of the things that continues to amaze me, is how much big-budget ads can screw up the most simple of expressions.

For example, when reading a URL aloud, there is never a backslash. It’s always a forward slash. How can someone getting paid six figures to sample, test, and make a multi-million dollar ad buy, screw up something like that?

Worse, it keeps happening. Every year, I see at least a few high-budget ads that screw this up (emphasis on at least).

And, to those Machiavellian ad gurus that try to argue how this is attracting annoyance-grade attention to your ad, that’s true. It also makes me think whoever is pitching me whatever product is a moron. You got my attention, just in the worst of ways.