[opendtv] Re: Users as Toast: The Blocking of Google TV

  • From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sat, 20 Nov 2010 10:50:17 -0500

At 4:17 PM -0600 11/18/10, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:

Craig Birkmaier wrote:


 What is happening today as the congloms shut down some devices
 and networks but not others is completely ludicrous!
Nope, sorry. The congloms are shutting down a particular search engine, not "devices." The answer to that is very simple. CE companies, do not limit our choices in search engines. You don't need to, we don't want you to, and all you are doing is making yourselves vulnerable to being singled out. 

Are the subscribers to cablevision broadband a "search engine?"

Fox blocked their content to this ISP.
Stop trying to make Google the bad guy here Bert. The congloms will block free access to ANY device/search engine that is primarily intended to deliver their content to a big screen TV.
And the other message is, consumers, don't get suckered into umbillical systems and then expect to be free from such shenanigans. If you (consumers) make that bed, you have to sleep in it.
People who subscribe to these system EXPECT to be able to access the content they are PAYING for. When this content is withheld to demand an increase in carriage fees, the customers are NOT getting what they are paying for, and the end result is that they must pay even more for the same content.
I'm doing this in order to avoid using schemes designed by colluding parties. I'm saying to you, do not expect the average joe to take this route. That's all. You seemed to suggest that this was the way to Internet TV. I'm saying, not really. You insist on accusing the congloms for this. The congloms have yet to block a single PC or Mac, so the hard nut here is the search engine. And there's no reason to force consumers to use just one search engine.
So in other words, you are willing to pay a premium to access this content via a platform that the congloms are NOT currently blocking, but you are not willing to pay a premium for an MVPD service. 




 Why is the government NOT taking legal action to prevent this
 form of collusion?
For the same reason that the government has not taken legal action against MVPDs and their enforced proprietary hardware, Craig. You know, the sorts of things you have never even mention in your list of complaints. (Or at best, you say, "The MVPDs prefer it that way.") But, if you listen to Commissioner Copps, they might just want to regulate the Internet more in the future. Me, I prefer to pin the blame on consumers. Where it ultimately belongs. Consumers have it in their power to avoid products that are designed only to control the consumer like a puppet. If they can't figure this out, then they have to suffer the consequences.
Congress instructed the FCC to open up the cable STB industry in the early '90s. 

They still have not fulfilled this legislative mandate.
Lesson: regulators will always seek to expand the landscape that they regulate; they rarely help the consumer, but for some reason always enhance the fortunes of the industries they are regulating.
The congloms are unlikely to block all Internet devices, Craig. The congloms would be unlikely to shut down all Safari, Firefox, IE, Mozilla, Chrome, what have you, browsers, Craig. 

Correct. It would be far easier to simple to take down the Hulu.com website.
Let's see how long it survives once they get Hulu Plus fully operational. And let's see how much of the content that is now accessible via the websites of the Hulu partners remains accessible when this content is available on Hulu Plus.
The congloms might be trying to create the Internet equivalent of the MVPD model, but it is in the consumer's power to prevent them. The Apples and the Sonys of the world should figure this out for the benefit of their customers, e.g. let consumers choose any and all search engines, let the consumers select any and all web sites, instead of colluding with the congloms for only their own benefit. 

You can run multiple search engines on iOS devices using third party apps.

Apple TV does not offer a browser function...yet.

Regards
Craig


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