Mokka mit Schlag » TV

Some companies still haven’t figured out they don’t live in a monopoly anymore. I’m on hold with Cablevision right now as I try to order cable service. If DirecTV’s phone tree weren’t just as bad, I might well have decided not to switch back to cable. Plus the DirecTV dish has an annoying habit of losing reception in severe weather. I’ll have to give up BBC America, but they’re not showing Dr. Who anyway. None of the other channels I lose or gain make any large difference to me. Neither Cablevision nor DirecTV offers TV5 Etats-Unis, which is the only channel I’ve been missing.

I had switched to DirecTV a few years ago because at the time Cablevision didn’t have digital cable in my neighborhood and wasn’t carrying the UFC. Now they do both. I mainly decided to switch back to cable to get HDTV (plus DirecTV is now part of the evil empire). DirecTV wanted $390 to install an HDTV box in my apartment, and $490 if I wanted a DVR. Cablevision claims they’ll do it for free. I should also be able to shave $20 off my monthly bill. We’ll see. I’m still on hold with them.

Update: Cablevision’s been late for two appointments in a row. When the installer showed up for the first appointment, he didn’t have the right equipment. The second one was more than an hour late, and I couldn’t hang around long enough for him to finish the job. The next appointment they can schedule is more than a week away. This really seems like a company that doesn’t want the business.

Truthiness is tearing apart our country, and I don’t mean the argument over who came up with the word. I don’t know whether it’s a new thing, but it’s certainly a current thing, in that it doesn’t seem to matter what facts are. It used to be, everyone was entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. But that’s not the case anymore. Facts matter not at all. Perception is everything. It’s certainty. People love the president because he’s certain of his choices as a leader, even if the facts that back him up don’t seem to exist. It’s the fact that he’s certain that is very appealing to a certain section of the country. I really feel a dichotomy in the American populace. What is important? What you want to be true, or what is true?

–Stephen Colbert

Read the rest in Stephen Colbert | The A.V. Club

My parents recently bought a DVD player and asked for some old musical DVDs for Christmas. (Yes they’re a few years behind the times. That’s what makes them parents.) Personally I’ve been quite fond of my BlockBuster Online membership. It’s a huge improvement over the local video store, so I thought I’d look into buying my parents a one-year gift membership for Christmas, then I could keep renewing it every Christmas.

Short version: I went to the local discount DVD store and bought them a stack of DVDs instead. Why? Because Blockbuster wouldn’t let me buy my parents a gift. Oh sure, BlockBuster has a page on their site for a gift membership, but they won’t actually let me pay for it. In order to sign up my father would have to give them his credit card and agree to their terms and conditions. It doesn’t feel like much of a gift to me if it requires the recipient to pay.

Now I know there are reasons Blockbuster wants a credit card. Among other things, it helps them to avoid people walking off with their DVDs and never returning them. But is that really a problem? They’re my parents. I trust them, and I’m willing to put any DVDs they accidentally damage or lose on my card. Why won’t BlockBuster let me buy a gift for my parents? There’s another reason: they want to keep charging my parents even after the gift subscription runs out, even if they don’t want to continue the service. That’s scummy. That’s despicable marketing perpetrated by dishonest companies (not that there aren’t a lot of such companies out there). And who wants to give or receive a Christmas gift that comes with strings attached including an 8000 word contract and an indemnification clause?

P.S. NetFlix blew it too.