Is Dish Network Having Employees Spam Blogs? (Like This One.)

Posted on Thursday, September 15, 2011 by MegaZone

DISH Network Logo At first I thought it was an isolated incident or two, but I’m starting to think Dish Network may be actively having people spam blogs to promote their services. The latest offense is from my post on Amazon’s special pricing on Thor and Iron Man:

I like your review on Thor. I can’t wait to see this movie again because I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars. Personally I think that Thor is one of the best movies to have come out lately. If you haven’t seen it you definitely should. One way you can see it is by using Blockbuster Online. As a DISH Network customer and employee I can tell you that right now if you switch to DISH Network you can get Blockbuster Online FREE for 3 months! There are over 100,000 titles to choose from and TV shows and games you can get through the mail. Plus you can get 5 in-store exchanges per month with no due dates or late fees. More info online at [SPAM URL DELETED]

I deleted the comment, so don’t bother checking the post for it. It is clearly spam – there was no review in the post he made the comment on. This is boilerplate text slapped up based on some keywords. I’m not including the full URL because I’m not going to give a spammer the satisfaction, but it was to a signup page for DISH Network giving you three months of Blockbuster, and it included the query string “WT.mc_id=ECM_MKTG_DISH_BLOG_0611_A9Post&WT.mc_ev=click” which looks like a marketing program tracking code to me. (Companies use this to measure how well a specific form of marketing is working. In this case how many people sign up via a link with this code, and so how effective the spamming is.)

The comment was made by Robert Paulsen (bob.in.use@*****.com) from 204.76.128.217 on 09/15/11 01:27 PM. I’m tempted to post the email openly, but I won’t sink to that level. If you look at his Disqus comment history it is packed with comments on various blogs pimping DISH Network and related services. If you plug that IP address into WHOIS you get: Dish Network Corporation DISHNETWORK-NET (NET-204-76-128-0-1) 204.76.128.0 – 204.76.133.255. And it traceroutes back to their ISP’s gateway into EchoStar: ECHOSTAR-SA.edge1.Denver1.Level3.net. So this comment was made from an IP controlled by Dish Network.

This isn’t the first user to leave a spam comment like this extolling DISH Network or one of their affiliates. At first I just deleted them, banned the user from commenting, and moved on. But it started to form a pattern in my mind, and one of the users, Alison Ranon, even used her dishnetwork.com email address for Disqus, and she’s commented elsewhere as well. Unfortunately, since I’ve deleted those past comments, I can’t go back now and check the IPs on those as well. But I did look at the comment histories for a few of them before they were deleted and they were similar to this one – comment after comment extolling the virtues of Dish on blogs across the net. And generally claiming to be a Dish Network employee.

I admit there is an outside chance that this is some elaborate setup to tar Dish, but I strongly doubt it. I think there are two likely scenarios:
1. Dish Network is officially encouraging employees to spam blogs, and probably other social media outlets, to promote their goods and services. At best perhaps they’re encouraging them to do the promotion and some of the employees are taking it too far. This would be the more evil of the two.

2. There is some indirect incentive to employees to do this. Perhaps the tracking codes are unique, like an affiliate program, and they get compensated for signing people up via their links. That would reward spamming activity as there is little penalty unless Dish enforced some kind of rule against using the links in such a manner. This is more good intentions gone wrong due to human nature.

I’d like to think it is the second one and Dish isn’t doing something as evil as deliberately sending people out to spam the net. But still, it isn’t good for Dish to have employees spamming in their name.

Let me be perfectly clear, I don’t have an issue with employees leaving appropriate comments in which they promote their companies products. Like when I used to work for Sling Media, sometimes I’d see someone post about wishing they could watch a show while on the road, etc., and I’d comment that they might want to look into the Slingbox. If I posted something about satellite TV and a Dish employee wanted to offer their opinion, or present some facts, etc., that’s cool, I welcome it. If I post about video rental services and there is a legitimate hook to respond with a Blockbuster-related comment, go for it. (By legitimate I mean you can’t just comment about Blockbuster because someone mentions Netflix, etc. But if the post, for example, questions what alternative services offer then a reply of “Well, Blockbuster does X” is legitimate. Just use common sense.)

But I think it can be taken too far, and when it is clearly a boilerplate comment that has only the most tenuous relationship to the post, that’s spam, no question. Robert seems to have spent some time commenting on random zombie-related posts across the net, trying to tie it into AMC’s The Walking Dead and how Dish carries AMC HD but DirecTV doesn’t. The comments stink more than the rotting flesh of the zombies. His comments go back to March, and remember that these are just the comments on blogs using Disqus for commenting. Who knows how many other blogs he commented on.

For you other bloggers, are you getting comments like this as well? You might keep a closer eye on the IPs they’re coming from. I’d love to hear what you’re seeing.

Anyone from Dish want to comment on this? Either in a public comment or directly to me, feel free.

As for myself, I’m going to keep a closer eye on my spam comments and their sources and will use public shaming when appropriate.

Posted in Blogs, Dish Network, Site Updates | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

NASA Unveils Their Next Launcher, the Space Launch System

Posted on Thursday, September 15, 2011 by MegaZone

SLS Launch NASA has unveiled the conceptual design for their new launcher, replacing the Ares I and Ares V of the cancelled Constellation program. Frankly, I’m disappointed, but not surprised. The overall design is clearly a reduced cost version of the Ares V. It recycles some of the components from the Ares V, such as the five segment solid rocket boosters (themselves derived from the four segment Shuttle SRBs) and the J-2X upper stage engine. But whereas the Ares V was planned to use five or six RS-68B engines with over 700,000 pounds of thrust each, the SLS will use five RS-25 engines with about 400,000 pounds of thrust each. This means that while the Ares V was to be capable of lifting 188 metric tons (414,000 pounds) to LEO, the first version of the SLS will lift only 70 metric tons (154,000 pounds) and even the evolved SLS will lift only 130 metric tons (286,000 pounds).

The SLS will initially use the RS-25D, also known as the SSME – or Space Shuttle Main Engine. NASA has a stockpile of these from the shuttle program. Later this will change to a cheaper RS-25E, or expendable, version. Whereas the RS-25D was reused on multiple shuttle flights, engines used on the SLS will be discarded. So there is no need to build the engines to higher standards for reusability. NASA is only using the RS-25D initially since they already have a stockpile of them and with the retirement of the shuttle they have nothing else useful to do with them. The RS-68B the Ares V was to use would’ve been a version of the RS-68/68A already in use on the Delta IV launcher, designed to be expendable.

Most of the increased lift from the evolved version of the SLS will come from new rocket boosters. NASA is expected to compete the design of the new boosters, which could be liquid or solid fueled. But that is still a ‘when and if’ question, since they need to get the initial design off the ground first.

I’m disappointed because I grew up with one program after another promising great leaps. The X-30 National Aerospace Plane – cancelled. The DC-X Delta Clipper – cancelled. (Though Jeff Bezo’s Blue Origin New Shepard program looks to be the spiritual successor.) The X-33 VentureStar – cancelled. The X-34 – cancelled. The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle – cancelled. And, of course, the Constellation Program was cancelled.

At least the Air Force picked up the X-37 after NASA dumped it.

With each cancellation the programs have seemed to get less ambitious. No more space planes, reusable launch vehicles, etc. We’re back to the gumdrop on a stick capsules. Much of the technology in the SLS can trace its development right back to the Apollo program, and the rest is a pretty direct link to the shuttle. There’s not much that can be considered new. That’s safe and (relatively) cheap, but not all that inspiring, at least to me. The first generation SLS reminds me very strongly of the aborted Ares IV concept, which would’ve been kind of a combination of the lower stages of the Ares V and the upper stages of the Ares I.



Frankly I’m a lot more inspired these days by what’s going on in the commercial sector. And I don’t me the traditional giants like Boeing, Lockheed, Ariane, the Russians, etc. But the space start ups that are doing new things. Blue Origin and their New Shepard, as well as their other projects. Sierra Nevada and their Dream Chaser space plane (based on concepts from the cancelled NASA HL-20). But most especially Elon Musk’s SpaceX and their Falcon launchers and Dragon capsule.

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy is being designed to lift 53 metric tons to LEO. With concepts for the Falcon X Heavy and Falcon XX lifting 125 and 140 metric tons, respectively. While those are still concepts the Falcon 9 has already flown, and the Falcon Heavy is a direct evolution of the Falcon 9 (it was formerly known as the Falcon 9 Heavy) and it is in active development. While it won’t lift even as much as the first generation SLS, I find it more inspirational because it is a small private company developing everything from scratch. There is no legacy technology in the Falcon program, they’ve been inventing a new generation of rocket technology. And so far they’ve been very successful.

While the SLS will surely be a very impressive vehicle if it ever flies, don’t get me wrong, right now that is a very big if given NASA’s track record with programs. I’m not sure we wouldn’t be better off giving the money to companies like SpaceX to accelerate development of vehicles like the Falcon XX. Given their track record on the Falcon 1, Falcon 9, and Dragon to date we might get more for less.

Via CNET Crave.

Posted in Aerospace | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Time Warner Cable Responds to TiVo’s Response to a NY Times Blog Entry about an Incident with Time Warner Cable. Whew!

Posted on Thursday, September 15, 2011 by MegaZone

FCC Logo Back in mid-July the NY Times Gadgetwise Blog ran an entry about the bad experience the author had getting Time Warner Cable to install a CableCARD in this new TiVo Premiere. It reads like a summary of every complaint users level against their cable MSOs – bad service, erroneous information, difficult procedures, etc. At every turn it seemed like TWC did everything they could to discourage the author from using TiVo and to use their DVR instead.

Perhaps unsurprisingly this inspired TiVo to file a comment with the FCC a couple of weeks later, using the blog entry as a basis to urge the FCC to intensify CableCARD oversight. Clearly it is important for TiVo’s retail business that consumers be able to obtain CableCARDs with minimal hassle.

Well, now Time Warner Cable has filed their own comment with the FCC, responding to TiVo. You can read the full PDF here, but as you might expect it basically boils down to “Our bad, we screwed up. But hey, we made it all right in the end and it’ll never happen again. We don’t need any more oversight. Trust us.”

TWC serves more than 12 million cable customers, and among such a large customer base some isolated service issues are inevitable, whether as to CableCARD devices or other issues having nothing to do with those devices. TWC strives to provide exemplary service and is proud of its record, but mistakes as to any of the services it provides cannot be eliminated altogether, just as is the case with any provider that serves millions of customers. The key point is that, while TWC has encountered occasional complaints in serving customers with CableCARD devices, the mere fact that some issues have arisen by no means points to any systemic concerns with TWC’s handling of CableCARDs or provides any basis to believe that TWC has engaged in anti-competitive conduct.

I don’t buy it, just a glance at the forums at TiVo Community will show you countless posts with similar complaints for TWC and other MSOs going back to the launch of the Series3. I certainly don’t expect TWC, or any company, to be perfect. Companies are made up of humans, and humans make mistakes. I’ve certainly made my share. But it certainly seems like these “isolated service issues” sure come up a lot. If this were an isolated incident, a rare occurrence, I’d find it easier to let them off the hook. But given what I’ve seen posted from users, I’m not so inclined to be forgiving.

While TiVo alleges that this particular customer was a victim of anti-competitive practices by TWC, TWC’s investigation of the underlying facts indicates that the difficulties he encountered resulted primarily from the inadvertent provision of incorrect information by TWC customer service representatives about how TWC’s CableCARD practices apply to the TiVo Premiere DVR.

Could that be a little more convoluted? So they claim the incident is primarily due to bad information accidentally being provided. But that doesn’t seem to cover the incident as reported. The author was repeatedly given bad information – about how he could obtain a card, pricing, etc. Then the installer failed to show up for the scheduled installation appointment. And when the installer showed up for the rescheduled appointment they were ill-trained on CableCARD. That’s a lot more than an oopsie with some bad info.

Ironically, if the Commission were to intensify its oversight of cable operators’ CableCARD-related practices as TiVo requests, TWC likely would have diminished flexibility to address customers’ needs. Forcing operators to divert resources from customer service toward efforts to comply with detailed regulatory mandates would be counterproductive. Indeed, avoiding excessive regulatory burdens is particularly important in this context, given the Commission’s stated interest in phasing out CableCARDs altogether.

This reeks of FUD wrapped in a veiled threat. You wouldn’t want to regulate us anymore, we’d just hate if if that added oversight made our service worse. And you wouldn’t want that, would you? No, of course you wouldn’t. Everything is just fine the way it is.

For instance, although the customer claimed he was told that leasing a CableCARD instead of a set-top box would result in a price increase—which forms the basis of TiVo’s allegation of price discrimination in its letter—TWC’s records show that the customer in fact is receiving a discount on his monthly bill of $7.75, consistent with 47 C.F.R. § 76.1205(b).

While it is great that the information the customer was given that it would cause a price increase was actually incorrect, it doesn’t change the fact that the customer was told there would be a price increase. That’s the kind of thing that can scare a customer off and make them return their new TiVo to avoid the higher fees. How many times had this bad info been given out? And how many of those customers decided it wasn’t worth it?

I don’t think cable MSOs are the evil, conniving villains that some users paint them as. But I do think they’ve been pretty reluctant to accept CableCARD and properly support it. And most of the progress that has been made has come under duress, forced by the FCC. I don’t trust the MSOs to ‘do the right thing’ if left to their own devices. We wouldn’t have open access and CableCARD, flawed as it is, at all without the FCC. I doubt we’d have Tuning Adapters for SDV if the FCC hadn’t given the industry the hairy eyeball when they started rolling out SDV. And we sure as hell wouldn’t have widespread CableCARD self-install without the FCC mandate.

Posted in Cable, DVR, FCC, TiVo | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Woot! – Dyson Air Multiplier 10” Bladeless Table Fan $149.99

Posted on Thursday, September 15, 2011 by MegaZone

Dyson Air Multiplier 10 inch Bladeless Table Fan I want one of these just because they’re cool, even though I really don’t have a use for it. The Dyson Air Multiplier 10 inch Bladeless Table Fan is today’s Woot! deal, for just $149.99 + $5 S&H. OK, perhaps not just since $150 is a pretty hefty amount to pay for a table fan. But it is a very cool, geeky table fan, remember. And Amazon sells them for $239.00, so it is a decent savings. These are new units, not refurbs.

If you have a lot of money, buy a bunch of them and do this:

I really shouldn’t buy one just to have it. I guess I’ll make do with my Dyson Ball vacuum.

Posted in General Tech | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

HDTV Savings At Amazon

Posted on Thursday, September 15, 2011 by MegaZone

Amazon Logo Time once again for HDTV specials from Amazon. This time around they’re running three different promotions, all through September 17th, 2011.

First up, save on select Sony HDTVs. Sixteen 1080p models to choose from, 32″ up to 60″. Three LCD models, the rest LED – ten of those 3D.

Next up, instant savings on Panasonic HDTVs. Thirty one models to choose from, all 1080p, with sizes ranging from a small 19″ set up to large 60″ models. There’s a mix of plasma, LCD, and LED models, some 3D enabled.

And finally, save on select LG HDTVs. Thirty two models, 22″ to 60″ – six LCD (5 1080p, 1 720p), fourteen LED (4 1080p 3D, 7 1080p, 3 720p), and twelve plasma (6 1080p 3D, 2 1080p, 2 720p 3D, 2 720p).

Posted in Amazon | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment