Category Archives: Technology

Cablevision Hijacks DNS Error Pages

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I just noticed Cablevision’s Optimum Online service has begun hijacking DNS Error pages with, you guessed it, ad-sponsored results:

And apparently I’m not the only one that noticed: Justin Flood and Dan. As Justin Flood reported Cablevision has secretly adjusted their TOS to reflect this morally questionable service:

The preceding search results page is displayed to you as a result of the specific Domain Name Service (DNS) servers used by Optimum Online to look up domain names. If you misspell or mistype a web address, dead-end “no such name” errors can occur. However, the DNS servers used by Optimum Online are designed to eliminate dead-end “no such name” error pages you can encounter as you surf the web. By displaying the preceding search results page, users know that the web site they’ve attempted to navigate to does not exist, and are presented with suggested sites they may have been seeking. No software is installed on your computer for this search service to work.

Don’t they realize the dangers of replacing DNS errors with content pages? Aside from hurting the underlying stability of the Internet, there have been instances where hackers have used such tools against customers. I know Road Runner customers have had to deal with this for a couple months now, although at least they have an outlet to turn it off. I did find this broken disable button on the “About This Page” link:

Upon clicking it, you see a message “You have successfully opted out of the DNS Assistance service” although it appears to be broken as the service is still in effect. Defective by design perhaps? Rolling out morally ambiguous feature with a broken disable link? Sounds like the same people that send spam messages to me.

Update: From user comments it seems clear most (soon to be all?) ISPs are doing the same. I’m just surprised after the fiasco with VeriSign, this issue has been ignored so often in the IT community. I guess better to better to have a choice which ISP hijacks your URLs?

Another Update: Maybe I’m the only one who’s having trouble opting out. Or perhaps I need to restart my router. Either way its definitely not working on multiple browsers and computers.

Best Buy: Countdown until We Force You Buy a New TV

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If you haven’t been paying attention the US government has been manipulated into outlawing analog TV broadcasts in February of 2009. Most people I talk to don’t understand the issue but will soon enough when perhaps millions of TVs around the country suddenly stop working. The big winners? Cable and TV manufacturers who are essentially using their lobby to force people to either purchase a cable box in every room in their home or buy a lot of new TVs. The big losers? The American public.

But in every battle of corporate greed versus the every day man there are those that take things to a whole new level of absurdity. So without further ado, I present Best Buy’s approach, to place an exciting countdown bar on their home page:

Best Buy - DTV CountDown

In related news, there was a number of recent articles on the subject saying how nations around the world are years ahead of the US because instead of shutting their analog network down, they are leveraging them to provide free TV for cell phone users throughout the country.

I’m all for technology upgrades but this one seems unnecessary to me. In particular, there’s no justification for why we need to shut down the old network. We could have both running for many years and give Americans time to adjust. Cable companies fought harder than anyone on this, the dream of using a cable feed for multiple TVs in the house is a thing of the past. Got 5 TVs in your home? That will be 5 cable boxes billed monthly, please.

Facebook: Now with *More* Ads

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Most people familiar with my UI work know I’m all about preserving screen real estate. In other words, I like to design the most streamlined interface with as few unnecessary buttons and glitter as possible. Why do I need a pretty graphic taking up 1/4 of my screen when I could using it for something else?

I all ready had my doubts about Facebook’s current ad system which included such user-requested buttons as “More Ads” as shown below:

Facebook - More Ads

Talk about a waste of space, can’t imagine why anyone would click on the button. That’s like a person requesting more commercials while watching TV.

But the genius development/marketing team from Facebook have done it again. Yes, from the makers of such buttons as “More Ads” I give you the redesigned (currently optional) Facebook interface:

Facebook - New Interface

I’ve cut out the middle and obfuscated it a tad (if you don’t know the meaning of the word ‘obfuscate’ and you’re a developer, go look it up, you should). Notice it now has much larger ads, that instead of being integrated into your profile stick out a lot more with nothing above/blow them. Also, there are two by default instead one! This *new* more wonderful interface may worry some people that Microsoft’s acquisition of Facebook is beginning to show, but don’t worry, the “More Ads” button has not been lost!