Comcast CEO: We are not a dead duck
Battelle, interviewing Roberts onstage, called it "video-on-demand on steroids."The Associated Press, referencing a briefing this week with executives at Comcast's Philadelphia headquarters, helped fill in some of the details about the service, noting that it would include such popular cable shows as HBO's "Entourage" and AMC's "Mad Men" and for now is being called "On Demand Online."The AP said Comcast subscribers can initially watch shows and movies only on their home computers after being verified by the cable system. Online viewing, at least in the beginning, will be restricted to those who get Internet service through Comcast, not through competitors like phone companies, the AP said.Back at Web 2.0 Summit, Roberts also said that Comcast investments in broadband technology are, in part, what has facilitated the explosion in Web innovation."We're going to keep investing, because we believe there are great ideas in this room and in this country and in the world," Roberts said. "In the same way, it's unthinkable that a Google or a Yahoo or a Facebook or a Twitter would be happening if we hadn't made those investments (in broadband infrastructure) 15 years ago."Battelle asked Roberts why he believes the U.S. lags behind in broadband technology advancements. Roberts replied, "I think that that's just not true."(The audience laughed uncomfortably.)"We have the same equipment (as other countries), the same wires, the same infrastructure, why is the adoption different is a different question. It's not the availability and I don't think it's the lack of speed," he continued. "You get to digital literacy, you get to what language it's in, do you have the right PC or a PC at all...I don't believe the infrastructure providers haven't done enough."As for Net neutrality, an issue where Comcast has been a frequent villain after imposing bandwidth caps and interfering with peer-to-peer file-sharing software, Roberts was vague."We welcome that discussion, that scrutiny, and we're going to be an active participant," he said. "The few limited examples, including our own, that have gotten notoriety usually get dealt with in ten seconds, and changes get made, because this is new technology."More recently, it's bubbled into the press that Comcast is in talks with General Electric to obtain a controlling stake in its NBC Universal property. Conveniently, GE chief Jeffrey Immelt was slated to speak later in the afternoon at Web 2.0 Summit."You and Jeff Immelt must have finished the NBC deal back in the green room," Battelle joked.Roberts replied facetiously, "It's all done."
The 404 454- Where this is not really an Asian podcast
The 404 454: Where this is not really an Asian podcast
On today's show, we recant what we said about Sony yesterday.The company managed to botch up a feature that would have leveled the playing field with the Xbox 360.For those of you who didn't listen, Sony and Netflix announced the arrival of streaming on the console. Sounds great?Not so fast.Apparently, you'll need to plug in a BD-Live disc every time you want to watch Netflix.We know it's only temporary, but come on! It's accessible from the dashboard on the Xbox 360, and you don't need no stinkin' disc.Audio Draft Pick: RancidWikipediaIt's Jeff's pick today for the Audio Draft, and while traditionally we usually pick smaller bands or unknown acts, Jeff has decided to go the other way and picked Rancid.They've been around for a while, and released a couple of albums.According to Mr. Bakalar, their latest is turning heads.We play "The Bravest Kids" and "L.A. River" from their latest album.Stay tuned for the last Audio Draft pick of the month on Friday from Wilson!It won't be country music this time.To round out the show, we talk talk a little bit about Droid from Verizon, the company's first Google Android phone.Wilson still thinks the phone is a pretty ugly design, but that it may change the market around considering it's the first non-BlackBerry-Storm smartphone on the network.Still, Apple seems to be the one still innovating in the smart phone market.In other news today, Kenley tells us that it's the 15th anniversary of the birth of Internet advertising.That's right on October 27th, 1994, Hot Wired ran the world's first banner ad, and surprisingly, it was pretty effective!Mark gets excited about the Tekken 6, while Wilson can't really tell the difference between Tekken 5 or Tekken 6.Jeff adds snidely, "Tekken 4."Think it's hot that Kenley likes to watch guys play videogames?Well send her a message as usual through voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET (2638).EPISODE 454PodcastYour browser does not support the audio element. Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) |Subscribe in RSS Audio |Subscribe in RSS Video This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.PlayFollow us on Twitter!The 404Jeff BakalarJustin YuWilson TangKenley BradstreetAdd us on Facebook!The 404 Fan PageThe 404 GroupJustin YuJeff BakalarWilson Tang
On today's show, we recant what we said about Sony yesterday.The company managed to botch up a feature that would have leveled the playing field with the Xbox 360.For those of you who didn't listen, Sony and Netflix announced the arrival of streaming on the console. Sounds great?Not so fast.Apparently, you'll need to plug in a BD-Live disc every time you want to watch Netflix.We know it's only temporary, but come on! It's accessible from the dashboard on the Xbox 360, and you don't need no stinkin' disc.Audio Draft Pick: RancidWikipediaIt's Jeff's pick today for the Audio Draft, and while traditionally we usually pick smaller bands or unknown acts, Jeff has decided to go the other way and picked Rancid.They've been around for a while, and released a couple of albums.According to Mr. Bakalar, their latest is turning heads.We play "The Bravest Kids" and "L.A. River" from their latest album.Stay tuned for the last Audio Draft pick of the month on Friday from Wilson!It won't be country music this time.To round out the show, we talk talk a little bit about Droid from Verizon, the company's first Google Android phone.Wilson still thinks the phone is a pretty ugly design, but that it may change the market around considering it's the first non-BlackBerry-Storm smartphone on the network.Still, Apple seems to be the one still innovating in the smart phone market.In other news today, Kenley tells us that it's the 15th anniversary of the birth of Internet advertising.That's right on October 27th, 1994, Hot Wired ran the world's first banner ad, and surprisingly, it was pretty effective!Mark gets excited about the Tekken 6, while Wilson can't really tell the difference between Tekken 5 or Tekken 6.Jeff adds snidely, "Tekken 4."Think it's hot that Kenley likes to watch guys play videogames?Well send her a message as usual through voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET (2638).EPISODE 454PodcastYour browser does not support the audio element. Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) |Subscribe in RSS Audio |Subscribe in RSS Video This content is rated TV-MA, and is for viewers 18 years or older. Are you of age?YesNoSorry, you are not old enough to view this content.PlayFollow us on Twitter!The 404Jeff BakalarJustin YuWilson TangKenley BradstreetAdd us on Facebook!The 404 Fan PageThe 404 GroupJustin YuJeff BakalarWilson Tang
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