[Discuss] Has Comcast broken the internet? (Resolved)

[lconrad at laymusic.org (Laura Conrad)]

>>>>> "Laura" == Laura Conrad <lconrad at laymusic.org> writes:

    Laura> I got the attached message from Comcast.  

I guess we have Mailman configured to delete attached mail.  So here it
is in plain text.  

I wrote them at 1 AM last night:

    Laura> Since about 1 this afternoon, I''ve been having trouble
    Laura> accessing the internet via web browser.  I can view https:
    Laura> sites, but not http: ones.  I can also do smtp, nntp, and
    Laura> ssh.  So there isn''t a physical problem with the connection,
    Laura> but there must be something wrong with your proxy setup or
    Laura> something.  My phone seems to have the same problem as my
    Laura> desktop computer, so it seems to be the line, not my machine.

    Laura> I''m emailing instead of phoning because I went out for the
    Laura> evening and hoped it would get fixed without me doing
    Laura> anything, and now it''s bedtime, but I''ll be happy to talk
    Laura> to a human about the problem tomorrow.


And they replied at about 1:30 AM:

    Gilbert> Dear Laura,

    Gilbert> Thank you for contacting Comcast, home of the Customer
    Gilbert> Guarantee. My name is Gilbert and you have reached Xfinity
    Gilbert> Internet email support. I will do my best to assist you
    Gilbert> with your concern.

    Gilbert> I understand that you are having issues with connecting to
    Gilbert> a website. I know how important it is to log on to your
    Gilbert> preferred news website in order to get the latest news for
    Gilbert> today. I can certainly feel the inconvenience this issue
    Gilbert> may have caused you. If I were in the same place, I would
    Gilbert> feel the same way too. I will be more than happy to provide
    Gilbert> you helpful information about this issue. Rest assured that
    Gilbert> this issue will be taken care of.

    Gilbert> Laura, if you are unable to connect to certain web sites,
    Gilbert> you may want to run a few checks to verify that you are
    Gilbert> resolving hostnames correctly. The first thing that should
    Gilbert> be done would be to clear the cache, history, and cookies
    Gilbert> files. Any one of them could be causing a cached page to
    Gilbert> load instead of the one you are currently trying to reach.

    Gilbert> Clearing the Internet cache from Internet Explorer is often
    Gilbert> necessary to solve certain web page and browser problems
    Gilbert> that sometimes occur.

    Gilbert> The Internet cache in Internet Explorer contains locally
    Gilbert> saved copies of recent web pages you've visited. This is
    Gilbert> done so that the next time you visit the page, Internet
    Gilbert> Explorer can load it from your saved copy which will be
    Gilbert> much faster than loading it from the Internet.

    Gilbert> Clearing the Internet cache in Internet Explorer is
    Gilbert> completely safe and should not remove any important data
    Gilbert> from your computer.

    Gilbert> Follow the easy to follow steps below to clear the Internet
    Gilbert> cache from your Internet Explorer browser:

    Gilbert> 1. Click the "Start" button in the bottom-left corner of
    Gilbert> your computer's main screen and select "Control Panel."

    Gilbert> 2. Click "Network and Internet" and select "Internet
    Gilbert> Options." Press the "Safety" button.

    Gilbert> 3. Click "Delete Browsing History" and click the check
    Gilbert> boxes next to the various categories of stored information
    Gilbert> you want deleted.

    Gilbert> 4. Put a check mark in the "Preserve Favorites Website
    Gilbert> Data" to keep any cookies or files associated with the Web
    Gilbert> sites in your Internet Explorer's "Favorites" list. Click
    Gilbert> the "Delete" button to clear Internet Explorer's cache.

    Gilbert> If you are still experiencing a problem, and are running
    Gilbert> Windows 7, try flushing the DNS cache.

    Gilbert> To flush the DNS cache:

    Gilbert> Vista/ Windows 7

    Gilbert> 1. Click the Start button
    Gilbert> 2. In the search box, type: command prompt
    Gilbert> 3. In the list of results, right-click Command Prompt and
    Gilbert> then click Run as administrator
    Gilbert> 4. Click Continue
    Gilbert> 5. In the DOS/Command window that opens, type: ipconfig /flushdns
    Gilbert> 6. Press Enter

    Gilbert> Sometimes it is necessary to completely shut down your
    Gilbert> cable modem connection when something isn't functioning
    Gilbert> properly. This is similar to rebooting your computer. For
    Gilbert> best results, the modem should be connected directly to the
    Gilbert> wall power outlet and not to a powerstrip. You'll also want
    Gilbert> to make sure that there are no splitters or filters on the
    Gilbert> cable line between your cable modem and the wall cable
    Gilbert> outlet.

    Gilbert> If the cable modem is spontaneously re-booting and there is
    Gilbert> no evidence of signal-related problems, check the
    Gilbert> electrical conditions near to the cable modem. Possible
    Gilbert> causes of causes of spontaneous re-booting are wiring to
    Gilbert> the cable modem is faulty or intermittent; spikes arising
    Gilbert> from other major users of electricity like vacuum cleaners,
    Gilbert> power tools, heating thermostats, and refrigerator
    Gilbert> thermostats; electromagnetic interference from mobile
    Gilbert> phones or local radio transmitters; or the cable modem
    Gilbert> itself is faulty.

    Gilbert> It is also important to know that most cable modems will
    Gilbert> only allow an Ethernet connection or a USB connection but
    Gilbert> not both at the same time.  Please follow the instructions
    Gilbert> below for powercycling your cable modem.


    Gilbert> Please follow the steps below to troubleshoot the issue.

    Gilbert> If your cable modem is connected to one computer:

    Gilbert> 1. Shut down your computer
    Gilbert> 2. Unplug the power cord of your cable modem
    Gilbert> 3. Wait 2 minutes
    Gilbert> 4. Plug the power cord of your cable modem back in
    Gilbert> 5. Wait for the online or PC light to turn solid green
    Gilbert> (This can take up to five minutes)
    Gilbert> 6. Restart your computer

    Gilbert> If you have a router, please follow these steps:

    Gilbert> 1. Shut down your computers
    Gilbert> 2. Unplug the power cord of your cable modem
    Gilbert> 3. Unplug the power cord of your router
    Gilbert> 4. Wait 2 minutes
    Gilbert> 5. Plug the power cord of your cable modem back in
    Gilbert> 6. Wait for the online or PC light on the cable modem to
    Gilbert> turn solid green (This can take up to five minutes)
    Gilbert> 7. Plug the power cord of your router back in
    Gilbert> 8. Wait 2 minutes
    Gilbert> 9. Restart your computers.

    Gilbert> For any other questions, please feel free to reply to this
    Gilbert> email or contact us through Chat Support. Please click on
    Gilbert> the link I have provided below and you will be taken to a
    Gilbert> form that you can fill out.  Once you complete that form
    Gilbert> you will be able to start a chat session with one of our
    Gilbert> representatives, 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
 
    Gilbert> http://www.comcastsupport.com/chatwithus/userchatstartcom.asp 
 
    Gilbert> Please be sure to have any of the following for
    Gilbert> verification purposes:
 
    Gilbert> 1. Comcast Account Number, 
    Gilbert> 2. Last four digits of the Social Security Number
    Gilbert> associated with the Account,
    Gilbert> 3. Service address, Account name and Phone number; 
    Gilbert> 4. Date and amount of last payment made, 
    Gilbert> 5. A list of Comcast services that is installed in your home. 

    Gilbert> Thank you for your patience. I know your time is
    Gilbert> important. For any other questions, feel free to contact us
    Gilbert> back.
  
    Gilbert> To assure the proper tracking of this issue, please take
    Gilbert> note of this case number/reference number: 10525141. Please
    Gilbert> refer to this number should you contact us regarding the
    Gilbert> same issue.

    Gilbert> As part of our Comcast Customer Guarantee, you can always
    Gilbert> contact us at your convenience 24 hours a day, 7 days a
    Gilbert> week by calling 1-800-XFINITY (1-800-934-6489) or going
    Gilbert> online https://www.comcastsupport.com/chatentry .

    Gilbert> Thank you for choosing Comcast and I appreciate you giving
    Gilbert> us the opportunity to assist you. We value your business
    Gilbert> and have a great day, Laura.

    Gilbert> Sincerely,

    Gilbert> Gilbert 
    Gilbert> Comcast Customer Care Specialist

So it's actually pretty good and timely support, even if the boilerplate
had a lot of stuff that clearly had nothing to do with this particular
problem.

-- 
Laura   (mailto:lconrad at laymusic.org, twitter: @serpentplayer)
(617) 661-8097	233 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139   
http://www.laymusic.org/ http://www.serpentpublications.org

Mr. Barenboim recalled observing Mr. Boulez lead Schoenberg's "Pelleas
und Melisande" with the BBC Symphony in the early 1960s.

"I sat with the score during the rehearsal," he said. "At the
beginning there is quite a lot of chromaticism, and at a certain point
there was a chord out of tune and Pierre said, 'No, no, this is sharp,
this is flat.' I was amazed.

"As a pianist I had no idea how he heard all that. I mean, when I
thought my piano was out of tune, I just called the tuner. So I asked
Pierre how he did it. I was starting to conduct, and I wanted to know
if this was something I could learn.

"Pierre said: 'You have to have the courage to say what you hear and
think when you conduct. Either the player will correct you and say
it's not me out of tune, it's the second oboe, or you will be
right. But in any case you will learn. Don't put your ego above the
music. Do what you have to do for the sake of the music, and only in
that way will you make progress.' "

Quoted by Michael Kimmelman in the New York Times, January 10, 2010