IceTV wins appeal against Channel Nine

at last, some good news!

IceTV has won its three year battle against Channel Nine’s specious copyright suit against IceTV.

http://www.icetv.com.au/news/?p=614

Nine’s competition reviewed IceTVs processes from a copyright perspective years ago & decided there was nothing for them to answer for.

so i’m not sure what, at this late stage, Channel Nine’s end-game was supposed to be in persevering with the case, but now that i’ve switched entirely to using Elgato eyeTV + IceTV (in other words, the tv tuner in my TV is rarely used now), not-infrequently seeing “not available” in the program guide for Channel Nine (due to IceTV’s observance of the original judgement’s ruling) made them (Nine) look – once again – like frakking idiots.

if it’s not in IceTV, I CAN’T (read: won’t) WATCH IT !  admittedly there’s rarely anything on Channel Nine worth watching… more Two & A Half Men, anyone??? <yawn>

lets hope Channel Nine give up on this bullshit for good, and, um, perhaps focus on being a TV station in dire need of pulling thier finger out, programming-wise.

i hope the people at IceTV are drinking the champaigne tonight, they sure deserve it after being dragged through 3 years go specious copyright claim bullshit in Nine’s futile attempt to dodge the future.

Why can I still not get ADSL2+ via Internode / Agile in Northcote exchange?

Look at this sorry history for Agile (aka Internode’s infrastructure parent company), who’ve clearly been trying to get their ADSL2+ infrastructure into my Northcote exchange for more than 18 months:

http://www.adsl2exchanges.com.au/viewexchange.php?Exchange=NCOE

Internode, like all ISPs, must first decide if they have a ‘business case’ for installing their own ADSL infrastructure into an exchange.  Only then can they begin what is clearly an arduous process.  Internode decided on 5 September 2007 that they DID have a business case, and from that point on, have every incentive to do so promptly.

TWO DAYS LATER they changed status to ‘Removed’, and based on what I’ve read for years on this issue, were presumably denied ‘space’ in the exchange by Telstra.

15th April 2008, more than 7 MONTH later, they had another crack at it – based on what change in circumstances I don’t know, but I’m guessing at some stage Telstra said “OK, try again, sucker”.

Then, not until 12th January 2009, ANOTHER NINE MONTHS LATER, did it move from In Build-Waiting (for other competitors to gain glacial sequential access to the exchange), to In Build.  Hoo-fucking-ray.

If you’re wondering why, have a read of Simon Hacket’s (Internode’s MD) answers to many common questions about this shambolic state of affairs caused largely by Telstra (but only for competitors, Bigpond seem to get clear fast access to exchanges when they need):

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=631758

Who knows how much longer I’ll have to wait for it to become active, before having to run the gauntlet of the DSLAM running out of ports due to the sudden exodus of Internode customers from the Telstra DSLAM to the Internode DSLAM.  Or perhaps it’ll transpire like it did when I lived in Windsor/Prahran until late 2005, only to see the Agile DSLAM there come online within a few month after I’d moved elsewhere.

I’m simply astonished that this crap has been allowed to happen for so many years.  Where’s the ACCC in all this?  Still asleep?  They’re clearly not looking after my interests on this issue.

Telstra obtained the vast majority of its copper network, and the exchange buildings they all connect to, on MY DIME, and those of my parents & grand-parents (and you & yours) BEFORE they were progressively privatised.  It is PUBLIC property (that should have access granted by an independent body) – or at least should have been deemed so, and that is where this whole farce had its genesis.  ‘Cuz a privatised Telstra with its network owned intact was supposed to be good for competition, right?  Wrong again…  Fucked over by powerful vested interests, again…