It's Not a Bug; It's a Feature

Bug or feature?

On my Comcast DVR (a Motorola DCT6400 series unit, the 6412 III), the unit mutes itself if it is initially off and turns itself on to record a program.

Now, that's fine, you wouldn't want the TV to start blasting something at 3:00 in the morning. But here's the bug/feature that annoys me: you cannot UNmute it. The mute button on the remote won't do it. The unit itself has no mute button on it. So, if you want to use the unit's second tuner to watch another program while one is recorded you're out of luck. Or, you could, I suppose, watch it without audio.

I called Comcast about it. After about 15 minutes on hold, I got through to a customer rep. She was nice, but slow to diagnose the issue. I think I eventually mentioned that the DVR was off and had turned itself on to record something. Then she realized it was the DVR mute "feature" and told me to press a series of buttons on the remote to fix it. But she didn't know the correct series.

While talking to her on the phone, I Googled around and found a key series that did work. There are several spots on the Web that explain this, but the clearest one is over here:

1. Press the "Cable" button at the top of the remote to put it into Cable Box control mode.
2. Press and hold the "Setup" button until the "Cable" button blinks twice.
3. Enter code 994. The "Cable" button will blink twice.
4. Press (do not hold) the "Setup" button.
5. Enter code 00141.
6. Press whatever button you want to map the mute function to.

The author, Judi Sohn, goes on to explain how to program in the 30-second commercial skip that I adore:

1. Press the "Cable" button at the top of the remote to put it into Cable Box control mode.
2. Press and hold the "Setup" button until the "Cable" button blinks twice..
3. Type in the code 994. The "Cable" button will blink twice.
4. Press (do not hold) the "Setup" button.
5. Type in the code 00173 (for 30 second Skip).
6. Press whatever button you want to map the skip

Ah, the Internet is a beautiful thing.

Comcast? Not so much.

MS Vista Pricing: pure and total crap

I'm not the only one who observes the craposity of software.

Robert McLaws, a .NET Developer, recently commented on Microsoft's licensing policies for the upcoming release of Vista, the new Windows operating system. He called them "pure and total crap".

He's complaining -- and rightly so -- about the lack of discounts for persons buying multiple license for Vista. As he puts it:

You know what? I think the regular and upgrade prices are totally reasonable. The upgrade price on Home Premium was even $100 cheaper than what I expected. But obviously Microsoft didn't listen to a damn word I said when I talked about the discount for additional licenses. This is pure and total crap. Microsoft has completely screwed the pooch on an outstanding opportunity to get everyone to upgrade to Vista legally and inexpensively.

I know one family that wants to move to Vista… they have 4 computers. There's NO WAY IN HELL they're going to pay $588 for an upgrade copy of Home Premium plus 3 additional licenses. It's just not going to happen.

I'm not even going to mince words here. Microsoft, you REALLY boned this one up. I'm really glad that 40 influencers in one room telling you about how important the additional license problem was meant absolutely nothing.

His article can be read over here.