Is this the result of Best Buy’s acquisition of Speakeasy?

So I get a cryptic voice message from Speakeasy last week (the 22nd) where the caller wants me to call him back about a security issue and reads back the phone number once too quickly for me to make a note of it without listening to the message three times.

Come to find out Speakeasy’s network support group have opened a ticket, noting an insecure/vulnerable password on an email account we never use (well, they send their invoices to it, but that’s it) on Jan 16 (six days prior).

[update] Well, that’s interesting. A VP at Speakeasy was trawling through the ticket database and found my string of unanswered replies on this issue, and he sounded more than a little embarrassed. The word unacceptable was used and many apologies were proffered. And a month of free service will be credited as well. it’s things like that — a 3 minute phone call and month’s credit — that can keep a customer. Do I really want to shop for a new provider? No.

So I get a cryptic voice message from Speakeasy (Jan 22nd) where the caller wants me to call him back about a security issue and reads back the phone number once too quickly for me to make a note of it without listening to the message three times.

Come to find out Speakeasy’s network support group have opened a ticket, noting an insecure/vulnerable password on an email account we never use (well, they send their invoices to it, but that’s it) on Jan 16 (six days prior). No email to the other address on the account and no other notification on that day.

So I spend quite a while on hold trying to get through, find myself able to exchange updates to the ticket(s). I opened one asking for more information, they responded by filing my questions on their original ticket which was the first I heard of it. And I eventually left them a note asking for someone there to call me, as I was not experiencing any hold times at all, unlike them.

The result? Crickets. Nothing. Nada. The vulnerable account password has been cleared and I can’t update it, so we’re frozen out of the one email address they use to contact us. And the two tickets are still open.

Color me underwhelmed. Might be time to look for a good competitive broadband service option. Lemme see, I’ve used Qwest, Comcast, now Speakeasy, who’s left?

links for 2008-02-03

markets in everything

According to early estimates, 25% would be unaffected by the bill, while 35% would be charged a fee and 40% would receive rebates (paid for by the fees).

…My long-standing proposal is to tax vehicles based on weight, to recover the costs of road damage caused by larger vehicles.

[There is ] a California proposal to hit up hummers with a $2,500 registration fee and give rebates to purchasers of super-efficient cars. According to early estimates, 25% would be unaffected by the bill, while 35% would be charged a fee and 40% would receive rebates (paid for by the fees).

[From Survey: Should You Pay More to Drive a Gas Guzzler? : TreeHugger]

My long-standing proposal is to tax vehicles based on weight, to recover the costs of road damage caused by larger vehicles. I don’t know if passing the fees on to Prius owners makes sense, given how many deferred maintenance projects are on the books.

question of the day

The problem of evil–why does God make a world in which bad things happen to good people?–is a hard one. But the problem of supernatural evil–why does God make a world in which good people do bad things in the name of God?–is a much harder one.

The problem of evil–why does God make a world in which bad things happen to good people?–is a hard one. But the problem of supernatural evil–why does God make a world in which good people do bad things in the name of God?–is a much harder one. [From The Problem of Supernatural Evil]

For the second part, assume God to be whatever moral code or ethical framework you believe it.

so what else do they get?

has pounced on slumping Internet icon Yahoo Inc. with an unsolicited takeover offer of $44.6 billion in its boldest bid yet to challenge Google Inc.’s dominance of the lucrative online search and advertising markets….In a statement Friday, Yahoo said it will “carefully and promptly” study Microsoft’s bid.

I suppose this would make Flickr (or what’s left of it) an MSFT subsidiary.

Michael Liedtke, AP:

Microsoft Corp. has pounced on slumping Internet icon Yahoo Inc. with an unsolicited takeover offer of $44.6 billion in its boldest bid yet to challenge Google Inc.’s dominance of the lucrative online search and advertising markets. […]

In a statement Friday, Yahoo said it will “carefully and promptly” study Microsoft’s bid.

My guess: Sold.

★ [From Microsoft Offers $44.6 Billion for Yahoo]

I don’t think I’m all that comfortable with that outcome.