It seems that Wide Open West will not let me get into Google or any Google page. Anyone who does not have WOW have this problem?

I can get on Google with my blackberry, so I think it's a WOW issue.

FWIW, I have WOW (and use a lot of Google services, not just the search engine), and everyting's working fine.

On the other han, I don't use WOW's Domain Name Eerver (DNS), but rather OpenDNS. —Ted E.

We had this problem this morning, as well (and WOW is our provider). Then hubby did something with the router - maybe he just unplugged it and plugged it back in - and now we can get to Google.

That unplugging technique is called power cycling....but it has to stay unplugged for at least 30 seconds. Oftentimes this fixes most connectivity issues.

Any luck Perplexed?

I figured Proud Hubby must be smart (look at his wife) and updated my router and it works fine.

I will tell you that WOW has finally admitted the problem is theres.

Google + Uverse = No Problems......

Thanks IMJ, I just logged on to ask that question.

Well, thank you, Perplexed. He is very smart!

We've been having another problem with WOW concerning our cable. Has anyone else noticed that they seem to be shoehorning in extra local commercials, so that often when you return to the program, you've missed about 30 seconds? In other words, they're inserting more commercials than they have time for and they're running over into the programming or even running on top of the national commercials. It's very sloppily done, too - you notice the sound quality changing, the signal changing abruptly from HD to regular. We've emailed and called and nobody at WOW seems to understand the problem or take responsibility for it. We then called CNN - one of the stations where we've noticed this, the other being TBS - and they said it's the local cable provider's mistake.

It's very frustrating. And seems to be a bit shady, too - they're obviously trying to sneak in more ad revenue than the networks are allowing time for.

The local commercials are actually sold, produced and inserted by an independent third-part firm. The sales and production company runs their spots on both WOW and Comcast (and perhaps now, AT7T's U-Verse as well).

The spots are sent to the cable company, and programmed electronically, by the independent production company; WOW and the other cable companies have nothing to do with it other than to 1) supply space in their headends for the playback harware and 2) collect a monthly check.

WOW, etc., will tell you they have nothing to do with it; it's the fault of the cableadvertising company. Technically, they're right... but the cableadvertising company has absolutely no motivation to “do it right” unless their customers — WOW and Comcast — complain to them.

I'm sorry I can't recall the name of the cableadvertising sales and production company, but your best bet it to get someone at WOW who understands how the system works, and to get him or her to complain to their supplier.

This is a WOW management problem; as you discovered, the 1-800 consumer service agents don't have a clue as to how the commercials work on their system.

FWIW... cable companies can NOT insert ads into local broadcast station signals (Channels 2, 5, 8, 11 etc.) But you'll also see them (the local channels) screw up as well when they break away from their network feeds to insert local commercials.

Much of the screw-ups can be blamed on the economy. Advertising-based media — radio, TV, newspapers, etc. — are in financial trouble, so they keep laying off back-room staff... usually the experienced (and thus more expensive) people. —Ted E.

Thanks, Ted. I was about to explain the programming and commercials having nothing (really) to do with the cable company.

The problem with calling the provider to complain (even at a managerial level) is that the customer service people have absolutely NO clue who to contact. When I worked at Comcast, we were instructed to tell customers that the problem was with the network as it had nothing to do with us. Somehow finding a way into the marketing/advertising department to complain would probably be your best bet in getting anywhere....and that's only if you can figure out how to get there in the first place.

Normally, I would say that the sound issue could be due to unstable signal levels in your coax....but given the programming issues accompanying it, it's probably a network/third-party programming issue as Ted said.

This is a common practice with program aggregators such as Comcast, AT&T and WOW. The process of overriding national advertising with local commercial content is called "ad insertion". The aggregator is allowed to sell certain slots of time to local advertisers as another revenue stream. You may notice when this happens sometimes you will see a national commercial for a split-second, then it is interrupted by another commercial.

quote:

Originally posted by perplexed:
It seems that Wide Open West will not let me get into Google or any Google page. Anyone who does not have WOW have this problem?

I can get on Google with my blackberry, so I think it's a WOW issue.

FYI, WOW, ATT and other ISP's do not generally filter ANY content. This would be a nightmare for them. This is a problem with your browser.

Ha! So much for Mr. Smartypants. Google is not working this morning and i am on WOW. I will get to the bottom of this. Hope it's not a Denial of Service attack.

Thanks for the clarification re-the annoying ad insertions. Although I still have no idea whom to contact about it. I would think the networks whose programming is getting disrupted might be concerned, but maybe not.

Seriously... try OpenDNS.com OpenDNS.com.

When you want to go to a web site, the first thing that has to happen is that the human-understandable Domain Name (e.g, Glen-Ellyn.com) has to be converted to an IP Number (e.g., 66.150.161.140).

Every internet service provider, including WOW, has such a computer, called a Domain Name Server (DNS) which “serves up” the number that matched the name so your request can continue on its merry way.

It is not necessary that you use your ISP's Domain Name Server. They are rarely well-maintatned and can get out-of-whack for days before anyone notices.

OpenDNS is a fast and free non-commercial DNS service run by volunteer geeks that is monitored 24/7 and that seems to run perfectly 100% of the time. Lots of other under-the-hood benefits, too.

Really. Try it. You'll luvvit!

I did a tracert on this problem and it certainly looks as if it is a DNS problem. I called WOW and they are aware of the problem, but thought that it was fixed. They are looking at it again. As is tradition, the ISP is blaming the site.

quote:

Originally posted by scribbler:
Thanks for the clarification re-the annoying ad insertions. Although I still have no idea whom to contact about it. I would think the networks whose programming is getting disrupted might be concerned, but maybe not.

This is definitely a WOW problem. The insertion equipment is located at their operating center and they have the ability to launch the commercial and regulate its volume.

This is starting to get really old!

Yes, they have that ability... but they don't exercise it. They figure the ad insertion company does that by remote control and it ain't their job.

Anyway, the WOW quality control people monitor the cable channel feeds from a facility in Michigan where they're looking at a zillion monitors... and never turn on the sound. —Ted E.

Hmmm... Many Google services are running really slow today. My guess is the weather out East has messed up things everywhere. —Ted E.