Comcast: Comcast's Internet Slowdown System Fully Armed and Operational (and Avoidable)

Comcast: Comcast's Internet Slowdown System Fully Armed and Operational (and Avoidable)

Not that I necessarily condone copyright infringements, but let's face it the numbers on internet downloading and P2P sharing don't lie(well, they do, but that is a whole nother article altogether). There is a new system Comcast is using that will probably end up adopted or adapted by all other ISPs around the country to ensure bandwidth is properly shared between everyone. The problem is that those of you who use say YouTube on a daily basis for watching videos online, Netflix to stream HD content to your TV for High-Def watchery, iTunes for downloading(legally) music and podcasts, and the thousands of other(legal) downloading and streaming capabilities the internet has allowed us, are susceptible to being slowed down. The article from http://lifehacker.com explains that Comcast's system will simply mark those who use over 70% of their bandwidth in a given timeframe in a way that will give them a lesser priority for their packets(data downloaded).

The big problem here is that if you are marked, the system is still supposed to let your downloads through, just taking longer timeframes to do so. Essentially, Comcast is neutralizing the supposed threat of P2P and torrents by throttling those who download too much at once. My concern is that it is becoming nearly common place for folks to stream content to their TVs for viewing on a larger screen than their monitor or desktop. Not to mention that there are those families with video gaming kids who play over the internet with their friends.

To me it just seems there are some questionable issues here that don't seem to get addressed by Comcast. It's the same old cookie-cutter approach to internet control that has been called "net neutrality" for years now, and is shunned by the internet community at large. I guess this is the future we're all told is to come, being slowed down because you choose to use the internet for what it's become.

*sigh*

--Slick Geek