Max: Updates on the Glory That is Max

For most of the past six months, very little of interest has gone on in my life that would be worthy of comment. Much has gone on in the world that I might have once comment on, but I have lost my tolerance for futility.

Finally, though there are a few interesting developments in my life. First off I am beta testing Charter's new Video on Demand (VOD) system. It has been slowly rolling out, but I am one of the first off of my node to get to play with it. It is possibly the coolest thing in TV since Tivo. It allows the user to call up certain movies and programs any time one wants, rather than waiting around for it some come on. You can pause, rewind, fast forward and even stop and come back to your program. VOD comes in two flavors. One is attached to the premium movie channels (HBO, Skinamax, Showtime, Starz and Encore). A user who subscribes to these channels can watch a selection of the movies and original series (I'm loving Deadwood) any time one wants at no extra charge. Also included in this part of the VOD is Mag Rack, a collection of video "magazines" one can watch for free. The second type is an updated Pay Per View system in which one "rents" for a fee the movie or show for 24 hours to be watched at one's convenience. It is rather neat.

I am also beta testing Google's Gmail. So far, it is proving to be a well put together web mail interface. I don't get enough mail to need to make us of the advanced search feature. So I guess in that regard I am not the best beta tester.

Finally, I just yesterday interviewed for a new job in Charter. After nearly five years in Tech Support/Customer Service, I am more than burned out. I am ready to move on to a new and different position. This new gig, if I get it, will be more of a hands on gig. I'll be building and maintaining computers, along with some other related tasks. I will have to still do some internal phone support, but I will also be doing a lot of onsite support at various Charter locations around the midwest. It may not be my dream gig, but if I get it, it should be a lot less of a nightmare than the one I have now.