I think this post qualifies as my favorite. Definitely would love to play around with one of these.

I can has Prada fon?

Ooh. What a great way to spend the holidays!

FiOS *was* great back when I lived in Virginia. Everything worked well after some initial glitches (primarily with CableCARDs) during deployment. I had 50Mbps down/15Mbps internet, two of their DVR boxes, and 2 CableCARDs. All was well. Then, I moved to Maryland.

Now, I have 4 CableCARDs for a TiVo Series 3 and TiVo HD. The CableCARDs, in random numbers, keep "deactivating". First it was 1, then all 4, then 2, now 3. I don't know what to expect next, but I keep calling them, and they keep escalating the issue to their offline "Video Group" that probably knows my account by heart. Of course, while they take their precious time, I keep missing my programming, and have to crowd around a 26" TV in our home office in order to actually watch dependable TV.

I've threatened to switch to Comcast, but this is one of the few Comcast markets left I guess that actually has fewer HD channels than FiOS, and I'd be losing two of my favourites: Discovery HD and Food HD.

I've also threatened to jump to DirecTV, but can't really imagine actually giving up my TiVos for a generic STB.

I can definitely say that their customer service does try, but can be trained way better than they presently are. Many I speak to have no clue about CableCARDs, and immediately try to upsell a DVR to me, which I don't want. I also cannot stand the IVR system. I finally got a direct line out of one of the reps.

I definitely think YMMV with FiOS service, but I can say that my annoyance with the service isn't made better by their people.

My former apartment in Alexandria was pre-wired for FiOS, complete with a terminated strand of fiber in a convenient recessed panel in the closet that fit the ONT and battery backup perfectly. The upper panel had a small patch panel for Ethernet and voice, and a splitter for video.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dotcomboy/sets/72157594585305267/

What would I have done without Engadget all these years? It's hard to believe it's been just 4. Happy Birthday Engadget! Keep up the amazing work.

What a great replacement for my trusty Casio. Pick me! Pick me!

Definitely WANT!!!

WANT!

I have it in Northern Virginia (Alexandria). I had to manually tune my Verizon box to 846 to view the channel, and then it appeared in the guide. My TiVo Series 3 had the channel and left me a message notifying me, but no guide data yet.