With the most recent update I finally found a fix for the problem, which is apparently specific to the PHP configuration for 1&1 customers. Add these two lines to the end of the .htaccess file in your WordPress root directory:

AddType x-mapp-php5 .php
AddHandler x-mapp-php5 .php

And you should be set!

If you’ve followed technology news this month you’ve probably heard about Time Warner Cable’s plan to expand its new bandwidth caps to four other cities, including (of personal importance to me) Rochester, NY. The idea of capped broadband isn’t exactly new, but TWC’s plans (ranging from 5GB to 40GB) haven’t taken long to draw criticism from customers and journalists.

The plans are, simply put, bad. I’m not even really against the “pay-as-you-go” pricing model. I use a lot of bandwidth and would prefer unlimited access, sure, but I can see the argument of having reasonable metered usage fees. The difference is that TWC’s usage fees are not reasonable; it’s hard to see them as anything but protecting their traditional cable TV subscriptions from new services such as Hulu and Netflix’s downloadable service. TWC’s tiers are priced as if it’s still the 90s, but with Mozy, Hulu, Netflix, Steam and so on it’s easy for someone to greatly exceed the bandwidth cap with only legitimate usage. This is no longer something that’s only going to affect only technical users or media bootleggers.

At best, Time Warner Cable is hurting their own customers in order to protect their cable TV subscriptions. At worst, this is something that’s going to hurt a lot of emerging online business markets as their customer base on TWC (and other ISPs that follow them) are reduced or eliminated.

It’s not all bad news though. New York state congressman Eric Massa announced he’s drafting legislation that will prohibit the bandwidth caps. Time Warner Cable also seems to be adjusting the new plans in response to the bad press they’re receiving, including introducing a new “unlimited” tier for $150 per month. Still, at three times the cost for the same service subscribers have now, it’s a pretty small gesture.

It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out over the next year. If it’s something you care about, I’d suggest dropping Time Warner Cable if you’re a subscriber (and telling your friends and family to do the same) and supporting any local legislation aimed at preventing this sort of thing.

iRingPro’s Zen collection is another good pack I’ve used, although their price is fixed at $10.

When I bought my iPhone last month I picked up a Griffin PowerDock to bring some order to the number of iPod charging cables I have. For $50, I’m a little disappointed. It didn’t come with an iPhone 3G dock adaptor (I should have read the box more carefully), although you can order one online for around $5 + S&H. Worse though, the iPod Nano 2G dock barely fits, so much that I was almost afraid of breaking it the first time I tried to put the iPod in. Plus, the whole dock is just slightly uneven on the bottom, so despite having a big rubber pad it tends to slide around a lot.

I’ve always been happy with Griffin in the past, I would have expected more from them. It would have been different if it was made Belkin or another mass-market company.

I’m wouldn’t say I’m unhappy with it or it wasn’t worth the money, but I was hoping for a little more for a $20 sticker.

You can take advantage of our no-commitment pricing option, with the exception of iPhone which requires a 2-year commitment.This line may be eligible for an equipment discount on 09/19/2008

Someday I’ll be able to get into this iPhone business, I hope.