Xfinity xFi

Xfinity released a new feature over the summer called Xfinity xfi.  The service allows you to see all devices that are connected to your network, how long they have been on and control how and when those devices can connect.

The last feature has been a game changer for me.  My kids are 6 and 10 and both have Kindle Fire tablets that they use for games and watching videos.  My 9 year old is at the age where she is starting to get curious about "life".  She knows how to google so it is just a matter of time before she comes across something not appropriate for kids.  I was thinking I would need to come up with some type of web filtering software so Xfinity xFi came along just in time.

xFi allows me to identify my kids devices. assign them to a profile and then I can control the hours of the day that I want to allow them to connect to the internet.  It also allows me to assign parental controls to the profile that reduces the risk of devices accessing inappropriate content.

The first step in getting this setup is identifying the devices connected to your network.  xFi will find then but they sometime have a generic name, sometimes it finds the device name that was setup but not always.  Currently I have about 30 devices connected to my network.  This may seem a bit high but I have quite a few smart home devices that are always connected.  Things like smart thermostats, light switches, security camera, sprinkler systems, wireless speakers and echo devices. I have a link to my wicked smart home blog if you are interested.

It took me a couple months to figure out and rename all of my devices, there are still two that I have no idea what they are.  Possibly a wireless modem in my PC but not sure.  Once most devices were identified I just created a kids profile and assigned all of my kids devices to the profile.  Then within that profile you can set the hours that you want the devices to disconnect from wireless.  They call this bedtime mode.  You can also turn on parental controls to prevent that profile from accessing inappropriate content.

I have to say the functionality works great and gives me peace of mind that my kids are using their devices safely.  The morning after I set it up my daughter came down stairs and told me the internet was not working.  It was a little before 7am so she was unable to connect yet.  I am also able to pause the profile anytime I want so if the kids are not listening to come down for dinner we can just pause their profile and the internet connection goes away.

They also have an app that provides most of the functionality that the web page does so if we are not at home and want to control any devices we can.  Pretty nice functionality that you do not have to pay extra for.

Xfinity WiFi Hotspots open to all until November 7th

I received the below message this morning from Xfinity that they are opening up access to their WiFi Hotspots to non customers until November 7th to help residents cope with the aftermath of hurricane Sandy.

Our thoughts are with all of those impacted by hurricane Sandy. To help residents and emergency personnel cope with the aftermath of the storm, Comcast is opening up its XFINITY WiFi hotspots in the affected markets to anyone who needs them – including non-Comcast subscribers. Comcast owns and operates thousands of WiFi hotspots in Comcast service areas in PA, NJ, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, MA, NH and ME. Non-XFINITY Internet customers should search for the “xfinitywifi” network name and click on the “Not a Comcast subscriber?” link at the bottom of the Sign In page. Then select the “Complimentary Trial Session” option from the drop down list. Users will be able to renew their complimentary sessions every 2 hours through Wednesday November 7th. For a map of XFINITY WiFi hotspots, which are located both indoors and outdoors in malls, shopping districts, parks, and train platforms, please visit www.xfinity.com/wifi (Note: Complimentary XFINITY WiFi service may not be available in Partner WiFi Hotspot locations).

Xfinity recently activated one of these WiFi hotspots in the building I work in.  It has been great for me as I am always connected at work for faster web browsing and my battery lasts much longer since the phone is not always searching for a 3G signal.

Free Norton Security Suite 6 for Xfinity Customers

Xfinity just announced that they are offering Norton Security Suite 6 for their customers at no cost.  The program can be downloaded using the below link:

Free Norton Security Suite 6

I installed the program yesterday and honestly don't see a difference between this version and version 5 but I guess it is better to be on the latest version.  One thing to watch out for when downloading the new version it a pop up that will try to get you to install Constant Guard.  Constant Guard is a dashboard that includes Norton as well as a couple free security apps and a couple you need to pay for.  I downloaded Constant Guard a couple months ago and the password safe and online account security app irritated me so I uninsulated it.  I find that most of these apps slow down the browsing experience and really aren't necessary if you are careful on line.

So just click No Thanks on the pop-up and you will be brought to a page to down load the app.  Installation was fairly easy but does require a reboot.  Remains to be seen if this version provides anything additional over the old version.

XFINITY Streampix Free Preview

I got an email from Xfinity today that they are having a free preview of their Streampix service from May 22 through May 28th for Xfinity Customers.  You can watch the first season of 10 of the top TV shows including:  Lost, Desperate Housewives, Heroes and Rescue Me.  They are also offering 24 Movies including: Ocean's Eleven. Ghostbusters and The Big Lebowski.  Below link will bring you to the preview:

Streampix Free Preview

For those that are unfamiliar with Streampix it is Xfinty's Netflix killer.   If you subscribe to XfinityTV Phone and Internet you get Streampix for free.  Everyone else (like me) has to pay and additional $4.99 a month for the service.  I have to say I am a bit confused by the service as it seems to be a similar product as OnDemand.  Which I can watch on my TV, PC or mobile device but I don't have to pay extra.  But I guess content is key with Streampix.  They offer more popular movies and TV series with full seasons of some of them.  For me though definitely not worth the extra $5 a month to watch Ghostbusters and Superman.

Will be interesting to see where they go with it.  I think Xfinity can see that the cable industry will eventually go the way of the dinosaur with streaming becoming more popular.  This is Xfinity sticking their toe in the water early so they don't get left behind.

Xfinity TV for XBOX 360

Xfinity recently announced that they they are making their OnDemand content available on XBOX for existing Xfinity customers.  Looks like a cool little interface that allows you to stream their content to the gaming console.

Requirements for this new service are:

1. XBox 360 Gaming Console
2. Xbox Live Gold Subscription
3. Xfinity Internet
4. Xfinity Digital TV

Not sure what the advantage of this service is except you can watch OnDemand content without having to plug in an additional cable box.  Maybe good for the kids room.  My guess is this is the distant future of cable TV.  No more cable boxes, just apps that run on any device that will allow you to stream all content.  Looks like a direct shot at Netflix to me.

An interesting feature is that with Kinect  you can change channels, pause and rewind with hand or voice commands. 

No word on a similar app for other devices like the PS3 (which I have).  Wouldn't be very useful for me anyway as I already have a cable box.

Xfinity TV Mobile App

The Xfinity TV Mobile App is a nice little add on for the Xfinity Mobile App.   Not sure why they couldn't have added all of the functionality into one app but I am sure there is a good technical reason.  The app has the following features:

• Watch OnDemand shows on your iPhone, iPad or iTouch
• Search OnDemand and TV Listings
• Use the App like a remote to change the channel on your TV or schedule your DVR
• It's Free!!!

I have been playing around with this app a bit over the past few weeks.  The quality of the OnDemand content is good.  I didn't experience any buffering while watching using wireless.  I have not yet tried to watch anything using the 3G connection.  I do have a tough time going from watching content on my 55" HDTV to watching something on a 3.5" screen.  But in a pinch it will suffice.

The big issue that I have is that the remote scheduling app does not work with the Comcast TIVO cable boxes.  It would be great to be able to schedule programs remotely but the functionality just isn't there.  I don't think it will ever work with the TIVO boxes as I read a while back that Xfinity will eventually end support for TIVO.  Might be time to go back to the standard Comcast DVR.

Xfinity Mobile App

Well I finally got rid of my old run down Blackberry and upgraded to an iPhone 4S.  Pretty impressive piece of hardware this iPhone is, the greatest thing is all of the apps that I can now play around with.

Xfinity offers two Mobile apps for the iPhone, the Xfinity TV Mobile App and the Xfinity Mobile App.  I will be be discussing the latter in this post.  The Xfinity Mobile app provides the following functionality:

• One place to view all email and voicemail messages
• View Xfinity voice call logs
• Access your Xfinity Address book
• Send and receive text messages
• It's Free!!

This was one of the first apps that I installed on my iPhone and I was a bit disappointed when it locked up on the login screen and would not go any further.  My wife was able to install the app on her iPhone without a problem though.  I eventually reinstalled and was able to get in.  It is a nice little app but it turn out to be a little overkill for me.  I have a bunch of different email addresses on GMail, yahoo and hotmail that I have set up on the iPhone.  It seemed a bit silly to use one app to get my comcast email and the iPhone mail program to get the rest of my email.  So I ended up installing the app.  We dropped our land line this month so maybe if we still had xfinity voice the app would be more useful to me. 

My wife on the other hand loves that app.  She only has one email address so the app works great for her.  One of her complaints with the iPhone mail software was if she deleted a message from the iPhone it still remained in her Xfinity account on her PC.  With the Mobile app once she deletes the message is is gone from the phone and her account on the PC.

Overall a nice little app even though it is of no use to me.