Qwest vs. Comcast: Sparring over price

Qwest is running three new commercials in Washington, one of which aggressively attacks Comcast for its short-term pricing promotions.

The TV commercial looks like a rendition of "Price is Right," where a Bob Barker wannabe encourages a contestant — named Bob — to play "Jack the Price Up."

"Barker" starts off the show by yelling: "Bob's introductory price is about to expire; let's see how expensive it's really going to be!" Obligingly, Bob yanks on a big gear stick, and the audience starts to encourage a miniature rocket by exclaiming "higher, higher!" until it soars past the short-term promo sign.

The 30-second ad ends by suggesting the consumer "stop playing games with Comcast," and consider an offer that "starts low, and stays low."

Qwest touts its DSL service for $26.99 a month, which is guaranteed for life. Of course, it wants customers to compare that with Comcast, which offers a low introductory rate for three months before "jacking" the price up for the rest of the year.

But Qwest has a few stipulations of its own. By freezing a frame of the ad, you can see the fine print. In order to qualify for the plan, you must have a Qwest phone package and sign a two-year commitment. The offer expires if you cancel your phone service, elect to change Internet-service providers from the required MSN service or move past the 1.4 megabit download speeds.

You also better hurry. The deal expires Oct. 14.

Microsoft mystery

The latest pseudo-anonymous, wink-wink viral marketing site from Microsoft is www.notfornoobs.com.

The site shows a television set and asks users to turn the knobs. The logo for Microsoft and gaming-accessories company Razer later appear, and then a countdown clock that appears to be set to Friday.

That's the same day as the start of Penny Arcade's PAX video-game convention in Bellevue. Maybe an announcement is in the works?

(Noob, by the way, is a semi-insulting term for a technology-user beginner.)

Game time

RealNetworks released a study last week that said adults play "casual" games for a quick mental break, a way to unwind and relax, and for stress relief.

The study, conducted by Harris Interactive, found that 12 percent of people would rather knit than play a casual game; 44 percent would rather exercise; 29 percent would do a household chore; 69 percent would watch TV; 56 percent would read a newspaper or magazine.

We conducted our own poll at seattletimes.com, drawing 684 respondents. If they had an hour of free time, 3 percent said they would knit; 25 percent would play a sport; 11 percent would do a household chore; 19 percent would play a casual game; 25 percent would watch TV; and 17 percent would get the latest news.

In other words, 81 percent of people would rather do something other than play a casual game.

Cool dotcoms

Time magazine's list of the 50 coolest Web sites featured three local companies last week.

Those were Farecast, which helps predict the cost of a flight over time; Pixsy, a search engine that delivers only visual results; and Zillow.com, which estimates the value of a home.

Download, a column of news bits, observations and miscellany, is gathered by The Seattle Times technology staff. We can be reached at 206-464-2265 or biztech@seattletimes.com.