An extension for analog television in the works
Bush Official Now For Analog Extension [Multichannel News]
The head of the federal agency that is responsible for the digital converter box coupon program has endorsed the idea of keeping analog TV signals on for a month after the February 17th switch to digital TV. Rather than broadcasting regular programming, the analog TV signals would provide public safety announcements and information about the digital transition.
The U.S. Senate passed legislation yesterday to create this 30 day analog extension, and similar legislation is pending in the House.
Even with the millions of dollars of advertising that broadcasters and cable operators have aired to create awareness and educate Americans about the digital television transition, surveys have shown that there is a small percentage of Americans that don't know what they need to do to continue receiving their television signals after February 17th. Creating this extension should be a way to make sure everyone gets the message.
Remember, if you're an Insight customer, you will have no problem continuing to receive everything you receive today on all your televisions that are connected to cable after the digital transition.
EngadgetHD profiles the HD lineup of Insight Digital 4.0, calling it a "wheelbarrow full" of options and that we're looking to stay ahead of our competitors in Columbus when it comes to HD offerings. Insight Digital 4.0 is "The Most HD for Free" and I'm glad to see that a nationally recognized source for HD information is recognizing Insight as leading the pack when it comes to high definition programming.
400 Million Global Broadband Users [Broadband Reports]
Point Topic has released a report that totals broadband users worldwide at 400 million, with the expectation that there will be 680 million broadband users worldwide by 2013. This year, China will pass the U.S. in total number of broadband users, which is not surprising considering their population of 1.2 billion potential Internet users versus the U.S. population of 305 million. Point Topic predicts that U.S. broadband penetration - the number of broadband connections per 100 people - will continue to increase substantially in the next five years.
Fraud and financial scams online are on the rise, with many scams connected to the current state of the economy. Phishers and spammers are crafting these new scams in the hopes that they can prey upon people who are down on their luck due to the economy with promises of easy money. It's important to always remain vigilant, but it seems even more important considering these new scams. Never send personal information via email and be wary about clicking on links in email - especially in emails from senders unknown to you. But even people you know may have had their computer hijacked by scammers so it's even possible to get fooled by a familiar sender. It happened to me a couple of years ago.
I work as an installer for Shaw Cable in Alberta, Canada, and I run into people everyday that aren't sure exactly what they need to do regarding the transition. For us it's particularly confusing since we get a lot of our media from the US, there is the misconception that we are transitioning at the same time. A lot of people also seem to think that "digital" means "high-definition".
Posted by: Emmet Gibney | Monday, November 24, 2008 at 01:34 AM