Digital TV transitio slated for June 12 09

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With about three months to go, U.S. regulators say some consumers are still unprepared for the television industry switch to digital broadcasting, which will affect Americans who do not receive their signals through cable or satellite.

The federally mandated transition was originally set for February 17, but lawmakers postponed it to June 12 on the theory that people need more time to get ready.

The switch from analog to digital allows broadcasters to send more data efficiently, and also frees up the existing analog spectrum for such uses as cellphone and public-safety radio transmissions.

About a third of the nation’s 1,800 full-power broadcasters switched from analog to digital TV signals on the original February 17 date, though only about 15 percent of the nation’s households were affected.        Breaking News

There is still hope for gamers movies

"Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" may be yet another awful movie adaptation of a video game, but its human portrayal of its leading lady offers us a glimmer of hope.

The phrase “hope springs eternal” perfectly sums up the state gamers find themselves in when it comes to movies based on their favorite video games.

That is, time and time again, those of us who love video games have seen our hopes dashed on the cruel rocks of reality as one movie adaptation of a game after another has been slapped up on the silver screen … to god-awful results.

And yet, we continue returning to the theaters, hoping beyond all reasonable hope that one day a genuinely great movie based on one of our beloved games will finally arrive.

“ Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li ” — a movie based on the long-running “Street Fighter” series of games — opened in theaters over the weekend, offering gamers the latest sliver of hope. And like the dutiful, bull-headedly optimistic gaming fans we are, we marched off to buy our tickets and our popcorn.        Breaking News

Ledger wins best supporting actor

The late Heath Ledger won best supporting actor for playing the Joker in "The Dark Knight."

(CNN) — Heath Ledger won best supporting actor for his performance as the Joker in “The Dark Knight” at the 81st annual Academy Awards on Sunday.

His parents and sister accepted the award for the actor, who died in January 2008.

“This award tonight would have humbly validated Heath’s quiet determination to be truly accepted by you all here — his peers — within an industry he truly loved,” said Ledger’s father, Kim.

Ledger is only the second actor to win a posthumous actor. Peter Finch won best actor for 1976′s “Network” two months after he died in early 1977. List of winners, nominees.  Penelope Cruz won the first Oscar of the night, a best supporting actress honor for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”        Breaking News

Driver rolls over cop car

I wouldn’t want to be in this dudes shoes, he is going away for a long long time

Facebook is for the ol farts

Facebook is five. Maybe you didn’t get it in your news feed, but it was in February 2004 that Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, along with some classmates, launched the social network that ate the world.

Did he realize back then in his dorm that he was witnessing merely the larval stage of his creation? For what began with college students has found its fullest, richest expression with us, the middle-aged. Here are 10 reasons Facebook is for old fogies:        Breaking News

Sony unveils third and final ‘God of War’

Expected to announce release date at this summer’s E3 Expo in Los Angeles

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – The gods must be crazy. Why else would they continue tormenting Kratos, a bald warrior who is as brutal as he is well-armed?

Sony has unveiled the third and final chapter in its blockbuster “God of War” game franchise, a PlayStation 3 exclusive that finds its anti-hero battling chimera and cyclops on top of massive Titans.

Kratos enlists the Titans in his quest for revenge against the gods, particularly his father Zeus, who masterminded the family tragedy that drives his rage.        Breaking News

For millions, digital TV deadline still is now

SAN DIEGO – Isidro Diaz surfs channels on his old TV about three hours a night in the trailer he rents for $350 a month. Come Tuesday, his limited choice of programs will be much more limited.

Although the government delayed the mandatory shutdown of analog TV signals by four months to give people with older TVs more time to prepare, that’s small comfort to Diaz and other people who live in cities where some broadcasters are switching to all-digital broadcasts Tuesday, as they had originally planned.  Because it is costly to keep broadcasting analog signals, nearly 500 stations said they would make the transition Tuesday rather than June 12.       Breaking News

Penny-pinching viewers killing Pay-TV

PHILADELPHIA – Porter McConnell gave up on pay TV last summer after noticing that monthly rates kept creeping up.

Now with no satellite or cable TV, she watches her trusty old TV set with an antenna or she goes online to catch her favorite programs. Once in a while, she buys shows from Apple Inc.’s iTunes service. McConnell also upped her subscription to Netflix Inc.’s movies-by-mail service so she gets two DVDs at a time instead of one, for $15 a month.

“Part of it is, I’ve got to economize,” said the 30-year-old Washington, D.C., resident who works at a nonprofit.  McConnell is the kind of consumer who makes cable and satellite TV operators lose sleep. While a weak economy invariably makes people pinch pennies, this is the first time that viewing shows online has become a viable competitor to pay TV, making cutting the cord easier.        Full Story

Digital TV delay praised,but at the same time criticized

Civil rights leaders and the National Association of Broadcasters are praising the decision of Congress to postpone the digital television transition, but the four-month delay isn’t so popular with some in the technology and electronics fields.

“Enough already – throw the damn switch,” said Buckingham’s Peter Putman. He’s a communications and electronics consultant who runs www.HDTVexpert.com, a Web site that covers the industry.

February 17 was to have been the day that broadcasters would stop sending analog signals and shift to an all-digital format. The transition wouldn’t have impacted viewers who subscribe to a paid television service or those who’ve bought digital-ready televisions within the last few years.        Full Story

Dozens rescued from ice floe after Fisherman dies

OAK HARBOR, Ohio – A miles-wide ice floe broke away Saturday from Lake Erie’s shoreline, trapping 135 ice fishermen, one of whom fell into the water and later died. A local sheriff called the fishermen’s actions — given warming temperatures and the fragile ice — “idiotic.” Many of the fishermen were plucked from the ice by rescuers who glided along in air boats.

On Saturday morning, fishermen had used wooden pallets to bridge a crack in the ice so they could go out farther on the lake. But temperatures rose into the 40s, and the planks fell into the water when the ice shifted, stranding the fishermen about 1,000 yards offshore.        Full Story