Knoxville
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Verizon's next big LTE push coming July 21st
You can't stop Verizon's nationwide LTE push -- and even hoping to contain it seems like a bit much to ask these days. The company made its last major 4G service rollout just under a week ago, and now it's looking to do the same next month, adding a slew of new markets to its coverage umbrella and expanding in a few existing locales on July 21st. New markets include Portland, OR, Toledo, OH, Winston-Salem and Raleigh-Durham, NC, Maui, HI, Wichita, KS, and Knoxville, TN, to name a few. Coverage will be expanded in Seattle, Louisville, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Las Vegas. The full list of high-speed recipients can be found in the link below.
Tennessee's Webb School makes iPads mandatory, still looks down on note-passing
We've seen the Kindle DX fail as a textbook alternative, but the iPad marches ever onward as a pioneer of wireless education. Or so it seems, anyway. This time the tablet has set its sights on a private school in Knoxville, TN, where all students from fourth to 12th grade will be required to carry iPads starting this August. Webb School students can either provide their own slate or lease a WiFi-only model for $20 a month. Just like administrators at Seton Hill University, the folks at Webb School see the iPad as an eventual replacement for traditional textbooks, as well as a tool for interactive learning. We've voiced our skepticism about the in-school iPad trend before, and while we still wonder just how effective the devices might be in the classroom, we're interested to see how this thing turns out. You know, we love the Oregon Trail and everything, but don't today's students deserve to see more than pixelated trailblazers dying of digital diphtheria? [Thanks, Jordan]
Comcast adding a fresh dozen in Knoxville, TN
October 17th sure seems like a long ways out, but on that fateful day, Comcast will be adding twelve new high-def channels in Knoxville, Tennessee. According to a local, a friendly message recently popped up on his EPG informing him of the forthcoming additions, and if you're anxious to know which dozen you'll be receiving, here goes. CNN HD, TLC HD, AMC HD, FX HD, Speed HD, FOX News HD, Science HD, Fox Sports HD, NFL HD, TBS HD, ABC Family HD and Disney HD will all be arriving in around a month, so just hold tight till then, okay?[Thanks, Eric]
DISH Network ready to launch HD locals in eight more markets?
Call it a hunch, but we're being told that DISH Network is gearing up to launch HD locals in eight new markets within the next 24 to 48 hours. Right around a week after it got busy with its last round of HD local rollouts, we're fully expecting a handful of other cities to get the same treatment. In no specific order, Greensboro, NC, Providence, RI, Burlington, VT, Greenville, SC and Knoxville, TN will all see high-def versions of their nearby ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX stations. Meanwhile, Huntsville, AL (CBS, NBC, FOX), Jackson, MS (ABC, CBS, NBC) and Mobile, AL (ABC, CBS, FOX) will be receiving higher-resolution versions of three out of the four major broadcast networks. Keep a close on that EPG, and be sure to let us know when these areas go live.[Thanks, HDJ]
Comcast subscribers in Knoxville, Tennessee get four new HD channels
Shortly after DirecTV blessed Knoxville, Tennessee residents with HD locals, along comes Comcast to beef up its own high-definition lineup. Effective immediately, subscribers in the area can tune into History Channel HD, Discovery Channel HD, Animal Planet HD and Sci-Fi HD. According to tipster Shane's count, these four newcomers bring Knoxville's total HD options to 29 -- not too shabby, eh?[Thanks, Shane H. and Blake]
DirecTV blesses Knoxville, Tennessee with HD locals
For those shacked up in Knoxville, Tennessee and relying on DirecTV for their tube service, we've excellent news. Starting today, you can catch the Big 4 -- ABC (WATE), CBS (WVLT), FOX (WTNZ) and NBC (WBIR) -- in high-definition without resorting to an OTA antenna. The addition of Knoxville brings the satellite provider's grand total of markets with HD locals up to 72, reportedly "representing more than 74.3-percent of US TV households." 'Tis a shame all that SEC football on CBS is so many months away, but hey, at least you've got March Madness to look forward to, right?
Knoxville gets an Apple Store
Probably like most people standing in line at West Town Mall this morning, I never thought I'd see the day Knoxville got an Apple Store. Shoot, I figured Apple's retail strategy wouldn't fare so well anyway, and would never expand beyond about a dozen high-profile stores worldwide. But Apple is serious about this retail experience. The crew were energetic, polished, and professional. The store was a nice fit, even if it was hard to take a decent picture. Still, there was a surprisingly large line, one which hadn't shrunk much by the time we left (just before noon). Looks like busy opening days at Apple Stores are still in fashion.There are two other places to buy Macs in Knoxville (home of the wigsphere): old, tired CompUSA with its MacGhetto and the local Mac fanatic shop, MCS. CompUSA is what it is, but MCS has a charm unto its own. Those guys rock. Still, the mall placement and beautiful styling that is every Apple retail initiative is somewhat of a quiet vindication for many of the Mac fans I saw in line, especially those who stuck with Apple in the Copland days (I saw a woman wearing the shirt with a big red 8 folks). Many of us thought the company would just disappear under a sea of beige. And as we left with our free t-shirts, an older woman asked what we bought that was so wonderful. "Just a few things," said my wife. The woman looked puzzled, and asked why everyone was in line if this was just another store. "But it's an Apple store," she insisted. The older woman turned to her friends, clueless. We left, betting she might drift in later that day, and wind up with a cute little nano for her mall walks...
Apple Store coming to Knoxville?
If the Knoxville News Sentinel is correct, then the answer will be "yes." As the newspaper notes, the West Town Mall in Knoxville does indeed show up on Apple's job listing page. This would be the third Apple Store for Tennessee.ifoAppleStore's prediciton chart lists mid-August as a likely date for this store. If any TUAW operatives in the Knoxville area notice some covert construction within the West Town Mall, please let us know![Via Mat on Macs]
Local news team: "games make folks aggressive"
Knoxville's Tennessee's local CBS affiliate, WVLT, has a terse and generally uninformative news blurb entitled, "Study: Violent video games do make folks aggressive." The 77 word news story informs people that although "many moms and dads have said this for awhile now, and it's mostly fallen on deaf ears... researchers have determined if your children play violent and aggressive video games, they are more likely to be aggressive, commit violent crimes, and are less likely to help others."What a great service they've provided to those hard working "folks" in Knoxville! Thanks for the entirely informative and balanced reporting WVLT! In wholly unrelated news, WVLT is also prominently reporting in their "News Headlines" box: Sword-wielding thieves strike clinic, arrested Body, Head mystery remains unsolved Kentucky teacher arrested in Mexico; teenage boy returned Missing boy found in Knoxville Of course, the video game industry's previously uheard of desire to package and promote violence must have been genuinely shocking to the good "folks" at WVLT, so much so they must have been unable to write more than their summary judgement.This blog post is over twice as long as their video game story. If you'd like to read more on this study, please visit Game Politics instead.
