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los angeles posts

Sezmi's low cost cable / satellite premium TV alternative launches in L.A.

by Richard Lawler posted Nov 16th 2009 at 4:03PM

Ready for yet another way to watch TV? Sezmi has just gone on the air in Los Angeles, offering its unique blend of premium OTA and internet delivered video to a few limited trial users. $5 a month brings whatever local networks you can pull in, basic IPTV (YouTube, OnNetworks, podcasts) and internet VOD (CinemaNow) access, while throwing an Andrew Jackson on top of that adds "more than 100 cable TV networks," delivered via antenna. According to the L.A. Times that doesn't include any channels from the Disney or Fox family like ESPN, regional sports networks or premium movie channels, but if those are already stations you're avoiding, it's a cheaper option than most cable TV plans. Other than the allure of sticking it to the current distribution model, the 1TB DVR package includes a rather unique UI to aggregate and even seek out new shows for you from those varied sources, while maintaining individual profiles for different users. The three month trial has just the right price -- free -- so even with little info on how much high definition Sezmi's network can handle or what areas or channels will be added next, it's at least worth a look.

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

Scientists set lasers on cells, end up playing Pong

by Donald Melanson posted Sep 17th 2009 at 7:42PM

Researchers have devised plenty of innovative ways of viewing living cells, but their options are a bit more limited when it comes to actually manipulating cells without, you know, destroying them. Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles have now come up with one promising new possibility, however, using lasers instead of the fixed electrodes more commonly used today. Those, as you might expect, don't hit the cells directly, but are rather used to shine light on a "high-tech Petri dish," which has a grid of light detectors built into its floor and sets of transparent electrodes on the top and bottom. When lit up in a pattern of a circle or square, the cells can then be isolated and moved about at will or, conceivably, even be used for a game of Pong. Check out the video after the break to see for yourself.

Continue reading Scientists set lasers on cells, end up playing Pong

AT&T slinging HSPA 7.2 to six cities this year, adding backhaul capacity too

by Darren Murph posted Sep 9th 2009 at 8:44AM

If there's one thing AT&T's network could use, it's more network. Particularly in major cities (we're looking at you and your dastardly street parking situation, San Francisco), AT&T's 3G network is perpetually overwhelmed, oftentimes forcing users to switch to EDGE just to tweet about how awful the coverage is. Thankfully, the operator is making good on its earlier promise to roll out HSPA 7.2Mbps to select cities, with Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami now destined to get lit this year. Potentially more interesting, however, is the deployment of "additional backhaul capacity to cell sites," which will also support LTE when the time comes. All told, around 2,000 new cell sites should be added before the year's end, and at least a half dozen 7.2Mbps-capable smartphones should be in AT&T's portfolio by the same deadline. Feel free to express your joy in comments below -- that is, if you can get comments to load on your existing 3G connection.

L.A. Live convention center / hotel includes gigantic, see-through outdoor screen

by Richard Lawler posted Jan 9th 2009 at 6:40AM

The 54-story tower planned to house The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Los Angeles and JW Marriott when it opens in 2010 will also include an 8,000 sq ft screen on its eastern face, without disrupting the view of guests inside. The result of a deal between property owners AEG and sponsor Panasonic, the 50-foot by 160-foot screen will live in the neighborhood of the new Yankee Stadium and the Dallas Cowboys new home. No word on the exact res, but there will no doubt be plenty of HD as the entire complex, including Staples Center and Nokia Theatre, is getting Panasonic screens installed as part of the deal. Our reservations are already in, check after the break for an illustration of the future layout.

Continue reading L.A. Live convention center / hotel includes gigantic, see-through outdoor screen

Los Angeles Traffic Cam brings live gridlocks to your cellphone

by Darren Murph posted Jun 24th 2008 at 8:36PM

We have all ideas (okay, so we know it for a fact) that the Los Angeles Traffic Cam was designed for those living in LA, but we can't help but imagine how drivers in less congested cities could use this to make their own daily commute not seem so bad. NBC4 and 3rd Dimension have teamed up to beam out live video and nearly live still shots from some 270 LA-area traffic cameras to those with compatible mobiles, and being that it's ad-supported, the whole thing is completely free to end users. Of course, for all you know, they could just loop a clip of gridlocked traffic during rush hour and call it reality. Sadly, said idea would almost work.

Los Angeles to sue Time Warner Cable over shoddy service

by Darren Murph posted Jun 6th 2008 at 7:42AM

Far from being the first time Time Warner Cable has upset its subscriber base, the Los Angeles city attorney's office is pulling a Dee Snider and refusing to take the carrier's lackluster service anymore. In a 25-page lawsuit, the city is alleging that the operator "caused major havoc and distress" two years ago when it "failed to live up to its part of the franchise cable agreement requiring that a company answer subscribers' calls within 30 seconds and begin repairs of service interruptions within 24 hours of notification in 90% of its calls for service." The suit claims that no more than 60% of customer calls were answered in time, and cable / internet service was said to be "so intermittent and inferior in quality that it was not much better than no service at all." Not surprisingly, TWC representatives chose not to comment on the whole ordeal, but the outfit could face civil penalties of tens of millions of crisp US dollars in the case. Should've picked up the phone, TWC -- it would've been easier than picking up this tab. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Image courtesy of Web 2 Concepts, thanks Scott]

Los Angeles becomes home to Tesla Motors' first dealership

by Darren Murph posted May 4th 2008 at 2:35AM

Nary two months after the Tesla Roadster finally hit production, the automaker's first dealership has swung its doors wide open. Not surprisingly, the establishment is planted in gridlock heaven, better known as Los Angeles, California. Even less shocking is the fact that it opened at one of the busiest intersections in the city -- near the practically useless (we kid... sort of) 405 freeway and the always-packed corner of Santa Monica and Sepulveda boulevards. Of course, the 10,000-square-foot dealership isn't exactly rolling cars off of the showroom floor just yet (something about a lingering transmission issue), but it's hoping the $2 million cost of construction more than pays itself off in a couple of years. And if you're hankering for a Tesla Motors store near you, you can look forward to others popping up in Menlo Park (CA), New York, Miami, Seattle and Chicago in the next year or so.

L.A. mayor wants muni WiFi by 2009

by Paul Miller posted Feb 15th 2007 at 1:11AM

Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles, wants municipal WiFi in his fair city, and he seems to have the wherewithal to make it happen. Such a project, covering 498 square miles of the sprawling city, would be a massive undertaking, costing somewhere around $54-$62 million. The city will probably partner with a private provider such as Google or Earthlink to pay for and manage the installation, and should be seeking bids this fall. Villaraigosa is already forming a working group, and plans on hiring an expert to iron out the details. Aware of the certain, ahem, problems encountered in San Francisco and other places, Villaraigosa says the initiative is "not going to be a study to put on the shelf." L.A. also owns its own street light and power poles and electric utility, overcoming an obstacle with Southern California Edison, which has denied WiFi installations a place on its own poles in other California cities. Of course, there are plenty of ways that a project this massive could go wrong, but if L.A. can pull this off it'll have some quite notable bragging rights, that's for sure.

[Thanks, Gary N]

E for All Expo takes the reigns, stays in Los Angeles

by Darren Murph posted Jan 5th 2007 at 9:07PM

Those of you so deeply saddened and hurt by E3's sudden departure can take heart, as there's a new trade show coming to town, and hopefully it'll be half as good as the tried-and-true Electronic Entertainment Expo of days past. Slated to open its doors to the public and adoring media on October 18th through the 20th, the Entertainment for All Expo sports a kinder, more inviting title, that apparently hopes to focus more on the general public rather than industry insiders and advertising giants. Clearly hoping to garner more attention by continually stating that "this show is for everyone," IDG World Expo also claims that we kiddos will be able to "test drive the latest in games and gadgetry" as well as purchase things we like right on site. So while it'll (probably) never live up the expo of old, we're still down with ginormous trade shows with too much to do in not nearly enough time, and hey, now you've already got something to look forward to in October.

BlackBerry versus BlackJack: RIM sues Samsung for trademark infringement

by Cyrus Farivar posted Dec 10th 2006 at 3:01PM

Thoroughly annoyed by Samsung's entry into the smartphone sector with its new BlackJack, RIM (maker of the BlackBerry, of course), has sued Sammie for trademark infringement in US Federal Court in Los Angeles. Oh, RIM, we understand that you want to protect your trademark over the BlackBerry name. But do you really, honestly, believe that just because another smartphone has the name "Black" in it, that throngs of people will rush out to buy the BlackJack when they meant to buy the BlackBerry? Or is this just a ploy to squeeze some money out of Samsung when you two finally settle this dispute? Yeah, that's what we thought. (Needless to say, Cingular must find this whole thing pretty hilarious.)

[Via Textually]

E3 to be reborn as GamePro Expo

by Cyrus Farivar posted Nov 4th 2006 at 1:44AM

While E3 may be long gone, and E3Expo may have been on the horizon for a brief time, it appears that GamePro Expo will now be taking its place as the king of the American gaming shows. IDG, the company that publishes GamePro magazine (and Macworld mag and Expo), will now run this latest show to take over the Los Angeles Convention Center come October 2007. Although GamePro is only slated for 30,000 people (half the size of E3), it should still rock, given that it'll bring live competitions among other goodies. And if you're looking for us while at the show, we'll be the ones hanging our heads in shame after getting totally pwned by the smarmy editors over at Joystiq.

[Via DSFanboy]

Los Angeles-area Boy Scouts can earn "activity patch" in copyright

by Cyrus Farivar posted Oct 21st 2006 at 2:42PM

Los Angeles-area Boy Scouts (this author used to be among them) will now be able to receive an "activity patch" in respecting copyrights. Different from a merit badge, The Associated Press reports that "an activity patch is not required to advance in the Scouts. Instead, they are awarded for various recreational and educational activities, such as conservation or volunteering at a food bank." Scouts will get a primer in copyright law, will have to identify five types of copyright, and will get to visit a movie studio to learn about "how many people can be harmed by film piracy," as defined by the MPAA. Boing Boing also adds that a movement is underway to educate the Los Angeles Area Council about their concerns of potentially pushing the MPAA's agenda. Jay Neely, an Eagle Scout (as is this author), writes on Boing Boing: "If it's as one-sided or erroneous as your post worries it will be, I'd like to get other current or former scouts to take part in a concerted effort to write the Los Angeles Area Council with our concerns." So basically, this ain't over yet, Hollywood.

[Thanks, Rollins]

Read - The Associated Press
Read - Boing Boing

ePoker Room, a way to play virtual poker in a real casino

by Cyrus Farivar posted Oct 20th 2006 at 7:43AM

Well, they don't call it "Lalaland" for nothing: a Los Angeles casino has just opened up a live ePoker table, appropriately called the "ePoker Room." Meaning you can go to a live casino (specifically, the Hollywood Park Casino) to play computerized poker. While none of us here at Engadget are big poker players, we still love the idea that you can go to a physical location to do something that you can easily do at any hour from the internet -- kind of like that bar Remote in New York. And according to a firsthand account in Poker News, the system even still takes all the human interaction out of the whole equation: "The electronic tables require no dealers, as the players select all their actions via the touch screen in front of them. The system even takes away from a floorperson's job, as there is a kiosk where you can put yourself on a waiting list for a table." But you'll still have to do slightly more work than if you stayed home, as your ID, cash and chips are contained electronically on a magnetic stripe card. In other words, you've still got to swipe the card to play, which does require a modicum of physical exertion, but certainly nothing that might risk burning more than a tenth of a calorie, you poker stud, you.

[Via The Raw Feed]

Eriksson rejects plea offer, goes on trial for multiple counts of shadiness

by Evan Blass posted Oct 19th 2006 at 12:05PM

Notorious mobster, party animal, exotic automobile enthusiast, and failed gaming executive Bo Stefan Eriksson is finally being exposed to the harsh lights of a Los Angeles courtroom today, after rejecting a plea bargain on Monday due to the fact that "I cannot agree that I stole the car because I didn't." The car that Eriksson was referring to is the famous million dollar Ferrari Enzo that he drunkenly crashed along a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway earlier this year, which authorities later learned was among several leased vehicles that the former Gizmondo director had exported from Europe and stopped paying for in late 2005. Eriksson also faces a charge of illegal weapons possession, and if convicted on all counts, could spend the next eleven years in prison -- a familiar setting for the thug-turned-businessman. Prosecutors are still hoping that Eriksson's imaginary friend Dietrich will return to the States to testify, but sources close to the matter say that the German playboy has reportedly taken permanent asylum on the island of Atlantis, where he's been managing a unicorn farm co-owned by Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

Culver City to install filters on its municipal WiFi network

by Cyrus Farivar posted Aug 25th 2006 at 4:56PM

They call Los Angeles the City of Angels. We didn't find it to be that exactly -- particularly when much like anywhere else, folks are accustomed to downloading pr0n and tons of illicit materials on BitTorrent. Fortunately for us, upright citizens of Culver City, an LA suburb, will be installing Net filters (Audible Magic's CopySense Network Appliance, to be specific) on its free WiFi municipal network, which covers 10 square blocks in its downtown area. Sadly funnier still are the hacks at the MPAA who praised the move (but of course), saying that this new filter will "help safeguard system users from being subject to illegal files" -- as if somehow all of these "illegal files" just come raining down out of the sky on innocent folks wanting to read, say, Engadget.

[Via TechDirt]