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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]
More NCsoft hiring news, but for what? FOR WHAT?
NCsoft Europe, after announcing that they're looking for employees for an as-yet unannounced new title, have stepped up again with good news for those game enthusiasts eager to break into the industry: they're hiring for a full-time, year-long game tester position (open to UK residents only -- near Brighton, England, to be specific -- sorry, Tennessee). From the website:"The position offers learning whilst at work and block release learning at City College Brighton and Hove, resulting in a Games QA NVQ. Applicants should be IT literate and have Maths and English at GCSE grade C or above. Interviews will be held early February, with the lucky candidate starting 3 March."For more information, check out the listing on their site. This is a pretty quick hiring window; given that, and the fact that it's a tester position makes me wonder exactly how far along this mystery title is in development, if testers are already needed. Of course, they're just hiring one tester so far, so I'm flummoxed. We'll keep track of further developments as they occur!
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?
East Memphis Embassy Suites getting facelift, two HDTVs per room
Those planning any future trips to Tennessee should put the East Memphis Embassy Suites atop their list for lodging, as each of the 220 guest rooms will soon house not one, but two LCD HDTVs. Reportedly, the $3.5 million renovation project will get underway next month, and when every single room is "completely gutted and remodeled," each one will boast new furniture, new kitchenettes and new carpet. Sadly, there's no mention of how many high-definition channels will be available, but it is notable that the aforementioned changes were put into place due to "guest preferences learned through surveys." HDTVs being expected in hotels? Absolutely.
Kidnap victim saved by the PSP
A Tennessee man who was kidnapped and tortured for nine days in a motel managed to escape thanks in part to the Sony PSP.According to an FBI report obtained by the Knoxville News Sentinel, one of the two assailants had given the other a hand-held video game that he played "virtually all day that day and much of the night." (GamePolitics later confirmed from an FBI filing that it was a PSP.) The victim loosened his bindings while the kidnapper played and, when the he had fallen asleep, used the opportunity to escape.Both men have been arrested in connection to the incident; there is an investigation as to the mens' involvement in similar cases.
Mario is a music fan
We spent this last weekend rocking out at Bonnaroo down in the drought-ravaged state of Tennessee, and look who had a prime spot right between What stage and Which stage! Yep, it's our own overalled mascot. With his mushroom habit and hairy neck, Mario fit in nicely with a good portion of the crowd. Maybe he was responsible for the orange confetti that rained down during the Flaming Lips show on Saturday night. With the insane heat, there was sure to be a fire flower around there somewhere.
Vince Young talks Madden curse on Jimmy Kimmel Live
It wasn't exactly a surprise, but last night's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live did mark the official announcement of Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young as the cover star for Madden 08. Kimmel harped a bit on the Madden curse, joking that last year's cover star Shawn Alexander was "attacked by a shark" on field. Shark attack jokes? What is this, the summer of 2001?Young for his part, brushed off concerns that the cover shot will lead to disaster. "I done prayed about it and we're gonna go home and try to get to the playoffs and try to get to the Super Bowl. We'll see what happens," he said. We're not big gamblers here at Joystiq, but if we were we'd put some money against Young's confidence in his health this season.
Vince Young tapped for Madden '08 cover?
The Nashville City Paper is citing an unnamed "source with knowledge of the situation" as confirming that Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young will be the cover star of Madden '08. Young is expected to officially announce the placement during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight. Young is also one of three players tapped to star in a series of commercials for the game, along with New Orleans running back Reggie Bush and Chicago's perfectly fast Devin Hester. The ads will premiere during the NFL draft.Young would be a somewhat unorthodox choice for the cover -- a recent ESPN listing put him as the sixth most likely candidate. Apparently winning the Super Bowl is not as impressive as being a rookie QB "with a flair for the dramatic," as ESPN put it.[Via GameDaily]
RIAA lists top 25 universities handing out piracy notices
The "good guys" have tried to tempt college kids with free legal music for far too long to no avail, and after continuous failed attempts at gaining traction here in the US, it's no surprise that the RIAA would devote precious man-hours to concocting a most-wanted list of pirating schools. It should be noted that the top 25 is based on the amount of warnings sent out from the university to its students, and some schools may be omitted simply due to a lack of response on the administration's end. Nevertheless, it's reported that over three times as many infringement notices have been sent out during the 2006 - 2007 school year versus the year prior, but the RIAA did attribute some of that boost to its heightened awareness and tracking capabilities. Interestingly enough, the top spot holder doesn't seem to be overly concerned about its position, as Purdue feels the "service provider" shouldn't be the one lashing out at "criminals," essentially brushing that RIAA grief right off its shoulder. Still, we all know what you're here for, and that's to see if your alma mater made the dubious cut (full list after the jump), and while some here at Engadget can proudly proclaim to be in the top ten (ahem), drop us a comment and let us know where you stand.[Via TWW]
Fiber in the home thanks to Tennessee's Tenvera
Tennessee isn't exactly known for being the most wired place in the world, but an 18-month startup from Franklin, Tennessee -- a small wealthy town 20 miles south of Nashville (between Memphis and Knoxville) -- may soon change that. This fall, Tenvera will release its fiber in the home (FITH) product, called "System 5" (compare that to Category 5), which will be shown off at the CEDIA conference in Denver in a few weeks. This new technology blows current copper wiring out of the water and according to the company's COO, Tim Akers, will provide "virtually unlimited bandwidth" within new homes. FITH takes over where fiber to the home stops, and brings immense speed to your home's data infrastructure. System 5 is currently being installed in a housing development in a neighboring town, and promises to replace data and phone lines with FITH lines. Akers also told The Tennessean that a FITH outlet can be changed to accomodate phone or data via the quick swap of an outlet card, well after the home has been built. Tenvera is currently pricing its product at two to three percent of the total building cost of a home, or about $12,000 for a $400,000 home. Now how do we get this in the rest of the country?[Via Talkabout:CEDIA]
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...
Two new Apple Stores to open this weekend
Apple has been on a tear with the new stores lately. This time, Stamford, Connecticut and Knoxville, Tennessee will be the lucky recipients of brand new Apple Stores. Both stores will open at 10:00 AM this coming Saturday, July 1st. Have fun if you attend, and send us your pictures/videos/reports. Here's hoping you score a T-shirt.
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]
Help Chattanooga get an HDTV Super Sunday
It's just sad that cable vs. local affiliate squabbles will probably cost some people a high definition Super Bowl. In Tennessee, a few residents are trying to do something about it, starting a petition to get at least the Super Bowl shown in HD on cable.Please sign the petition, being HD-less on the biggest game of the year is something we wish on no man.[Via HDBlog.net]
