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Time Warner Cable adding four HD channels in Columbus, Ohio
Just over a month after Clevelanders were told of four new HD channels that are coincidentally launching on Time Warner Cable today, the folks down in Buckeye country now have four of their own to look forward to. Yep, Columbus-area residents can get prepared for the addition of Sports Time Ohio HD (Ch. 752; presumably the full-time edition), National Geographic HD (Ch. 761), A&E HD (Ch. 766) and HGTV HD (Ch. 768). According to a notice on the carrier's website, these four newcomers are slated to hit sometime this month, but word from Columbus says that TWC has already been airing an ad boasting that A&E HD would arrive on the 18th. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Via HDColumbus, thanks Dan L.]
AT&T routs U-verse services to Northeastern Ohio
Not only did Clevelanders get blessed with a full-time HD channel to check out their Indians this season, but consumers in the area now have yet another option for acquiring content. Announced today, AT&T has strung U-verse service up to Northeastern Ohio, giving Columbus residents one less thing to brag about. Citizens in 135,000 living units within Cleveland, Akron and surrounding areas can now phone up the carrier and order their own fiber-based TV and internet service, but ironically enough, SportsTime Ohio HD has yet to land a carriage deal with AT&T. Decisions, decisions.
SportsTime Ohio announces full-time HD channel
Not only is Cleveland, Ohio the first US city to boast four HD news channels, its MLB club will now have 100-percent of its games broadcast in high-definition. Just a month before it's second birthday, SportsTime Ohio is already launching a dedicated HD channel, which aims to provide "all Indians games and replays in HD." Furthermore, the network will reportedly have 24 / 7 HD programming available starting April 1st, but we're not exactly sure if non-game content will be shot in HD or simply stretched à la TBS. Currently, carriage deals have been landed with Armstrong, Buckeye CableSystem, Cox Communications, GLW Broadband, Insight Communications and most Time Warner Cable systems, and STO has vowed to work with other providers to get the channel loaded on as soon as possible. From the rest of the US to Northeast Ohio: congrats, we're quite envious.[Thanks, Dan]
MarkerMan, MarkerMan, doing the things a marker can
We haven't heard much about Glyphic Entertainment or the studio's Warlords DS port since publisher Strategy First dropped all of its DS titles, so we assumed the worst for the Ohio-based developer. Apparently, however, they picked up another publisher for Warlords DS (Fog Entertainment) and are hard at work on an original game for the Wii and DS -- Markerman!MarkerMan!'s mobility and physics-based puzzles are like a cross between Kirby: Canvas Curse and Crayon Physics (or its DS homebrew equvalent, Pocket Physics). We would accuse it of looking too much like Crayon Physics, actually, especially with the identical soundtrack, but there's still plenty of time for Glyphic to establish MarkerMan's character before the game's scheduled "Q3 2008" release.Though it doesn't look like a high-budget production at all, that's part of the charm! We're in love with the graph-paper background, crayon scenery, and the stick-figure dog. We wish we had a stick-figure dog, now.[Via GoNintendo]
Clevelanders getting four new HD channels from TWC in March
Regrettably, Clevelanders (and most others in Northeast Ohio) will have to wait a month longer before getting to view four new high-definition channels through Time Warner Cable, but at least you've got four new reasons to make it through February, right? According to a legal notice posted on the carrier's website, A&E HD, Food Network HD, HGTV HD and History Channel HD will be added to the lineup as of March 4th, and apparently, a number of channel positions that you may be used to could be shifting around as well. Keep an eye on your listings, however -- these four newcomers just might show up earlier than anticipated. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, Roosevelt]
Hotels being upgraded / converted en masse, HDTVs included
Those used to seeing an AmeriSuites hotel in the Crosswoods area of Columbus, Ohio may be wondering where it went. Reportedly, the hotel has been converted into a Hyatt Place in an attempt to "to reach a younger audience," and it's far from being the only one. Hyatt Corp. has been on somewhat of an upgrading rampage as it converts and upgrades a number of hotels to cater to the demanding traveler, spending around "$32,000 per room on Hyatt Place conversions." That cash is purportedly being used in order to add such niceties as wireless internet, large sofa sleepers, wet bars and most importantly, 42-inch flat-panel TVs with 11 channels of high-definition programming. Talk about home away from home.
Ohio report recommends scrapping electronic voting
Like California and Florida before it, habitual swing state Ohio has just issued a report slamming its three providers of electronic voting equipment -- including, of course, renamed Diebold -- and recommending that the 50 counties which use them scrap the machines in favor of a paper-trail-leaving optical scanning method. The report, commissioned by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, details the ways in which white hat hackers were able to infiltrate the systems, easily picking locks, using portable devices to manipulate vote counts, and even introducing "malignant software" into boards of election servers. Brunner's plan calls for the entire state's voting infrastructure to be overhauled by next year's presidential elections, a move likely to be lauded by touchscreen voting's many critics, but coming "about eight years too late, jerks -- thanks a lot," according to usually-even-tempered former candidate Al Gore.
Teenager hit by train whilst texting, somehow survives
Granted, this isn't the first run-in we've seen involving trains and an SMS-minded individual, but the former story certainly didn't involve a train coming into contact with a human. This time, however, an 18-year old Ohio resident managed to get carted away from a devastating collision after being struck by an oncoming locomotive. The kid apparently waited for one train to pass, but rather than double-checking for anything coming in the opposite direction, he simply forged ahead. Consequently, he was thrown 50-feet and knocked unconscious mid-sentence, but is thankfully recovering in a Cincinnati hospital.[Via Switched]
Man sues over red-light cameras for $3 million
David A. Czech is crazy upset about tickets, so he's suing the city of Northwood, Ohio, its police department, and an Arizona-based maker of red-light cameras (which automatically snap photos of traffic violations). The suit alleges that the cameras are part of an "unconstitutional ordinance to extort money" put in place by the city, and Mr. Czech (on behalf of himself and 20,000 other "offenders") is asking for a $3 million payback and an injunction barring use of the cameras. This isn't the first case of its kind that we've seen -- and it undoubtedly won't be the last, considering the recent spate of these systems being utilized across the nation.[Thanks, Simon]
Ohio Game Jam asks: can you make a game in 24 hours?
Ohio University's Post Online brings us a story on the Ohio Game Jam, a competition among amateur designers who try to create the best game possible in only 24 hours. The winning title was developed in only two hours, which is still a longer development cycle than some commercial products seem to have.Says "Event Overlord" Ian Schreiber: "You don't end up with Shakespeare, but you have some high levels of creativity because of the time constraints." By most accounts, you don't end up with Shakespeare even if you spend years on a game, so that's okay. And a quick-and-dirty contest like this is bound to result in ideas you'd never see in a game developed over three years by a committee. For instance, one of the Jam games used Chuck Norris's head as a projectile. We'd love to play that. But then, we'd also love to be called "Event Overlord."
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]
Penny Arcade on FBI 360 confiscation
Penny Arcade takes on the recent middle school shooting threat in Ohio this week. 360 Fanboy readers will recall that an Ohio middle school student, during a game on Xbox Live, told a California teen that he had plans to bring a gun to school. The California teen's father subsequently contacted the FBI. The middle schooler was later arrested and several items were confiscated from his home, including a pistol and his Xbox 360. Some find the claim that the 360 is "evidence" to be rather dubious, and that is the subject of today's comic. Oh, and in case you're wondering why the man on the right is devouring what appears to be a necktie, it is in fact Fruit by the Foot. Hit the "read" link to check out the comic.[Thanks, JohnHeist. Image credit: Penny-Arcade (obviously)]
Xbox Live school threat is serious business
Two Ohio schools received quite a scare this week, as two potential plots to bring firearms to the schools were uncovered. The tool that was used to uncover one plot: Xbox Live. The first incident involved a middle school student who told a California teen, during and Xbox Live match, that he intended to bring a 9mm pistol to his school. The California boy's father overheard the conversation and contacted the FBI. The middle schooler was subsequently arrested. His Xbox 360 and a pistol were confiscated. It is currently unknown when or if he will be allowed to return to school.A second similar threat was made towards an Ohio high school, apparently overheard by a student. The high school was briefly on lockdown and patrols in the area have been increased. Teays Valley Superintendent, Jeff Sheets, believes that the second threat was inspired by the middle school plot earlier in the week. So far there are no arrests and no suspects have been named for the high school threat.[Via Joystiq]
MasterCard tries to best EZ-Pass with PayPass
While riding around the roads, paying for tolls have always either been cash or a windshield mounted transponder like EZ-Pass or FasTrak. Well, for some motorists in Ohio, there's now a third option. For the next three months, select exit tolls along the Ohio Turnpike will be outfitted with self-service machines that accept MasterCard's PayPass. The trial run allows drivers wielding the appropriate cards to easily pay their toll with the contact-less system, not unlike the EZ-Pass. Vending machines around those exits will also sport PayPass options for added convenience. Hopefully, this convenience won't also be making life easier for hackers.[Via The Wireless Report]
Nanofiber bandages slated to heal en masse next year
While we've seen a few snazzy band-aids in our day, not to mention talking first aid kits, a nanofiber bandage that can heal typical skin wounds faster is about to go mainstream. University of Akron professors Daniel Smith and Darrell Reneker are growing ever closer to bringing their invention to life, as a trial just wrapped up in Columbia that they hope will "win them FDA approval for clinical trials in the United States." The duo used electricity to spin ultrafine polymer fibers while infusing them with chemicals that open a wound to oxygen; then, the treated fibers "reduce inflammation, kill bacteria and repair slow-healing wounds faster than conventional methods," according to Smith. Moreover, the creators have already found a Minnesota-based firm willing to mass produce the nanobandages should they receive the green light, but the professors are hoping to build the new manufacturing plant in Ohio if at all possible, and have products on retail shelves "by 2008" at the latest. Given the presumed popularity of the quick-healing bandages, the team is continuing to work on other "nanofiber products" in their spare time, hoping that the mending aid is just the beginning of a long line of sweet nano-based products to come.[Via MedGadget]
Ohio hotel to implement RFID room-key wriststraps
Well, if RFID is good enough for passports and credit cards, then it must certainly be good enough for hotel rooms, right? Apparently that's the logic at the Great Wolf Lodge at Paramount King's Island in Mason, Ohio (that's just outside Cincinnati), which will be implementing RFID-enabled wristbands when the hotel opens on December 14. The wristband will open your hotel room door and pay for food and drinks at various locations while on the theme-park island. Of course, given all that we've heard about RFID being hacked left and right, we're not exactly convinced that making it easier for someone to gain access to your hotel room is a good idea. But perhaps those folks in Mason are too busy reading Blogging Ohio instead of Engadget to worry about such fussiness.[Via The Wireless Report]
Crooks tie up victims with power cord whilst stealing PlayStation
While this one came oh-so-close to being filed under the ongoing PS3 crime spree chronicles, the inability to pinpoint the PlayStation unit crooks nabbed as one of the highly-coveted "3" models forced us to clump this in with the smorgasbord of other (general) utterly dumb criminal acts. While it wouldn't surprise us to find that the armed burglars who ransacked a Cincinnati home were indeed after the mighty lucrative PS3, their bafflingly high level of stupidity leaves us to wonder if it wasn't a PlayStation 2 (or worse, a PSOne). The robbers reportedly bum rushed the house with their eyes on the prize, tied up the victims with a "PlayStation power cord," bolted out while laughing evilly, and then realized they needed the very cable they left behind. Similar to the crook who jacked a TV but returned for the remote, these guys apparently forgot the keys to pulling off an even marginally successful heist, but thankfully didn't harm the poor family they intruded upon. The wonders of humanity will never cease.[Thanks, Matt M.]
Time Warner Ohio subscribers missing the big game...again
Even as most of us get set in front of our HDTVs to watch the very Game of the Century we bought them to watch, Time Warner customers in central Ohio are left frustrated again. Just like during the Super Bowl, due to the ongoing dispute between the cable company and the owner of the local ABC and Fox affiliates, Sinclair Broadcasting. As we're all too familiar with and our good friends in New Orleans recently found out, some affiliates want cable companies to pay up to provide an HD signal to their customers, while the cable co's refuse to pay for what is already available freely over the air. In Ohio, Insight and Wide Open West have made deals with Sinclair to provide HD programming so customers can switch. According to the article, Time Warner has been giving away antennas to interested customers to keep people from switching. Sinclair even plans to start charging to rebroadcast its SD channels, we'll see who blinks first in this standoff or if the FCC somehow steps in.
Ohio bar game caught in legal battle
Is it luck or is it skill? That's the question at the center of the debate over Tic Tac Fruit, a video game popular in many Ohio bars. Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro argues that the machine is an illegal, luck-based gambling device and has given Ohio bars until Nov. 11 to remove it from the premise or face sanctions. The game's maker, Ohio Skill Games, sees it differently, arguing on their web site that "Tic Tac Fruit and all of its variations are games of skill. Meaning that the outcome of each game is dependent on the players [sic] skill."It's hard to say which side is in the right. At first glance, the game resembles a video slot machine, with three columns of three symbols each rolling to a stop with each play. The skill part, the manufacturer argues, comes when players places a wild square to maximize the payout, although the ability to do this correctly seems pretty elementary. Ohio Skill Games backs up its argument with what it calls "the best legal team in the state of Ohio," ensuring that the attorney general's decision won't go unchallenged. In June, the manufacturer agreed to update the game's software in a settlement with the City of Columbus.Watch - February news story on gambling games in OhioRead - AP story on recent attorney general order
Nintendo Fusion Tour begins, no one listens to the music
Truth be told, if you're headed off to one of the Nintendo Fusion Tour in numerous locations around the country, you're probably not heading there for the music. Hawthorne Heights and Relient K may excite the plebian youth, but not seasoned and impossibly articulate gamers such as ourselves. No, we are drawn to higher forms of art and diversion. Like, you know, pretending to hula hoop to earn a green checkmark on a bright screen.In any case, the NFT kicked off with its opening act in Columbus, Ohio last night, and we've got some early impressions of the event. Wii and DS units galore, but nothing Earth-shattering, save perhaps for the mysterious disappearance of the glowing blue light from the propietary slot-loading DVD drive. It's a rather disturbing absence, as that remains on the coolest aesthetic features of the console. Is it gone for good? Read the full impressions after the jump.
