portland
Latest
HD channel expansion roundup
Once upon a time, a smattering of new HD channels in one major metropolitan area was a huge deal. Nowadays, it's almost expected that one area or another will experience some HD expansion each week. In order to keep things nice and tidy around here, we deliver high-def expansions, market expansions and anything else dealing with HD channel growth right here. If we missed an area that you're familiar with, drop us a line in comments so everyone can catch up. The more the merrier, we say! Read - MTVN Launches Six HD Channels With SES Read - TiVo takes on Nielsen Read - Comcast Adds 27 HD Networks in Houston Read - World Fishing Network: Fully Hooked On HD Read - Smithsonian Networks(TM) and Time Warner Cable Sign Programming Distribution Deal Read - Telemundo Leads HDTV Charge Read - BET HD Now Available on Cox Read - U-verse TV Starts 2009 With Record Quarter Read - Comcast adds 27 new HD channels in Portland Cablevision to add Live Well HD (Thanks LI PC Tech) Read - Cablevision: High Definition Encore and Starz On Demand added Read - Ringgold Telephone Company (RTC) is proud to announce the availability of eight additional high-definition television channels Read - TMJ4 is Now HD (Thanks Paul) Read - FOX 17: Broadcasting in High Definition (Thanks Alex)
Fallen Earth country tour turns to Portland
If you've been looking for a better look at the upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO Fallen Earth and you live in the Portland, Oregon area, then you might want to head on over to the North 45 Pub on May 2nd at 7 PM. The Fallen Earth tour is headed on over to your town!Attendees will get the chance to speak with the development team, participate in a live Q&A session, demo Fallen Earth, and get a sweet special in-game mount. The team will also be offering prizes to the person who travels the farthest distance to come to the event, and the person who brings the most friends to the event. Interested in going? Sign up for the tour here!Portland was chosen for the tour thanks to some devoted fans rallying for the city in the Fallen Earth tour contest. The city received the most votes, and has won the spot as the next visited city. Congratulations Fallen Earth fans in Portland!
Sprint unveils WiMAX expansion cities, devices for 2009 and 2010
The XOHM label may be gone, but the potency of Sprint's WiMAX network is still kickin' in and around Baltimore. For those itching for wicked fast mobile broadband outside of The Charm City, Sprint has just unveiled a slew of expansion areas that'll get gifted in 2009 and 2010. As for the rest of this year, folks in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Portland and Seattle can expect Sprint 4G rollouts, while residents of Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. can be on the lookout in 2010. In related news, the carrier is also taking this opportunity to reveal that it has "several new 4G devices planned for 2009 and 2010, including a single-mode 4G data card, embedded laptops, a small-office-home-office broadband modem and a tri-mode phone." Lovely.
Portland customers to get bundled WiMAX courtesy of Comcast
Portland, Oregon was the first place to get a taste of Clearwire's own WiMAX service, so it's not exactly all that surprising that it's also going to be the first to get Comcast's version of the very same high-speed wireless service. Of course, this being Comcast, you can also expect to see the WiMAX service offered in bundles with its TV, phone, and broadband services when it launches "midyear," although there's no indication of pricing just yet (Clearwire charges between $20 and $50 a month). As The Oregonian points out, this is also a pretty clear indication that Comcast will be following Clearwire's lead as it expands into additional markets, and it's apparently even pushing Clearwire to deploy its service as quickly as possible, with Comcast COO Stephen Burke saying, "we didn't invest in Clearwire to make money on the stock. We invested in Clearwire to roll out a product that our customers want."[Via FierceBroadbandWireless, thanks Loren]
Police not pursuing video game angle in Portland shooting
Following a deadly shooting spree in Portland, Oregon last Saturday, January 24, the Oregonian newspaper noted that alleged shooter Salvador Ayala was a "video game fan" and enjoyed games such as Left 4 Dead and Resistance: Fall of Man. The Portland Mercury now reports that local police are "not pursuing a link between videogames and the shooting."Detective Mark Slater, who noted that a copy of Grand Theft Auto III was found in Ayala's apartment, said, "There were a lot of videogames in the apartment," adding that the games were "of a wide variety of the kind you might find in any 24-year-old's apartment."While no motive has yet been found, it is now known that Ayala left his roommate a note on the day of the shooting. The note contained Ayala's bank information, social security number, and instructions to the roommate urging him to sell Ayala's Playstation 3 and car and "keep the money." The note closed, "Good luck in this shitty world." The Mercury states that Ayala's friends and roommate now describe him as being "depressed."[Via Game Politics]
TV One HD coming to several TWC / Comcast markets
There doesn't appear to be a set time line in place, but TV One is expected to launch an HD simulcast of its SD network soon on several Comcast / Time Warner Cable systems. The channel, which is a self-proclaimed "entertainment television network for African Americans," will first hit TWC's NYC region and Comcast systems in Boston, Chicago, Portland, OR and Seattle. We're told that more regions should find the HD iteration of the channel beginning in early January 2009, and at least initially, some 20% of the content will be shot and aired in high-def; if all goes well, that figure should rise to 40% by 2010.
Portland, Oregon's KATU booted from DISH Network
Oh, geez. Yet another cat fight akin to something you'd see on a third-grade playground between a greedy broadcast station and a greedy carrier. Portland, Oregon's KATU -- which can be received for free over-the-air -- has been dropped from DISH Network. A message on the station's website informs citizens that it had "been in negotiations with DISH in an attempt to reach a new agreement," but sadly, "those negotiations have not yet been successful." You now the story by now -- said station asserts that the carrier charges users a fee for access, and so rightfully, some of that fee should trickle back to the channel. The carrier, on the other hand, reckons that carriage should be free since it can easily be obtained by locals via an OTA antenna. We'll keep you posted on any developments, but until then, it's OTA or bust (or DirecTV / cable, to be honest) for resident DISH customers.[Thanks, Lance and Jonny]
Clearwire's $150 dual-mode WiMAX / Sprint CDMA modem launches Sunday
Yup, it's true, the dual-mode CDMA / WiMAX modem is real and will be sold by Clearwire Sprint starting December 21st. The $150 device (after $50 rebate and two-year Sprint contract) is a first to function on both Sprint's EV-DO network and Clearwire's nascent mobile WiMAX service currently supporting Baltimore's collection of kitschy beauty salons. So yeah, the modem is of limited interest until Clearwire can build-out its network in 2009, starting with Portland in early January.
Newly-dubbed "Clear" WiMAX service hits Portland, Oregon
It just been a few short days since it finally closed the deal with Sprint, but Clearwire is already out there busily rebranding its newly-acquired WiMAX assets, with Portland, Oregon first to get the new "Clear" WiMAX service, which the company humbly describes as "like lightning, but faster." To get in on that, you'll have to fork over between $30 and $50 a month (for unlimited service), or ten bucks for a 24 hour pass, with Clear's own USB modem setting you back an extra $50 (a desktop modem is also available for $5 a month). Somewhat interestingly, the company is also promising to offer WiMAX-ready laptops "soon," but it unfortunately isn't providing any further details on those just yet. Hit up the link below to check the exact availability of the service, and look for it to hit Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Grand Rapids, Michigan in the not too distant future.[Thanks, Stephen K.]
Comcast readying 11 HD newcomers for Portland, Oregon
Just months after Verizon expanded its FiOS TV service to reach even more of the greater Portland area, Comcast is making moves in a presumed attempt to keep locals hooked on cable. According to several users in the area, Comcast has notified them that 11 new HD channels will be emerging on May 1st. Granted, we're a bit concerned about how they'll actually look once launched -- and considering the history here, if they'll launch -- but those curious to know what new additions are slated to hit Portland's HD lineup can click on through for the full list.[Thanks, Brad and Keith]
Comcast TiVo headed to Portland, Oregon?
Along with gigantic patches of FiOS availability, New England is also basking in the glory of having Comcast TiVo all to itself. Thankfully, all that could be changing. According to a report from a Comcast user in the Portland, Oregon area, two different installers informed him that Comcast TiVo would be making its way into the area in the not-too-distant future (read: summertime). Of course, we kinda sorta knew the technology would eventually spread from the Northeast, but we're eager to see if in fact it'll hit up any more states on its (hopeful) trip west.[Thanks, Justin]
KGW NewsChannel 8 first newscast in Portland to go HD
The good news just keeps on coming for HD junkies in Oregon, and now you can finally sit down after a long, hard day cramped up at the office and enjoy your news in high-definition. After five months of acquiring / installing new equipment, KGW NewsChannel 8 is broadcasting live in HD; furthermore, it will be utilizing an HD sky-cam to show "live, detailed pictures of the weather in Portland." As the first news station in the area to go HD, it's also getting a leg up by promising HD video from its Sky8 aerial camera. Now, if only Greg Oden would get healthy, all really would be well, eh?
Jail guard busted for incriminating City of Heroes forum posts
Not all villains wear the proper attire. Take 30-year old David B. Thompson, for example, who posts on the City of Heroes message boards as Trafalgar (and has since changed his name to Deadwalk). In real life, Thompson is a corrections officer from Portland, Oregon with a penchant for using his taser, perhaps an unnecessarily excessive amount, and bragging about it online during work hours.Thompson is currently being investigated after a fellow message board member tipped off the Portland Tribune for some disturbing messages, such as this one from August 25: "I don't know about that. I crushed a dude's eye socket from repeatedly punching him in it, then I charged him with menacing and harassment (of me) he took a plea to get away from me."Also of concern is the amount of posting, which might average 13 posts per shift. In one 24-hour period in particular, Thompson posted 64 times across across 13 threads, according to the Tribune.[Thanks, Bill]
Oregon man sues Acer, Gateway, et al. for violating hinge patent
Earlier this month, Mr. Khalil Zaidan of Portland, Oregon, sued Acer, Gateway, Toshiba, HP, IBM, and Fujitsu for violating his 1996 patent "Hinge Assembly for Electronic Devices." A closer reading of the patent indicates that Zaidan seems to have patented the basic principle behind a tablet PC, allowing a computer to perform "rotational adjustment." Still, the case -- filed in United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division -- seems like a pretty easy way to milk these big companies for some cash, given that tablet PCs have been around well before November 2006. Nevertheless, while Zaidan is asking the court for damages on patent infringement be decided in a jury trial, we're betting that this gets settled out-of-court pretty quick. We're pretty sure that if Zaidan could actually build a Commodore 64-esque tablet (that's what his diagram is supposed to represent, right?), he could just make money from that instead of going through all this legal nonsense.
DirecTV rolls out HD local channels to Reno, Portland & Madison
DirecTV has started rolling out a few of the 25 markets it promised to add this year, bringing locals via MPEG-4 satellite to Madison, Reno, and Portland (Maine). You know the drill by now, new satellite and receiver are necessary, the new HR20 will work. Now the total number of markets with locals are up to 45. The stations added in each area are as follows: Madison, Wisconsin WISC/CBS, WMSN/FOX and WMTV/NBC Reno, Nevada KOLO/ABC, KTVN/CBS and KRXI/FOX Portland, Maine WMTW/ABC, WGME/CBS and WCSH/NBC [Corrected swapped stations, thanks Tristan!]
More Portland Apple Store drama
We mentioned that the Portland Apple Store was a no go, but Cabel Sasser, Portland resident and Mac developer (of Panic fame) has investigated the story some more. It seems that the good people of Portland were concerned about Apple just plopping another carbon copy of an Apple store in their fair city. Apple, hip to style, worked with the Landmarks Commission to come up with a rendering as seen above, which is a departure from the normal Apple Store. Sadly, it still wasn't good enough and it looks like Apple is taking its ball and going home.Cabel has heard that Apple might try again, and here's hoping they do. I mean, who doesn't like the Apple Store?
Apple throws out plans for Portland store
Just as the battle for Apple Store Boston continues, ifoAppleStore is reporting that Apple has decided not to further pursue plans to construct one of its retail stores in Portland, Oregon. Apple initially showed interest in building a store in the city in November 2005, when it presented the city's Historic Landmarks Commission with a proposed design. The Commission felt that Apple's trademark metal paneled exterior didn't mesh well with the "historical image" of the Northwest District which it is charged with administering. A second proposed design was rejected by the Commission late last month.Apple previously canceled plans for a store in New York City's Flatiron district due to similar problems involving design approvals.Via MacNN
8bit musicians announce world tour
Former cellmates Nullsleep and Bitshifter have announced plans to embark on a world tour, blasting their blend of bleeps, bloops, and blizzasts from Boston to Brussels and back again. If you're not an 8-bit believer yet, nothing will win you over except trying it out for yourself. To that end, here are links (1, 2, 3, 4) to some MP3s these torturers of Gameboys, Famicoms and other old-school video game consoles have kindly provided for downloading. If you like what you hear, check the tour page and maybe even drop a few dollars in the donation bucket to help make it happen.
