Washington
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Comcast going all digital in Seattle, bringing DTAs to the Pacific Northwest
You already know what Comcast's Digital Transport Adapter looks like, and for folks in Salem, Eugene and Corvallis, Oregon (not to mention Seattle, Washington), you'll be seeing 'em in the flesh soon enough. Comcast has announced that its all digital transition will be heading up from Portland and into Seattle in the near future, and it's upsetting quite a few locals with Media Center PC / TiVo setups. Of course, these are just the growing (or should we say "changing") pains associated with a mass switch from analog to digital, but at least in theory, the conversion should free up oodles of bandwidth for the carrier to expand its HD lineup. And remember, a cable company choosing to pipe its channels out in digital is very different than the broadcast change coming in February 2009 -- it's confusing, we know, but the read link does a fairly decent job of spelling everything out.[Thanks, Doug]
FOX News HD joins the HD lineup in Seattle, WA
Not much to say outside of the headline here, but FOX News HD is now available on Comcast in Seattle, Washington. Curiously, this seems to be the only addition for now, but hopefully it's just testing the water before it unloads a whole gaggle of 'em before the holidays. Hopefully.
Video: Micron's Washington PCIe prototype SSD card is wicked quick
Up until now, Fusion-io's ioDrive has pretty much put every other SSD-on-a-PCIe-card to shame in terms of sheer performance, but it just might be looking at its first formidable competitor in the Micron Washington. The prototype device was recently showcased on video (posted after the break), and while we're not told how capacious it is, it is understood to be using 64-bit SLC NAND chips. When placed in a Xeon-powered server, the unit is able to achieve 150,000 to 160,000 random write IOPS with a bandwidth of 800MB/sec per card. Micron is convinced that it can reach a bandwidth of 1GB/sec and 200,000 IOPS with this technology, though Fusion-io's CTO proclaims that users can achieve "over 6GB per second" when using eight of its ioDrives in conjunction. Of course, the aforementioned ioDrive is actually shipping, whereas this elusive Washington doodad won't see commercial light until at least 2010.[Via The Register, thanks Vik]
Verizon's FiOS TV expansions: November 22, 2008
Verizon's not slacking off as the run-up to the holiday season continues -- probably because folks are apt to have all sorts of free TV watching time here in the next month or so -- so we'll get right down to the releases. Up first are the towns of Middleton, Massachusetts, and the corporately-stacked Wilmington, Delaware, which have just granted the company a video license. Next, we head to the Pacific Northwest to see that Camas, Washington and Gresham, Oregon have agreed to do the same. Finally, we're told that Philadelphia-area residents are being treated to 30 new channels (17 of which are in high-def). That's it for this week -- we'll see you back again in seven days for (hopefully) even more.Read - Philadelphia channelsRead - Washington expansionRead - Massachusetts expansionRead - Oregon expansionRead - Delaware expansion
Epic Games China reforms as Titan Studios, developing MMO
When most of us hear talk of the company "Epic Games", the first thing that comes to mind is Gears of War or the Unreal series of titles. While Epic Games had a Shanghai games studio for outsourcing purposes, it's now evolved into Titan Studios, a wholly owned subsidiary based in Seattle. Through Titan Studios, it seems Epic Games is turning their attention to MMOGs, following up their work on the PS3 title Fat Princess.As to what's going on within the Titan Studios walls, GameSpot's Tom Magrino reports that "an undefined number of unannounced projects are in the works at the studio, one of which is a massively multiplayer online game." Needless to say, that bit of information has piqued our interest, and we'll keep our eyes open at Massively for more about the Titan Studios MMO project in the future.
DISH Network unloads HD locals in a handful of new markets
Of late, it's been DirecTV doing all the dishing of HD locals, but at long last, we've got its biggest, most bitter rival stepping to the plate and doing some damage, too. As it's fall HD locals rollout continues, DISH Network has gone live with 'em in a bevy of new places. We're talking Florence / Myrtle Beach, SC, Fort Myers / Naples, FL, Greenville / New Bern / Washington, NC, Madison, WI and Wilkes Barre / Scranton, PA. As it stands, the satcaster now offers locals in high-def in 70 markets reaching 71% of the US, but really, all that matters is if you're in that 71%, right?
Broadstripe brings new HD trio to Seattle, WA
We already knew ESPNU HD was headed for Broadstripe, but out of nowhere, the carrier has also found it in its heart to dish out three more to the fine citizens of Seattle, Washington. Upon firing up his HD DVR, tipster Steve found that ESPN2 HD had finally been added alongside FX HD and Disney HD. Unfortunately, the slots in the EPG were just black at the time, but they ought to be firing on all cylinders by now. Let us know if not, okay? We'll try to find someone's hand to slap.[Thanks, Steve]
KCTS 9 (PBS) moves for all-digital conversion, leaves quality HD shows behind
The times, they are a-changin', and with February 2009 getting closer by the minute, we should probably expect even more situations like this. Put simply, western Washington's local PBS channel had a long-standing history of pleasing HD junkies with a whole swath of unique HD programming on Comcast slot 108 (OTA channel 9.5). Due to the transition to all-digital (or so it says), the HD channel has been shifted to Comcast slot 109 and OTA slot 9.1; that there isn't the problem, though. The issue is that with the move, many of its best high-def programs have been nixed, and the leftovers are being presented "in low-quality DTV," as stated by our tipster. The reaction has been overwhelmingly negative, with pages upon pages of angry comments piling up in a matter of hours. Thankfully, management has posted a note that it is taking notice, but only time will tell if the channel will ever return in its full glory.[Thanks, Aaron]
Verizon gets official with Washington FiOS TV rollout
Back in May, we heard that Verizon was busy building a regional video hub in the great state of Washington, and for those paying attention on a weekly basis, you would've noticed that quite a few video franchises have been granted to the carrier in a bevy of Evergreen State locales. Nevertheless, we felt it prudent to point out that the company has finally gone public with its decision to tow FiOS TV to the far Northwest, bringing 98 high-def channels to over 80,000 households. For users in the area who sign up prior to October 4th, they'll receive a free HD DVR or an HD Home Media DVR for a year; unfortunately, you'll have to be in select parts of Bothell, Brier, Everett, Edmonds, Kenmore, Lynnwood, Woodinville, Woodway and Snohomish County (for now) in order to take advantage.
FigurePrints LLC in the Vancouver Sun
Just this morning, the Vancouver Sun published an interesting article about FigurePrints LLC, which is a name WoW players know quite well, though probably not the little details of the company. FigurePrints LLC, which is based in Washington, has its production center in the heart of Vancouver. A production center with with only 11 employees, up from its original one, with its eyes set on moving up in the world to a mind blowing 25 employees.FigurePrints works around the clock, producing somewhere between 1,200 and 1,400 figurines in a month. That almost sounds like a lot (they produce over 40 figures per day), but when you consider they need to draw these names from a lottery of over 25,000 potential customers? They really have their hands full, but they're clearly not going to run out of customers anytime soon, especially since their contract with Blizzard is an exclusive one. FigurePrints is also looking into opening a plant in Europe to expand the market to our overseas friends, and they've been approached by other gaming companies as well. They seem to be in a very good place right now.Personally, I'm curious to see where the company will actually go from this point forward in terms of what they print, and who they print for. I'm sure most of the popularity of this company is due to their arrangement with Blizzard, so will that relationship continue even beyond World of Warcraft? Will FigurePrints LLC be right there with Blizzard when some other MMO rolls around, like Galaxy of Starcraft (or whatever)? Or will they stand just fine on their own when WoW is gone, moving on to other companies and games?Edit: To try and clarify, it's a Washington-based office with a Vancouver, Canada-based production plant. Not Vancouver, Washington.
Verizon's FiOS TV expansions: September 6, 2008
Another week, another round of FiOS TV announcements with Washington in the mix. This past week, Mountlake Terrace, Mukilteo and Redmond voted to approve video franchises for the carrier, as did the villages of New Hempstead, Hempstead and Kenmore, New York. Finally, we're told that select residents of Ashland, Massachusetts can finally place their orders for FiOS TV after hearing that it was coming in June. We'll see you next week -- here's to hoping your neck of the woods gets covered within the next seven days.Read - Washington expansionRead - New York expansionRead - Massachusetts expansion
Verizon's FiOS TV expansions: August 30, 2008
It has been a pretty quiet week for Verizon on the FiOS TV front, and while a slew of new places were treated to FiOS high-speed internet, just a few locales picked up notices of incoming TV service. Nevertheless, Snohomish County, Washington granted the provider a video franchise, as did the village of Fishkill, New York. Glocester and Smithfield, Rhode Island residents, on the other hand, can place their orders right now should their home be within the service area. We'll see you next week -- here's to hoping your neck of the woods gets covered within the next seven days.Read - Washington expansionRead - New York expansionRead - Rhode Island expansion
Verizon's FiOS TV expansions: August 23, 2008
Maybe you haven't noticed, but Verizon has been throwing FiOS TV to Washington cities on a really regular basis. This week, we see Woodway awarding the carrier with a video franchise, while nine more New Jersey cities -- including parts of Salem County, the city of Camden and the city of Paterson -- get the luxury of ordering. Finally, we've got much of Stafford County, Virginia expecting to receive the fiber-based programming service in the future, though Verizon only promises that rollouts will begin "later this summer," with the rest of the place having to wait anywhere between a few months and a few years to get covered. We'll see you next week -- here's to hoping your neck of the woods gets covered within the next seven days.Read - Virginia expansionRead - New Jersey expansionRead - Washington expansion
Verizon's FiOS TV expansions: August 16, 2008
For the second week in a row now, we've got quite a few locales getting blanketed (or at least getting set for coverage) by FiOS TV. Verizon has announced that its fiber-based television / high-speed internet services are now available in Covina, West Covina and Sepulveda, California. Furthermore, Washington state is getting even more FiOS TV love by awarding the carrier a video franchise in Woodinville. We wrap this week up with confirmation that said service is finally headed to Newburgh, New York after initially hearing that a deal was in the works last December. We'll see you next week -- here's to hoping your neck of the woods gets covered within the next seven days.Read - California expansionRead - Washington expansionRead - New York expansion
Verizon's FiOS TV expansions: August 9, 2008
Coming off a somewhat busy week last week, it seems that Verizon's worker bees are still out in full force (begrudgingly or otherwise) in order to keep those FiOS TV installations going at a rapid pace. Up first, we're seeing the fiber-based programming service head to even more apartments in Northern Virginia, this time to Archstone Apartments in 14 NoVA communities. Next, we're seeing that yet another locale in Washington state (Brier) has awarded Verizon with a video franchise, while four more Massachusetts towns (Northborough, Stoughton, Stow and Sutton) now have the ability to order FiOS TV. We'll see you next week -- here's to hoping your neck of the woods gets covered within the next seven days.Read - Virginia expansionRead - Washington expansionRead - Massachusetts expansion
Bluetooth headset sales booming after legislation changes in CA and WA
Talking while driving just got a little more expensive on the west coast. Legislation went into effect last month in California and Washington requiring the use a headset of some sort. California's law was passed way back in 2006, yet most would-be good citizens waited until the absolute last minute to comply, with sales of Bluetooth headsets surging to four-times the national average in the months prior according to the NPD Group. Still, 7,182 citations were handed to naughty Californians in July. Up north only 100 were nabbed, as Washingtonian drivers can't be pulled over unless they commit some other violation as well, making headset use there a little more ... optional, so long as you lay off the throttle, Speed Racer.
Verizon's FiOS TV expansions: July 19, 2008
You probably realized that our weekly FiOS TV expansion post was nowhere to be found last week. Just an FYI: that's a direct result of Verizon not announcing a single new locale for its service. Apparently it was shoring 'em up, though, as this week a whole slew of neighborhoods are getting service. We've got eight more communities in New Jersey, yet another Bay State region, Hampton, Virginia and the very first community in Washington state to land a FiOS TV video franchise. If you're near any of these places, check out the links below for all the details. We'll see you next week -- here's to hoping your neck of the woods gets covered within the next seven days.Read - Washington State expansionRead - Hampton, Virginia expansionRead - New Jersey expansionRead - Massachusetts expansion
AMC opens all digital cinema in Seattle
We're not told whether or not all 16 of the digital Sony projectors in the Southcenter 16 are 4K or not, but AMC's still pretty proud of its latest cineplex. The 2,900-seat venue houses 16 screens (obviously) which will see imagery from all digital PJs, meaning that nary a strip of film will be shipped in. Additionally, the design of the facility was made to showcase the surroundings, with a vast window in the reception area that "on a clear day, frames Mount Rainier to look like the Paramount logo." Hey, look at that -- we just found you some plans this weekend up in the Pacific Northwest.
Missing teen found after she ran away with her 27 year old WoW boyfriend
Morgon Douglas Jones, a 27 year old gamer, is going to find himself in a lot of trouble. He ran off with a 14 year old girl he met through WoW. They were found safe in a campground in Franklin County, Washington. We (and several of you commenters) have covered age related issues before: from age restricted servers to youths applying to raiding guilds.I am amazed at some of the creeps who play this game, and Morgon Jones definitely falls into that category. 27 years old and running off with a 14 year old girl he met through the game. It's time for him to get outside and enjoy life while he still can, since hopefully there'll be some good ol' prison time coming his way.Reader Basic sent us the tip for this story posted on the KTVB.com website, and you can read the full article over there. There is an error in the article however, where the author says WoW is a science fiction based game, when it is actually a fantasy game (unless the author was making a critique on Outlands being too SciFi for the game, but that's highly doubtful and not given at all in the context of the article).
Verizon to build regional video hub in Washington, bring FiOS TV
Comcast may have just given the HD lineup in Southwestern Washington a serious boost, but that's not frightening Verizon away. The carrier has just made public its intentions to build the state's first regional video hub in Everett, which will end up being a "key component of the company's plan to deliver video programming" in the future. Thankfully, Verizon went ahead and made certain that we knew this hub wasn't being constructed for kicks and giggles -- according to David Valdez, senior vice president for the Northwest, the company is "preparing its network to offer consumers in the region FiOS TV." Regrettably, there's no timeframe given for when we can expect services to roll out, but the outfit is negotiating with a number of cities and counties in order to gain those highly sought after cable franchises as we speak.
