transit

President Barack Obama announced Thursday that he plans to nominate Meredith Attwell Baker, a former Commerce Department official, to fill the open Republican slot on the Federal Communications Commission.

Most recently Baker led the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA. This is the agency within the Commerce Department that was responsible for distributing the $40 coupons to consumers to convert their older analog TVs to receive digital TV signals. Baker came under fire earlier this year when the Commerce Department ran out of money for the coupons and millions of people were put on a waiting … Read more

BOULDER, Colo.--The age of peak oil is coming, and some say we're already there. So when the effects of rapidly rising oil prices start to seriously affect the world, will your community be ready?

To Michael Brownlee, a driving force behind a nonprofit here currently known as Transition Boulder County, there is no time to lose in answering that question.

Transition Boulder County is the local outcrop of a growing international movement built around the concept of Transition, or getting ready for a post-peak oil world, and the concern that the effects of such an environment could wreak … Read more

Updated Monday, June 15, at 9 a.m. PDT with post-weekend channel status.

When we last checked in with the local analog TV band, it was the afternoon of Friday, June 12 (scroll down for the original post). Some analog channels had dropped off the grid, while others were flagging their imminent demise. About 72 hours later, with the DTV transition deadline firmly behind us, we rescanned the spectrum to see what we could pull in. Only a handful of analog channels are still standing:

Channel 2 (WCBS): Running a public service announcement in English and Spanish on how to obtain and set up a DTV converter box. (This programming is only on the analog station; the digital one is running the standard CBS feed.)

Channel 4 (WNBC): Running the same public service announcement as WCBS. (This programming is only on the analog station; the digital one is running the standard NBC feed.)

Channel 17 (WEBR): This affiliate of religious broadcaster Global Christian Network is up and running. (It may be a low-power broadcaster, meaning it's exempt from the shutdown for the time being.)

Channel 46 (WMBQ): This affiliate of religious broadcaster Cornerstone TV is a low-power broadcaster, and thus currently exempt from the shutdown.

Channel 60 (W60AI): This Home Shopping Network affiliate is a low-power broadcaster, and thus currently exempt from the shutdown.

It's also worth noting that some of the digital stations have moved. For instance, the WABC digital stations are now broadcasting on RF channel 7 (where the analog station used to be located) instead of channel 45. Likewise, many stations seem to have boosted their digital signal strength, now that they don't have to worry about interfering with their analog counterparts.

Both cases reinforce the importance of rescanning your available channels, so those changes can be detected by the digital tuner. Also, as some stations move from UHF to VHF locations, you may need to reorient your antenna--or you may need to get a new one that pulls in both frequencies. (Indeed, while DTV converter boxes seem to be in plentiful supply, antenna issues and shortages have been one of the notable problems of the transition.)

The original post--which includes links to resources for anyone who remains confused about the transition--follows:… Read more

Americans have survived the transition to digital television without incident.

The sky did not fall and there was no major shortage of digital converter boxes Friday when full-power broadcasters across the nation turned off their analog TV signals and started broadcasting only in digital. Calls to broadcasters and the Federal Communications Commission have been heavy the past few days, but officials say that the volume is within what the agency had expected.

"The digital TV transition is looking more like Y2K than the Bay of Pigs," Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said during a press conference on Saturday.

While the … Read more

NEW YORK--Louise Coleman of Brooklyn, N.Y., did everything she was supposed to do before full-power TV broadcasters in the U.S. turned off their analog TV signals and started broadcasting only in digital, but she still found herself in a Best Buy store on the DTV deadline day, Friday, buying the last amplified digital antenna on the store shelf.

Coleman said she had gotten her $40 coupon from the government and bought a digital converter box for her older analog TV before the first deadline for the switch to digital TV on February 17. And she even bought a … Read more

As most people are by now aware, on June 12, full-power broadcast TV stations in the U.S. will stop broadcasting their analog TV signals and will only broadcast TV signals digitally. Obviously, that impacts people who have older TVs and still use antennas to get a TV signal at home. But what's not talked about as much is the thousands of portable TVs that will stop receiving signals once analog signal disappears for good. For those who rely on such sets to tune into sporting events, such as the NBA Finals, the analog switch-off requires immediate action.

It'… Read more

In less than 24 hours all full-power broadcast TV stations in the U.S. will flip a switch to stop broadcasting their analog TV signals and will only broadcast TV signals in digital. And for millions who are unprepared, it could mean lights out on their favorite TV shows.

I know what you're thinking. "We've heard this before." In fact, you've probably been hearing about the transition to digital television for the last decade. You likely started seeing public service commercials last year encouraging you to buy a digital converter box to turn your old analog TV into one that could receive digital signals.

In early February another supposed deadline loomed. And then it didn't happen. Congress, fearing that too many people weren't prepared, postponed the switch, and more than 6 million procrastinators were saved.

But now the new deadline of June 12 is upon us once again. And this time it's for real. President Obama himself issued a statement last week:

"We have worked hand in hand with state and local officials, broadcasters and community groups to educate and assist millions of Americans with the transition...I want to be clear: there will not be another delay."

So here we are, less than a day away from the final transition. And despite months of public service announcements and more than $2 billion spent by the U.S. government to help people prepare, millions will still face a blank screen when they hit that little power button on their TV remotes starting Friday at 12:01 a.m.

The good news is that delaying the switch from February to June has given the Federal Communications Commission some time to ramp up efforts to get the public prepared. The agency has enlisted the help of dozens of groups including volunteers from AmeriCorps, civil rights groups, and even firefighters to help people purchase and install their converter boxes and antennas.… Read more

Are you ready to go digital? Almost 3 million American homes may not be...yet.

Friday is the deadline for the country's move from analog to digital TV. At that point, most analog signals will be shut off. But 2.8 million homes still lack the necessary equipment to receive digital transmissions, says a report released Wednesday by Nielsen.

The number of homes not ready for DTV represents 2.5 percent of the TV market. The report notes that younger, African American, and Hispanic households are disproportionately unready, while the elderly are the most ready.

Geographically, the greatest number … Read more

As the U.S. prepares to shift to digital television on June 12, environmental organizations are warning of a surge in e-waste. CNET News intern Dara Kerr talks to CNET News' Erik Palm about the dangers of e-waste and how to make sure your TV is disposed of properly. He also talks about what he saw when he followed an analog TV in the last stages of its life.

Plus, it's official: the Palm Pre's a hit. Listen now: Download today's podcast

Today's stories:

Sprint breaks its sales record with Palm Pre

Microsoft gets Bing bump, ComScore says… Read more