28 January 2009

The Digital Transition

So a move by Obama was defeated today to move the "digital transition" for local television stations from Feb 17th to June 12th. By some estimates, when the move from analog to digital happens in Feb, it will leave some 6.5 Million households without tv.

Who the hell ARE these people and where in god's name do they live? If you believe the Dems/Obama, they are poor, rural and low-income Americans. I'm sorry if that's true, but I'm amazed that these folks don't have at least basic cable or satellite.

I'm not blind enough to know that there ARE going to be people who on Feb 17th, can't watch their "stories", but for the past 18 months, if they didn't pay attention to any of the 200,000,000 PSA's that have been running, surely buying them another 4 months isn't going to matter one lick.

Admittedly these are the same people who can't access the website http://www.dtvanswers.com that is shown in those same PSA's. Some people take a chance an embrace advancements in society and technology, some are brought along kicking and screaming and some, just will NEVER adopt it.

As someone who occasionally works with data, I'd love to see a cross-tab of who this might impact the most by # of cellphones, # of computers, # of rotary dial phones, # of betamax machines, # of Activision games, etc.

I'm not cold-hearted though. It potentially DOES create a public security risk in that, if someone cannot get the local channels, they can't be forewarned about potential weather approaching, Amber alerts, or other local issues that need to be broadcast however it seems foolish to think that these folks truly will change and get the equipment needed.

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