Author: Darrell Smith

  • Comcast makes room for more digital by dropping some analog channels

    Robert Benefield, project manager for digital migration at Comcast, holds one of the boxes that some customers will need for the company’s expansion of its digital channels.The conversion to a digital world marches on. Comcast, the largest cable TV provider in the Sacramento area, will stop providing about 50 channels…

  • iPad gets mixed reception at Arden Fair

    Event guests play with the new Apple iPad during an Apple Special Event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts January 27, 2010 in San Francisco, California. CEO Steve Jobs and Apple Inc. introduced its latest creation, the iPad, a mobile tablet browsing device that is a cross between the…

  • AT&T service center workers face a tough choice

    Officials for AT&T and the Communications Workers of America both confirmed this week that a portion of the company’s service center employees in Sacramento are being offered a choice to move or lose their jobs. Beyond the fact that it’s happening, though, there’s little common ground between the union and…

  • Forget the ATM — some banks allow check deposits via scanner, iPhone

    First, we didn’t need to visit the bank teller anymore. Then we were able to stick our checks right into the ATM without an envelope. Now we won’t have to leave the house to make deposits. Earlier this month, Sacramento-based Schools Financial Credit Union became the latest bank to allow…

  • Windows 7 launch creates a buzz in capital area

    A computer loaded with Windows 7 software gets a tryout at a Best Buy store in Miami. Microsoft hopes to win back computer users who disliked the Vista system.The big day was hours away, and Joshua Griffith was taking no chances. The supervisor of Best Buy’s Geek Squad in Natomas…

  • AT&T has free service for victims of wildfires

    AT&T is offering free telephone services to its residential customers affected by wildfires. Customers can receive voice mail and call forwarding services and AT&T will also establish new phone service at a temporary or permanent location without installation charges. Residential customers can get information on the free services by calling…

  • Broadband pushes up SureWest’s revenue

    SureWest Communications’ revenue rose slightly in the second quarter from the previous-year period as the Roseville-based telecom continues to focus on growing its broadband market share, according to results announced Thursday. Total revenue increased 2 percent to $60.9 million from $59.86 million in the year-ago quarter. Much of SureWest’s push…

  • Computer use keeps climbing in California, poll finds

    We Californians love our computers. We surf and tweet and friend and link. We have a need for (broadband) speed and can’t get enough fiber … optics. A new statewide study this week confirms that, especially in today’s economy, we’re using our computers more than ever. “At a time when…