TVSquad

If you're still holding on to that analog television, waiting for a great deal before making the jump, I can't really blame you. The longer you wait, the better deal you're going to get. You'll be able to point and laugh when you hear what I paid for my lowly little 37" LCD, while the entire wall of your living room is lit up in shining HD light that looks like you're getting cable broadcast straight out of Heaven, on some contraption you paid 12 bucks for at Walmart.

Now comes word from our old pal Kevin Martin at the FCC that you'll be able to wait, at least, until 2012 before you have to step into the future. Currently, the digital transition is supposed to happen in February 2009, although we've heard that before, so I'm not holding my breath. Even if it does finally happen though, it's not the end of analog TV. The FCC voted 5-0, deciding that cable operators must continue to make all local broadcasts available to their users, even those with analog televisions, until 2012. It's up to them whether they do it by continuing to carry an analog signal, or by using set top boxes. And if that still isn't enough notice or warning, write the FCC (they like that), because the whole thing will be revisited as the 2012 deadline approaches.

Here we go again. MarketWatch is reporting that the Federal Communications Commission plans to impose sanctions on FOX, NBC, and CBS for indecent content. The penalties are the first imposed since current FCC Chairman Kevin Martin (pictured) took office in March 2005. In addition to whatever fines the networks will be made to pay, the FCC will also add the word "shit" to its list of words that cannot be said on television (MarketWatch describes the new banned word as "a four-letter word that is a synonym for excrement" and I can only assume they're not banning the word "crap"). The ruling will also reportedly clarify what is considered indecent, which has become muddied and confusing over the years.