In one corner of the room, a plastic headset and goggles hung droopily from a long black cable.
The Mets, at the peak of their popularity in the mid-1980s, made the mistake of locking into a long-term cable agreement that cut them off from the escalating rights fees of the 1990s.
"We've had people out who have put a satellite dish up and run a cable to it 500 yards long all to no avail, " he said.
Say, for instance, HBO, a channel cable-cutter have long wished they could subscribe to online.
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While 60 million households is respectable distribution for a second-tier cable network, Current has long suffered from poor channel placement, low visibility and a diffuse brand identity.
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Bill Gates has a long history of making investments in cable companies with the hopes that it will secure Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people) software a significant role in the technology used for high-speed Internet access and for cable set-top boxes that deliver interactive TV.
Matias has kept the overall design the same as the Tactile Pro in both cases, though: a look similar to Apple's old Pro keyboard with no frills beyond three USB 2.0 ports, only the basics in terms of extra keys, two legs underneath to prop it up and a 6-foot-long USB cable (no wireless option here).
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But consider: No major cable operator has signed a long-term contract for Gemstar's TV GuideInteractive the company's main growth engine since it was launched last year.
Sprint is currently the No. 3 cellular provider in the country, behind Cingular and Verizon , and the cable partnership could go a long way toward helping it catch up.
In a research note to investors Friday, Watts said the announcement hints at a possible long-term acquisition of Sprint by the cable operators.
The ruling looks like a clear victory for subscribers of cable services, long frustrated by awkward set-top box technology and perpetually rising subscription fees.
Cable access could be a welcome consumer alternative if Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) carries out its metering plan.
The Bluetooth unit enables actively-equalized audio, but can be swapped for a 3.5mm cable (included) -- this is ideal for long trips away from power.
Sky One viewers see the hour-long special first while viewers without cable or satellite will have to wait a few months more until it pops up in the terrestrial run on Channel 4.
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But a colleague of his said Mr Cable thought three-year votes would "encourage more long-term thinking among companies, which is what we want".
But just to cover Long Island in Verizon TV service, there's a lot of work left: Cable competitor Cablevision (nyse: CVC - news - people ) has 110 separate franchises on Long Island, according to company spokesman Jim Maiella.
The FCC let it be known last week in a Memorandum Opinion and Order that a single standard wasn't actually required, as long as the IP interface on the cable box used an industry standard -- the Commission did bless the DLNA Premium Video Profile as a suitable example.
ENGADGET: FCC clarifies set-top box IP interface requirement and extends deadline to 2014
U-verse is built on the mission of bringing customers an innovative and better experience than cable, and the industry's first fully-integrated Wireless Receiver is the latest example in a long line of enhancements.
ENGADGET: AT&T U-verse set-tops go wireless, free you to herniate yourself moving your HDTV around
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