So long, analog!

If you're anything like me, analog television is tucked away with Oregon Trail, SimAnt, the original Apple IIE and the blinking DOS prompt - fleeting, nostalgic, and almost entirely forgotten. Rabbit ears? Snow? Sounds lovely, but I still wouldn't trade it for a PC in every house. Apparently Congress agrees - as of February 2009, analog in New York will be no more:

Gotham Gazette: Though many New Yorkers don't yet know it, the clock is ticking on their television reception. The federal government has set Feb. 17, 2009, as the date on which television broadcasters must switch from an analog signal to a digital one. This change means anyone with a television set more than a couple of years old who wants to keep getting free broadcasts over the air needs to take action....A Consumers Union survey found that nearly a quarter of consumers who are aware of the transition believe they will need to throw out their analog televisions after 2009. "This would mean thousands of perfectly good televisions getting kicked to the curb," Kelsey worries, "resulting in an immense amount of dangerous electronic waste" -- something New York City already has enough of.

Half of the consumers whom this will affect don't know it's coming - that same survey reports that fewer than 50% of American viewers are unaware of the digital transition. Given that 80 percent of those who watch analog television still get it for free (mostly older and lower income viewers), the prospect of shelling out $50 for a converter - or worse, getting cable - will undoubtedly come as a bit of a shock.

So there it is: a moment of silence for the analog signal I never had and didn't know I wanted until it was too late. Farewell and adieu - you will certainly be missed.