History was made today, our old beloved spinach-green friend is gone, a victim of unstoppable technology. You can argue it was long overdue, but you must admit ol' spinach-green gave us plenty of joy Saturday mornings watching the Roadrunner play with the Coyote's head. Long before the digital age dawned it was our only friend and he will be missed for nostalgia's sake, here's to ol' spinach-green, may your analog circuits rest in peace.
America's largest consumer electronics seller Best Buy effectively stopped selling analog sets October first and will instead participate in a converter box coupon program sponsored by the government. The company said it pulled all remaining analog sets from the shelves and issued orders to all stores to stop selling analog sets immediately, although Best Buy said it will continue to support analog TV owners by carrying coupon-eligible converter boxes beginning early next year under the U.S. Department of Commerce's voluntary National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) DTV Converter Box Coupon Program.
Best Buy will also set up recycling options for consumers wishing to replace their old analog TVs with new digital ones. Smart sales move.
Under the government's DTV Converter Box Coupon Program, which goes into effect on January 1, 2008, U.S. households can request up to two electronic coupons, at a value of $40.00 each , that can be used in participating retailers toward the purchase of eligible digital-to-analog converter boxes. Best Buy says it will start accepting coupons next year as the program gets on its way. So long spinach-green!
