Technology Sector

On the front lines of the costliest battle in the high-tech world

Denver Startup Week: Silicon Mountain will have to surmount Convergence Corridor

The first Denver Startup Week got off to a roaring start, with Mayor Michael Hancock telling a packed luncheon that "we're going to knock out Silicon Valley.... We're going to become Silicon Mountain." To help in that effort, he announced the launch of Denver Capital Matrix, a resource directory of ... More >>

The copyright standoff: Technology pits bad rules vs. no rules

Indie Game: The Movie explores the underground art form of brand-free video games

Marc Wilhelm has not seen Indie Game: The Movie yet, but he's already a fan. At 7 p.m. today, when the film comes to the Denver Film Center for a special presentation, he and his family will watch it for the first time -- and maybe, just maybe, the documentary will help them understand what he does ... More >>

Dish Network on Most Hated Companies List -- but Comcast places even higher

​A list of "The 19 Most Hated Companies in America" in The Atlantic aspires to quantify all the rotten customer service, hidden and excessive fees, broken promises and general consumer aggravation out there. And one Colorado-based company, Dish Network, shows up at No. 18 -- a bit embarrassing ... More >>

Monolake

Friday, April 15, Fox Theatre, 303-443-3399.

Guitar Hero franchise overdoses and dies

​In a statement alongside it's quarterly and annual fiscal report, Activision, the company behind the Guitar Hero series, effectively put the axe on the series. Over the course of the last two years, the series has seen dropping sales due to a market that's completely saturated and an expensiv ... More >>

Shawn Merriman, aka Mormon Madoff: Auction of amazing Ponzi scheme booty (PHOTOS)

Shawn Merriman.​Shawn Merriman, aka the Mormon Madoff, pleaded guilty to mail fraud in December 2009, earning a twelve-year sentence for Ponzi scheming that allowed him to amass an amazing collection of classic cars and more. This Saturday, Merriman's playthings go on the block. The photos of ... More >>

Qwest, CenturyLink merger on the line for Colorado Public Utilities Commission

​Colorado's Public Utilities Commission is slated to sign off on Qwest's merger with CenturyLink today, a day after Montana became the fourteenth state to okay the deal, pushing memories of Mountain Bell even further down the line. The PUC was initially scheduled to approve the merger last we ... More >>

Qwest merger: Is it the right number for telecom history buffs?

​Almost three months after CenturyTel announced a $22 billion deal to take over Qwest Communications, some of the most important questions about the historic merger remain unanswered -- like what happens to all those old phone books, weird equipment, archival collections and other cool bits of ... More >>

Qwest merger: Bill Ritter, Mark Udall, Michael Bennet weigh in on losing company HQ

"If they try to take our jobs, who'll join my posse?"​As we told you earlier today, Qwest is being acquired by CenturyTel in a $10.6 billion stock swap. We don't know the repercussions yet, and won't for a while. But they'll undoubtedly be significant in light of the fact that the combined co ... More >>

DISH Network rips proposed Comcast-NBC Universal merger

​Englewood's own DISH Network has launched a passionate, if long-shot, effort to stop the blockbuster merger of Comcast and NBC Universal. This morning, in letters addressed to U.S. reps Rick Boucher and Cliff Stearns, as well as to senators Herb Kohl and Orrin Hatch, DISH executive vice pres ... More >>

DISH Network shanghais a pirate: Read the judgment here

​Englewood-based DISH Network faces plenty of challenges in today's entertainment environment, not the least of which is piracy of its programming using software that lets folks with free-to-air receivers view it for nothing. Which is a lot cheaper than a monthly fee. Stopping all such scheme ... More >>

Qwest Wireless sets a death date

​Former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio received good news when he learned that the U.S. Justice Department had decided against appealing the reduction of his original six-year jail sentence for insider-trading violations. But many Qwest Wireless customers will probably be less excited upon leraning the ... More >>

More information about Huffington Post's plan to open Denver branch

A Flickr photoArianna Huffington. As reported in this space on Monday, the Huffington Post is planning to open a series of local branches -- and in a recent interview, Arianna Huffington, the site's namesake, revealed that an outpost in Denver would follow the launch of ones in Chicago and New York ... More >>

Liberty Media's John Malone takes risky leap into satellite radio with Sirius investment

John Malone. John Malone, the local mogul at the helm of Liberty Media, didn't become one of the richest men in the state by making foolish investments. But his decision, made public moments ago, to provide $530 million in loans to Sirius XM Radio in exchange for a 40 percent equity stake in the st ... More >>

Bars and breakfasts in the Berkeley neighborhood

We get a booth against the wall, where we drink tea and watch the neighborhood turn over on the floor; the clock rolling from breakfast rush into lunch. Almost everyone in the place seems to be a friend, a regular -- making the Sunday morning or afternoon pilgrimage for eggs and coffee and slabs of ... More >>

HDNet finally available on Comcast

This 2006 Message column "HDNet Gains" profiled HDNet, billionaire Mark Cuban's high-definition television network. At the time, Cuban and his Denver-based partner, Philip Garvin, were thrilled about adding longtime CBS anchor Dan Rather to HDNet's family. But Garvin remained frustrated that the p ... More >>

Urban Peak Wants to Get Young People Wired

Tax Rhyme

A Real Page-Turner

Rapp Sheet

Waltz of the Cannibals

How to demolish the telecom industry, in six easy steps.

Best Move by a Former CEO

Ed McVaney

Best Free Seasonal Service

soberRide Free Cab Rides New Year's Eve

Best TV Revolutionaries

Free Speech TV

Follow That Story

Do Not Pass Go

Con Air

Mile High Telecom promised to be an alternative to Qwest, but the line is going dead.

Best Vestige of the Dot-Com Boom

Mobius Venture Capital Hotbank

Artbeat

Brief sketches of what's happening in the Denver art scene.

Best Computer Recycling Service

Computers for Community

Best News for Movie Buffs

The Starz Encore Film Center

Best Dinosaur Tracks --Indoors

St. Cajetan Event Center

Best Alternative Nickname for 'Convergence Corridor'

Pink-Slip Prairie

Second-best name for the new football stadium

Qwest Stadium

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised!

How Denver’s Hispanic community lost a cable-TV channel but gained a “heritage center.” Maybe.

Platinum Sol

US West's golden CEO just keeps getting richer and richer.

Liars on the Line

While US West delayed service for months, the company stockpiled millions.

High Wire Acts

Stephen Keating reads from Cutthroat: High Stakes and Killer Moves on the Electronic Frontier

Bells Are Ringing

US West put service on the line so it could make the deal.

Disconnected

As US West pulls strings at the legislature, it could cut the lines to competition.

Adios AOL, Hola Problema

What's in a name? A fight, if your name is America Online.

Off Limits

Chilly Reception

The cable industry pushes through a new law aimed at signal pirates.

Calling to Collect

The City of Denver declares war on the state legislature over a telephone bill.

Do Not Adjust Your Set

TCI's plan to downgrade its upgrade gets a chilly reception.

Wire Me Up, Wire Me Down

US West's new cable partner knows how to make sweet deals. Just ask the FCC.

SORRY, WRONG NUMBERS

THE PUC PUTS A SMALL PHONE CARRIER ON HOLD-UP.

ANOTHER CABLE FABLE

CABLE THEFT IS A SERIOUS CRIME--BUT NOT IN TCI'S BOOK.

A FUND TRIP TO DENVER

KEY SENATOR PRESSLER STOPS BY TO QUIETLY SCOOP UP CASH FROM LOCAL CABLE MOGULS.