The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • G1

riday marks the end of analog television broadcasting. And while you may be rejoicing because it means the end of all those public-service announcements and crawls interrupting your favorite shows, it will be a big change for asmall percentage of the population. Etan Horowitz Guide affected? Anyone who has an analog TV that uses an antenna to receive TV for free. To continue receiving TV, have to purchase a converter box, buy a new TV with a digital tuner or subscribe to cable or satellite. The latest figures from the Nielsen Co.

indicate that in the Orlando market, about 23,850 homes, or 1.59 percent, ready. Nationally, about 3.1 million homes, or 2.7 percent, are in the same boat. Some experts think those numbers are high because they do include households that may have purchased a converter box but not yet installed it. Even if you are already receiving digital television over the air, you should rescan for channels Friday because some stations are switching the location of their broadcasts. PWES Tech Money ear Greg: In July 2008, I paid Floorz More a total of $9,300 to tile two new homes that I built.

There is a seat in one shower where the grout started to crack within a month of us living in the house. The installer came out in January and slapped on some more grout. It cracked again in April. The same installer came and did the same repair on May 22. Within aweek, it cracked again.

The store sent an inspector who said the wrong kind of mortar was used the tiles needed to be removed and a cement-type mortar used. The same installer showed up again, and all he was authorized to do was replace the grout again! I have a beautiful shower I have not been able to use for going on four weeks. Breitfeller, Orlando Dear Jenn: Well, that should keep the installer away. Just kidding! sure you remain fragrant. Clearly, the third time is not the charm when it comes to grout.

store manager Tony Romano has agreed to reinstall the tile around the seat. You be taking a bath on this shower repair. Greg Dawson The Last Resort No more grousing over grout work PLEASE SEE The Week on Wall Street: Ask an expert, G2 How 2 G3 Test Drive, G4 Dow 8,763.13 500 940.09 NYSE 6,082.64 Nasdaq 1,849.42 ith General Motors and Chrysler in bankruptcy, the universal sadness is palpable. All right, not universal. here we are at the deathbed of General wrote filmmaker Michael Moore, in a post on his Web site.

body not yet cold, and I find myself filled with dare I say it There are a few things I think we can all agree on: That the problems faced by GM and Chrysler, and to a so-far lesser extent by Ford, did not happen overnight. That the companies often misread the market, that they moved too slowly. But can we also agree that some of the Big problems were in large part beyond their control? Example: Hyundai Motors was founded in 1967, but build its first domestic car until 1975. They entered the U.S. market in 1986.

They do not have worth of ex-employees to take care of, pensions to pay and health care to finance. not suggesting the union contracts that essentially controlled the U.S. auto manufacturing industry were good or bad, but there is no argument that workers were well paid, and retirement benefits were generous. This adds costs. Costs that companies such as Hyundai have.

GM, Chrysler and Ford have long tried to be all things to all customers. They all built huge SUVs, and they all built small gas-sippers, and everything in between. They still do. The volatility of the economy, and especially gasoline prices, has made it impossible to predict what will sell and what If the market were a horse race, GM, Ford and Chrysler bet on every horse in the field. Manufacturers doing well now, such as Mini and Subaru, bet on one or two.

This restructuring of Chrysler and GM was overdue. Both companies vehemently fought bankruptcy, but now that it has happened. Why dump so many auto dealers? PLEASE SEE Steven Cole Smith Sentinel columnist Coupons are no longer for the ultrathrifty. Thanks to the recession, more consumers are using them to save a few much more. Erin Huffstetler, who writes the consumer blog Frugal Living, said she saves 40 percent to 50 percent on her grocery bill with coupons.

There are the traditional paper coupons you find in newspaper inserts. And plenty of online sites allow you to print coupons on your home computer. Huffstetler likes PGESaver.com and SmartSource.com And Upromise.com a reward card, offers coupons that direct the savings into a college fund, she said. Some other sites that are recommended by heavy coupon users: RetailMeNot.com Hotcouponworld.com and www-Coupons Some retailers might not accept online coupons. Call ahead to find out, Huffstetler said.

Maximize coupons by waiting for the product to go on sale, Huffstetler said. start noticing that stores tend to put items on sale the same time every month, so you can figure out how much you need to buy before the next sale. And if your newspaper has exceptionally good coupons one day, an extra she said. Some shoppers shell out hardly any money for groceries through their coupon skills. Their garages are stockpiled with food and detergent.

have to wonder if they are able to use that before it goes Huffstetler said. a downside to coupons. are for pre-made said financial blogger Jim Wang. lettuce coupons. Fresh is always Cut coupons to cut your costs Recession driving more consumers to find ways to reduce grocery bills By Eileen Ambrose TRIBUNE NEWSPAPERS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY WESLEY SENTINEL What about portable TVs? The majority of portable TVs have analog tuners so they will not be receive TV signals after Friday.

To continue using your portable TV, have to buy a hard-to-find battery- powered converter box and use an external antenna. Another option is to purchase anew portable TV with a digital tuner, such as the Eviant T7 ($120, available for preorder at Amazon.com), the Accurian portable handheld TV ($150 at Radio Shack) or the Haier HLT71 ($110 at Amazon.com) What about antennas? Your existing antenna should still work with digital TV. For the best reception, get an outdoor antenna. For advice on antennas, check out my previous column on the subject at http://tr.im/g9sl. Unlike analog TV, digital TV does not or produce so generally either get a picture or you To see what kind of reception you will get, visit tr.im/nszSor antennaweb.org.

Can I still use my VCR? Yes, but because VCRs have an internal analog tuner, you be able to watch one program while recording another. You can use your existing VCR to record digital TV programming. For instructions, check out connectyourbox.com. Is there anything else that will be affected? You be able to listen to the audio feed of local TV stations with a radio. When will stations stop programming? WKMG-Channel 6: 12:25 p.m.

WFTV-Channel 9: 1 p.m. WOFL-Channel 35: 6:20 p.m.. WESH-Channel 2: 9 a.m. WCKF-Channel 18: 9 a.m. Some stations will continue to broadcast analog messages about the switch.

In February, WMFE-Channel 24 WRDQ- Channel 27 and WVEN-Channel 26 all shut off their analog signals. How can I get help? To get a $40 coupon for a converter box, call 1-888-DTV-2009 or visit www.dtv2009.gov. The government is paying for in-home installation of converter boxes and indoor antennas. To get it, call 1-888-CALL-FCC or visit www.dtv.gov and enter your ZIP code to see resources in your area. Etan Horowitz can be reached at sentinel.com or 407-420-5447.

To read his technology blog, visit Orlando Sentinel.com/techblog. A primer on the end of analog TV Product: OSBS PubDate: 06-07-2009 Zone: FLA Edition: SUBIZ Page: User: wojackson Time: Color: CMY.