Digital TV Switch Is a Boon for One Local Station

Ion airs four stations in the region, and moved its antenna from a tower in Fairfax to a taller tower in Northwest D.C. to boost reception, said John Lawson, executive vice president of policy and strategic initiatives. Headquartered in Florida, Ion has offices in Arlington and Fairfax. The network is also in talks with BET founder Robert L. Johnson to create a channel primarily geared toward African American audiences, called Urban TV.

While Ion's mobile content is available on the airwaves now, area consumers won't get to try it out until January, when prototype devices will be made available for the trial. The Open Mobile Video Coalition has chosen to have its only service trial in Washington, giving local early adopters a sneak peak.

Lawson said he tested a prototype device downtown this week. "I got a strong signal on Capitol Hill," he said. "But I had some challenges around the White House."

Teleworking Campaign

Starting today, you may notice a few Metro commuters wearing suit coats, pajama pants and slippers outside the McPherson Square, Metro Center and Farragut North stops. On Wednesday, they'll be milling around the Chinatown, Dupont Circle and Farragut West stops.

It's part of Intel's guerrilla marketing campaign to promote teleworking, something President Obama has expressed interest in for federal employees. Intel and Qorvis, a Washington public relations firm, put together the campaign to create buzz around new notebook laptops that let workers log into the office virtually.

Security, of course, is the biggest reason companies don't embrace teleworking.

"The old paradigm is that you schlep an hour to sit in front of a computer that looks remarkably like the computer you just left at home," said Nigel Ballard, Intel's director of federal marketing, who telecommutes from his home in Portland, Ore. He said security software should be able to let employees be more mobile. "I couldn't imagine having to commute somewhere just because there's a desktop computer with my name on it."

Kim Hart writes about Washington's technology scene every Monday. Contact her at hartk@washpost.com.