Local tech news in a compact, digital format. Comcast Raises Your Rates In October Get ready to dig deeper to pay your cable bill because the amount you pay will be going up. Yes, that's right, Comcast will be raising your cable rates starting with your October bill. How much is this rate increase? Comcast says bills are going up 6.1% for all its subscribers. What are you getting for this 6.1% increase? Increased......

Good morning, Houston. Next time you happen to be walking along Northwood Drive in Baytown — and really, we can't imagine why you would be — be sure to use the sidewalk. If you don't, you could end up being slapped with a $150 citation. It happened to Clifton Stewart, a minister who said he moved to the neighborhood to save money; on Aug. 21, Stewart was cited for violating a state law that......

After Krispy Kreme donuts left the Houston market early last year, finding a satisfying piece of fried dough got a little harder. Enter the beignet. Now, we’re not saying that the beignet is a substitute for the Krispy Kreme. Nor is the Krispy Kreme a replacement for the beignet. But if you happen to crave something sweet, doughy and fried, the beignet fulfills all three requirements. In a perfect world Café Du Monde would expand......

So, Houston cable subscribers, the much-talked-about day is here: Today, Time Warner cable service in the city officially becomes Comcast cable service. Feel any different yet? You probably won't unless you go looking for the TV Guide Channel or west coast feeds of the Disney Channel and Encore, which have been dropped from the cable lineup. In their place are 20 new channels, some of which KHOU has listed: high-definition versions of Starz, The Golf......

Given how much Houstonist loves a good bank robbery story, we don't know how we missed the news item last week about an exceptionally courteous man who knocked over a downtown bank branch Friday afternoon. According to KHOU, the guy walked into the Amegy Bank at 1801 Main St. around 1:30 p.m. Friday and waited in line at a teller window; when he got to the front, he handed the teller a note demanding cash.......

Start spreading the news: Emirates Airlines has chosen Houston Intercontinental as its second North American destination for direct flights to and from Dubai. Starting in early December, the flight will be Emirate's longest at a comfy 17 solid hours from the UAE to Houston. If you're looking for extremely luxurious living that's only a slightly longer commute than The Woodlands, this could be the beginnings of your next exurb. This news should also come......

Time Warner exiting and Comcast entering the Houston market is now official. The planned switch is bringing up more questions from customers. The most pressing issue is for Time Warner Road Runner internet customers. Those who use “houston.rr.com” will most likely have to change their e-mail address to Comcast’s standard next year. As we all know, changing your e-mail address sometimes means losing touch with people who you haven’t been in contact with in a......

So if you happened to visit the Houston Airport System's website yesterday, you would have been in for a surprise: For a few hours, visitors to the airport site were mysteriously redirected to an adult website. The adults-only site is owned by a producer and talent scout for Playboy. Airport System officials say they have no idea how the switch happened: "Of course, we apologize to anyone who was inconvenienced," HAS spokeswoman Marlene McClinton told......

In one of those stories that left Houstonist wondering, "Huh?" the AP reported about a Conroe couple who had a hard time convincing his bank that one of their $100 bills was real. Willis Smith got the bill last week after cashing a check at a Bank of America branch. When he tried to deposit the money into his account at Woodforest National Bank, he was told the bill was counterfeit. The bank that......

When 78-year-old Mary Zebeda's daughter called the customer service number printed on her mom's new Medicare card, she just wanted to get some answers about the health care plan. She got some service all right, but it wasn't customer service — or rather she did, in a manner of speaking: When Zebeda's daughter called the customer service number listed on the letter and her new member card, she heard the following message. "Call the Talk......