Now TV can dominate my time outside the home as well
I have some files that are copying (which sounds professional) so I thought I'd use the free time to update, something I don't do nearly enough.
As some of you may have already heard, Apple announced a new iMac and a new Video iPod. That is, an iPod that can play videos. But they also unveiled an agreement with Disney where you can, for $2, download a TV show the day after it aired. For instance, if you missed Lost last night, you can now watch it on your computer. I think this is an amazing step forward for media integration and for the future of entertainment. I'd really love it if cable providers would get with the program (program, get it?) and allow us to pay for our TV habits based on what we watch, not what gets sent to us. And I think this Apple/Disney brainchild is the biggest step to that in a very long time.
I am certain it will be successful for both companies and will eventually lead to a revolution in the TV era, either by converting computers into makeshift TVs, or TVs into makeshift computers. We are almost there.
One frustrating trend right now is the idea of paying for wireless broadband across an entire city. For instance, you can pay $60 a month to Verizon and you will have the ability to receive a wireless signal anywhere in your city. The problem with that is that cities are looking into doing this on their own, without Verizon, for a significantly lower cost. But, Verizon, and other internet providers, doesn't want that, because it means they lose money. Suing is ensuing. Which is just like the connundrum of being stuck with a cable provider based on where you live, not on the company you want to serve you. If only there was a governmental organization that was non-partisan and would regulate communications for the consumer's best interest. But where would we find something like that?
As some of you may have already heard, Apple announced a new iMac and a new Video iPod. That is, an iPod that can play videos. But they also unveiled an agreement with Disney where you can, for $2, download a TV show the day after it aired. For instance, if you missed Lost last night, you can now watch it on your computer. I think this is an amazing step forward for media integration and for the future of entertainment. I'd really love it if cable providers would get with the program (program, get it?) and allow us to pay for our TV habits based on what we watch, not what gets sent to us. And I think this Apple/Disney brainchild is the biggest step to that in a very long time.
I am certain it will be successful for both companies and will eventually lead to a revolution in the TV era, either by converting computers into makeshift TVs, or TVs into makeshift computers. We are almost there.
One frustrating trend right now is the idea of paying for wireless broadband across an entire city. For instance, you can pay $60 a month to Verizon and you will have the ability to receive a wireless signal anywhere in your city. The problem with that is that cities are looking into doing this on their own, without Verizon, for a significantly lower cost. But, Verizon, and other internet providers, doesn't want that, because it means they lose money. Suing is ensuing. Which is just like the connundrum of being stuck with a cable provider based on where you live, not on the company you want to serve you. If only there was a governmental organization that was non-partisan and would regulate communications for the consumer's best interest. But where would we find something like that?
posted by Monsterbeard @ 8:43 AM
3 Comments:
At 11:35 AM, October 17, 2005,
Seth said…
Too bad that'll never work on my iPod. It's old school. So is my OS, and everything else about my G4. Just when you think you've bought the last computer you're ever going to need...
At 3:51 PM, October 18, 2005,
Patrick said…
I am so sick of our entertainment culture. I feel imprisoned by it. I am sickened by it only because I cannot escape it, not even for a day. If I had a choice in the matter, then maybe I could appreciate media entertainment for what it is. As is, it's forcibly thrust at me and my consumer dollars. When the flying seventh level of hell did our American lives start revolving around how entertained we are?
At 9:46 PM, October 18, 2005,
Monsterbeard said…
yes, but what about a day when you don't need a tv at all. One day, you wake up and you want to see what was on Conan last night, you go to the nbc website and you download the show, and that's it. That way, instead of it getting thrust on you, you get to decide when and how it enters your life (that's the hope anyway).
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