The great things these days in my mind are coming out of Apple Computer. I've always been a fan of their products but there are some exciting things they’re doing these days, some new products that are changing the face of consumer trends. There's a revolution going on in how we consume media - that is all forms of information: audio, written text and video. I read a report recently that stated the computer now (in the UK at least) is the device people are spending more time in front of than any other - that includes television.
Which devices do I love most?
At the top of the list of my favourite Apple devices are the iPods. They're fucking brilliant. To be able to store all my CDs on one device I can carry in my pocket is amazing. I also listen to podcasts - my favourite being the Rachel Maddow Show on Air America Radio (politics!!), which I enjoy listening to on my iPod. Travelling is fantastic with my iPod and travel speakers because I have my entire music library with me wherever I go. And the other big use of my iPod is audio books. Unabridged books from Audible.com are the bees knees. I’ve got one of the 4G iPods so mine won’t even display pictures or video (I’m waiting for the newest video iPod coming out soon).
I’m also an iMac fan – I’m on my second one of those. But here’s what’s the most interesting thing coming out – they’re new iTV device. It’s just a project code name (or foreshadowing of an Elgato acquisition). Read up on it if you haven’t heard. Essentially, it streams content wirelessly from your computer to your television in HD. This is what I’ve been waiting for from someone. I’ve got all this content on my iMac from a variety of sources. I’ve got photos in iPhoto, music, audiobooks and podcasts in iTunes. But I’ve also got video I download from torrent sites, so I’ve got movies, documentaries, television shows, clips, etc available for viewing without any easy way to get them to the television today. I can rip my DVDs to my computer and with a bit of storage I could actually do away with the DVD media. Imagine that – no media at all needed. Fuck Sony and Microsoft and their BluRay – HDDVD fucking war – this is where government should have the power to step in and say, “fuck you, you bastards, stop with these petty disagreements which do nothing but line your pockets and hurt the consumer.”
What are the catalysts for this evolution??
First, the element of time is being eliminated from traditional content delivery. You can view a show anytime, or listen to a radio broadcast anytime – you are in the driver’s seat and control when you consume the media. The other change is in the media they deliver content on. The newspaper is dying – people now turn to computers for their source of information above paper. Devices such as the new Sony eBook Reader are enabling a quicker demise of newsprint. Imagine a reader that can hold numerous books or newspapers that you could download daily from your computer or visit a kiosk on the street and download the latest edition of the news for reading at your leisure. Traditional forms of media consumption are changing faster than you realise. That cable connection delivers more and more to the computer than the set top box to your television.
I’ve droned on and on, but mark my words, times, they are a changin.
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