Last night, I had some time to settle in front of the tv. I quickly unsettled. True, I am older and crankier than many members of other segments of the population so I am not surprised that many programs get a following while turning me off. I like good humor but much of what is available seems obvious and predictable and not funny. I like a good mystery but maybe I have already seen and read too many to get engaged in much. I definitely don't like what seems like an effort to arouse horror, or thankfulness for life, or some deep emotional response in me by showing scenes of deliberately intricate mayhem, torture and evil.
It has been clear to me since I found out that many tv's are now connected to some sort of device to allow direct downloading that change is afoot. The main heading in my mind is "movies". Getting discs in the main from a queue that we decide on together is fun but slow. We pay lots of attention to AARP's Movies for Grownups for ideas of what to watch. Even so, we often find that we are not in the mood for something serious and compelling. Or, the disc arrives scratched and won't play properly. There are episodes of NCIS, Scrubs, maybe even 3rd Rock from the Sun that we haven't seen. I have heard of Hulu and I think there are alternatives, too, that allow downloading of tv episodes.
This morning, Google's main page includes a link to information about the emerging Google TV. I know there is a product and service called Apple TV. I am getting in mood to get a new tv with a direct connection from a computer or other device such as the WII game console or the Apple device for tv downloading. As the information about Google TV makes clear, tv has more users than cell phones or computers. There is a collection of photos in The Material World of people all over the world watching tv in their homes. The text says something like people may not be able to get clean water or enough food but they will often find a way to have tv.
Not long ago, Wired magazine ran a story on the modification of tv. Now, the first link above shows Google's rollout on their next step. Here is an article on the Wired site about the coming fight for the air. I remember that the Time article on 10 hot ideas included the notion that for much of the world, the new thing is tv. So, what tv can do is just beginning to expand.
The term "broadcasting" is a good one for general atmospheric signals. Add in the current network of fat, fast cables that can move lots of electrons at once and you are talking about a domain of great value. Cell phone companies, the older broadcasting companies like CBS and NBC, the movie industry, the entire advertising industry and no doubt governments and many others are just beginning to get into a colossal competition. Hope we all benefit in the end.
