mlyn

Shift in Boomer Habits Bodes Poorly for Traditional TV Service Providers

A friend of mind bought an HDTV 40" to which he plugged his laptop. He has a wireless mouse and laptop so he is able to sit in a comfortable armchair and computes from a distance. He streams in his Netflix movies or watches Comedy Central or PBS or CNBC at his whim. If he wants to watch television, he can; but rarely does he switch to it unless it is an "old" habit of turning on the 11 pm news.

Broadcasters in a Social Media Bind

I'm considering buying a 40" HDTV, only to hook my laptop to it to see all the shows I watch now: Charlie Rose, Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, etc. I also subscribe to Netflix and can catch up on TV serials like the Wire because I don't subscribe to cable. Who needs TiVo? Really, I don't want television programming to go away, but if one wants to determine one's own viewing schedule, from spontaneous watching to pre-scheduled, who needs the TV Guide?

The topic we should really be concerned about is China's mandate that all computers sold in China must have a blocking device installed. The ruse is to keep children away from pornographic website. But actually, this would be another way to contain public protest via the internet because version 1 may block porn, but version 5 may actually be spying on dissidents. I am quite sure China and the Chinese are observing what is occurring in Iran.

The tech company that kowtows to the Chinese gov is the company that gets the Chinese market. If all the tech companies acquiesce, there by the side of the road will be the "free" market and internet democracy.