Susan Bratton - Likes

be careful Fred, you're implying that TV is ... :) - Steve Gillmor

D-E-A-D. Dead! - Raphael, Raphael

Very true. With the Mac Mini plugged into it its now the photo album and music centre, as well as a place to research together online - Kevin Marks

O_o - Michael Forian

I got that very same vibe my last semester in school. BitTorr+Modded xbox+Gigabit Wifi on the Home network==Cable/Dish is dead. As of now I invoke the FiF(http://www.students.stedwards.edu/jschanz...). - Adi

what's TV? my computer is hooked up to an LCD screen. With a wireless remote and keyboard (and MS Media Center remote). I can't tell what is this "TV" and what is Web content. - Brad_King

TV is not dead, but it will be called youtube ;) - Stanislas Jourdan

Michael. Arrington. Elaborate. - Raphael, Raphael

Until everyone has speeds on a par with cable or fiber internet cable and dish tv are going to be around for awhile. I can't realize what many of you have in your home setups with DSL speeds. - jcunwired

I am constantly amused by people that think THEIR own experience is universal. There are still a LOT of people that still pay $100+ for TV via Cable and will for many years to come (not me btw) - Don Strickland

@Don: I don't think people *will* pay because cable and tv networks will begin to create experiences like the Netflix box, ect. The experience will be far easier than say my set-up at home (which isn't even really difficult, you know, if you know what you're doing ;). The plug-and-play interface for Web/Streaming (eg hulu, netflix) and other devices will be here far sooner than "years to come". But yes, like Records and Tapes, some folks will still opt for paying the extra $50-100 bucks. - Brad_King

Early adopters (I am one) love to proclaim the thing they just stopped using is now over. I should do some kind of timeline depicting the years between first predictions and fade to black of various technologies. I suspect the typical range is around 10-20 years or more ... and sometimes the old actually outlives the 'new'. I'm just saying, predictions of doom for old tech just make me yawn now. - Don Strickland

@Don: well, I'm not sure what "doom" you think I predicted. I was writing about the convergence of this stuff at Wired a decade ago (and my media center has been my tv since 2003). As I pointed out, the advent of the truly integrated set-top experience like Netflix + even Apple's foray into this, along with the business behind this, will likely push consumers towards this. In other... more... - Brad_King

Brad, I could design and set up such a system in my sleep. However, there's a good chunk of the population that doesn't have access to the kind of bandwidth required to set up a full entertainment system relying solely upon internet content. Unfortunately, I must rely on dish much of my content for the foreseeable future. - jcunwired

@jcunwired: absolutely true. I am from + live in Appalachia, in the second most poverty-stricken state. I am familiar with the divide; however, we crossed the 50 percent threshold for broadband in the US a few years back. It's simply a matter of time and my guess is the business model for this will begin to change once we're at 70 percent. (Those cable companies aren't worried about those folks who live in rural areas.) - Brad_King

@Brad: well, I guess my response here is more to @vezquex and others who shout the end is near. So to be clear, I actually don't disagree with your "TV isn't TV ...". I DO disagree with Verquex, Adi and similar. I also watch most 'TV' on my mini (with 3 tuners), or another mini driving my 46" 'TV'. But the end of yesterday's TV will only come when SOMEONE offers a solution easy enough for all the folks that are NOT interested in computers hooked to 'TVs' ... imo. - Don Strickland

I predict, the media center stuff we see today will get more complex (unfortunately) for a few more years (like 'PCs' 78-82) and then some disrupter will rock the market (kind of like Mac rocked DOS) 3-5 years from now. Then around 2015 - 2020 today's TV giants will actually start to topple and fade. - Don Strickland

Sports & Live News. Got that on Boxee? Yeah, let me know when live broadcast on the Internet doesn't mean the Gilmor Gang. - Cristo

@Cristo: I get every baseball game live through MLB.tv; and I get breakdowns and highlights. I don't need cable for that. - Brad_King

Brad, are you watching the Lakers vs Nuggets game today? - Cristo

@Cristo: nope (although I wouldn't anyway). That's because ESPN and the NBA put together a bad deal. They already have in place a 2015 deal to stream those games online. NFL (http://www.nfl.com/gamepass), MLB (http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb...) have better deals in place. And they get my money. - Brad_King

@Cristo: My argument isn't that this is happening full-force today. Simply that we are much closer to a time when the TV/Cable/Web are merged together making the indistinguishable. We're a good 10+ years into this and we're getting very close, closer I suspect that most think. - Brad_King

Brad, I don't really care. I'm part one consumer, and another part developer. I tend to be practical about what I design. I'm fine with an all Internet future, but I'm realistic about the barriers. I like to watch CNBC and sports, so since I can afford to waste the money, I will continue to pay them until there is an alternative. Fred Wilson is not offering an alternative to me, although I sometimes find his blog posts entertaining. - Cristo

@Cristo: Oh, then I guess you don't have a DVR or ever owned a VCR since time-shifting isn't important. I didn't realize that. ;) I am too busy to arrange my schedule around an 8 pm television show. I watch when it's most convenient to me. I didn't realize I was that odd. - Brad_King

Brad, I've designed and built DVRs. :) Most DVRs were built off work I've done. - Cristo

@Cristo: then live tv isn't a big deal to you (which was my point); if it's not live, there is little difference between streaming on-demand from any source. the argument that I'm not watching the NBA "right now" is a non-starter in terms of the larger argument. or have I missed something? - Brad_King

Live TV is a big deal to me. I want to see the game, when the game is on, and I want to see the stock market reporting while it's relevant. It's like asking whether you mind seeing only yesterday's Twitter feed, not that I really want to see any Twitter feed. - Cristo

The largest screen in my house is my monitor. I leapfrogged the tv. Who needs one? - Ben Ackles

socialcoop, sorry you don't have a 120" projector for watching movies. Someday man, someday. - Cristo

@Cristo: Right and you can stream and get on-demand those games in the NFL and MLB right now online; the NBA just locked itself into a bad deal. If you haven't experience MLB.tv during the baseball season, you don't know what you're missing. I am watching them live (oftentimes multiple games) at one time, with archives of the games I couldn't watch live. - Brad_King

Brad, when you trade stocks, what live financial news are you watching? i easily pay for all my cable bills when I trade. I'll bet you a dollar Fred Wilson watches CNBC in his office on a plasma screen. Of course, he wouldn't respond here because he only supports his own services, like Twitter. - Cristo

@Cristo: you keep going around and around without understanding my point. I think we're having two conversations so have a great night with the projector screen :) - Brad_King

Brad, the projector comment was for forsocialcoop. If you have a valid argument about what I've been saying, please say it. Otherwise, it's okay you don't, have a good night. - Cristo

@Cristo: I know who it was for, was being funny. And I did. You clearly just didn't read it and understand. It happens. - Brad_King

Brad, you never addressed live news specifically financial news. I don't care about steroid baseball. - Cristo

@Cristo: I have done work at a university (and just took a job there) that developed a live, interactive streaming platform for cable companies a few years back. It's being tested and deployed. Just like the NBA has a bad deal with ESPN, news agencies will be migrating. And - as I said earlier - I think it's 3-5 years before TV/Web are indistinguishable from each other because you will have the functionality streaming. I never argued it was here today. - Brad_King

@Cristo™ I'm spoiled with the screen I have already. The 20" Cinema display is treating me just fine... By the time I care, the TV will be as extinct as GM. - Ben Ackles

@Cristo: btw, I don't disagree with your premise. Just that in a few years, "live" won't mean TV. - Brad_King

I'm a pragmatist. Screens and monitors should be separated from their media sources. Whether it's a 20" Cinema display or a 120" projector screen, the content should be the same. I'm just realistic about cable not going away anytime soon (5-8 years). I'm looking forward to live being on the Internet. IPTV has been in development at Microsoft since 1996 though. - Cristo

@Cristo: I don't believe much "goes away". There are issues with control and such that I don't like; however, we've had some neat interactions with developing products + usability. If I was a shareholder, I'd feel good. :) (I am not a shareholder.) - Brad_King

Brad, okay. You win. I'm going to finish watching the Lakers vs Nuggets now. - Cristo

One thing that old fashioned broadcast TV has that digital over the internet doesn't have to the same degree is anonymity. - Chuck Baggett

@Cristo™ "live" is in Beta today and will be in production tomorrow. 5-8 years is laughable. I'd give it a year or 2 tops. Between UStream.tv (Live - clearly beta quality) Hulu (Pro) & Vimeo (Pro-Am) you can throw away your tv (figuratively). - Ben Ackles

socialcoop, you're right. Why would I have any credibility. I have no experience in the area since 1995. - Cristo

@Cristo: I win because I agreed with you :) I don't actually think we were discussing opposite sides. Or did *I* miss that? - Brad_King

I think what people fail to realize is that it's not the technical challenges that fails to bring live TV to the Internet, but the business challenges. Obviously all TV could be on the Internet today if there were no barriers. - Cristo

@Cristo: That's what I thought we agreed upon :) It's a business proposition + when the companies decide to push the issue (and I'm guessing it'll be cable companies that push it, like they did with the bundles services), there will be a quick change. That's why I don't think it will be far off. The digital transition and the fiber laid -- it *feels* close. (If 3-5 years is close - and that's for the start, not for ubiquity of that kind of service.) **agreement high five** - Brad_King

I'm still using old school TV. Satellite, no DVR, no fancy channels. Rendered useless anytime there's a storm (a nightly occurrence). - Mike Reynolds

@Brad_King @Cristo™ I agree. The technology exists, but the business model is lagging. History repeats itself. 1. Record labels 2. Newspapers 3. Television. 1. Past. 2. Present. 3. Future. - Ben Ackles

Arrington you could not be more right about twitter desperately needing PR help - guruvan (Rob Nelson) from f2p

It may be the largest, but it's the lowest resolution. Which bites. - mark zero (Jason)

TV is more than just a screen, but the STB will probably be gone in 5 years. While I believe On Demand will be the primary source of content discovery in the future, live TV and the experience of browsing are experiences that many people enjoy and will continue to enjoy. - Alex

Susan Bratton › Likes