The Future of Media Post #81: Get Out Your Crystal Ball

1.I hate to see the DVD disappear so soon. I still have a large collection of VHS tapes that I can no longer play. I am glad that my DVD collection isn't as big as the VHS collection was. The more recent movies are available pretty quickly on HBO or other cable channels and so we don't feel like we have to own them. I also usee the library to borrow DVDs.  In fact, we have found that we don't watch the movies in our collection. We usually watch something that is being broadcast, even if we've seen it numerous times before. Is that the definition of a "couch potato?" I think more and more broadcasting over the Internet will be the most influental development in the future. I haven't really be following trends in new technology in this field, but have noticed that they are sending TV signals to cell phones. I definitely would not enjoy watching a program on a cell phone.

We just upgraded to HDTV this winter and so are just getting used to that technology. In fact when we had to have the cable company come out because of bad reception we found that we hadn't even been watching HDTV. We didn't have the TV set up properly. So we are already way behind the curve on new technology. I didn't know that Blu-Ray was in competition with HD DVD in a format war. I had no interest in either one. I can see the problems that traditional TV is going to come up against.  It will be a learning curve when the computer and TV merge, but it'll be nice to to be able to do computer things on the big screen. I am not really interested in 3-D TV. It won't be the same if you aren't sitting in the dark in a theater.

I enjoyed the article by Sexton about the future of 500-channel cable TV. I have often complained about having so many channels showing the same things over and over. My Mom who is 88 would sure like to see some of those old black and white movies from the 30's and 40's that no one shows any more. It was interesting to learn that back in the day when we had only 3 stations to chose from, we actually had more choice of what to watch. "On any given day 722 episodes of a television show with Law & Order in its title will air. 542 episodes of a television show with the letters CSI in one or another order will daily." And I watch most of them!

2.
I would say that I am  late adopter. I like to wait for the bugs to we worked out and the price to come down. Except for their bulkiness, I liked VHS tapes. You could stop it and it stayed in place and you could even take it out and put it in again, and then start from the same place. I liked audiocassettes for the same reason, but they were easily damaged with stretched out or twisted tapes. DVDs definitely have the advantage in picture quality and special features. I guess my favorite media gadget currently is our DVR. It is so much easier to record programs using the DVR and the program guide, than it was trying to program the VCR. We are a little late adopting this, my kids have been Tivo-ing for years.

The Future of Media Post #80: Movies

I have been a Hulu user for several years, although usually just TV series. I have sat through more than one episode of a TV series on the computer, so that amounts to the same thing as watching a movie. Now that we have an HD TV I am not as likely to watch things on the computer via Hulu, Blockbuster streaming, or Netflix streaming. We have access to On Demand through Comcast and we also record programs on the DVR for later viewing. I do not order movies through Netflix, although both of my married children use that or a similar service. I haven't been to Blockbuster in ages and have never used the Redbox.

1. I used Hulu to view part of "Racing for Time" and independent Lifetime movie. I much prefer watching movies on DVD or my TV. Often the movies on the computer stop to fill the buffer or some such thing or the computer will freeze up. They can also be jerky. It depends on your connection.

2.I watched a trailer for "The Lightning Thief" on IMDB. I would not use these sites for information on upcoming movies. The TV is full of trailers and advertising and I enjoy watching the trailers when I go out to see a movie.

3. With all of the progaming I am already paying for through Comcast I don't see the need to use other fee-based services. I'd actually rather see most movies in a theater, it just isn't always possible. Have started to really like the Sat. morning matinee.

Future of Media #79 - Television

1) I enjoyed this iHCPL module. I have been a Hulu.com viewer for several years. I have also watched favorite episodes on ABC.com and CBS.com. One of my favorites is "Castle" which is on Monday night and I work on Monday nights. So until recently I watched Castle on Tuesday AM on ABC.com. However now that we have a new flat screen TV and DVR, I record episodes so I can watch them on the big screen. The episodes on the various outlets like Hulu and TV.com and Fancast.com will still come in handy. Yesterday Comcast had to replace our DVR so the items I had set up to record on Tuesday evening didn't record. I wasn't home to redo it and neither was my husband. HULU has full episodes of many series as well as trailers, interviews, and clips. TV.com had pretty full coverage also with many series available.

I had never looked at Joost.com before. It was an interesting site with an Elizabeth Taylor channel, a John Wayne channel, Bob Hope, the Indy 500, Cary Grant, and Charlie Chaplin available. It also had many animated cartoons, videos, and music in most genres.

I found http://www.viewmytv.com/ very interesting. It had news, music, and shows from around the world. Here is a sample: NasaTV, SkyNews, BBC news, Russia today, France 24 (English), David Beckham, etc.

On www.casttv.com/shows I found all seven seasons of "Star Trek Deep Space Nine," which is never in reruns and five seasons of Stargate Altlantis which I like to go back to now and then as a guilty pleasure. The original Stargate series in not here, but is on Hulu.com.

I didn't like http://www.cwtv.com/ at all. The site was too busy with too many ads and no shows that interested me.

I wasn't interested in Ustream because I don't watch UTube or Justin.tv or any streaming site having no interest in other peoples home videos.

2) I have no interest in watching TV on a tiny cell phone screen. I don't need to carry my TV around with me. I'd rather sit at home with our flat screen tv where I can read during commercials or knit.

3) I do not watch streaming programs or user "channels."  I have never posted a video and have no plan to do so.

Recession Busters #60: Food, Fun and Frugality

1. Depression Cooking with Clara is a delightful series of videos with "depression recipes" for these tough times. She shares many ways to save money preparing food at home. Here is what GMA had to say about her Great Depression Cooking With Clara, A Frugal Dish - ABC News.
More Recession Recipes.


2. The media has been flooding the airways with "recession busters," at the local and national levels. Here are some job hunting tips from Tory Johnson of Good Morning America (GMA).
There have also been many segments on GMA, NBC News, and CNN on budgeting, eating out less, cutting up credit cards, and shopping less. There was a segment just this morning on three couples who had been trying out a new budget and were now starting to see results. Several people talked about saving when you can to build up a 6 month reserve to help you get through tough times.

3. The local media has been very helpful also with tips on how to survive the recession. One thing that has been mentioned several times is borrowing books and DVDs from the local library. There are many sources of local free entertainment on the local TV and Newpaper websites, as well as in the Houston Chronicle. The library owns several books in day trips from Houston. The morning shows have been promoting "staycations" where you have a vacation in your backyard.
We purchased a more efficient car, and we eat out less. Fortunately I only work 3 miles from my house, so gas prices for commuting are not a big issue. We do drive less and try and group our errands when we can.

Potluck #55 Facebook

I have been a Facebook user for awhile now. I have 79 "friends," some named Sandham from England and South Africa. I finally decided to 'hide' the posts from people I don't really know (and some I do) because I wasn't really interested in them or them in me. I have had a great time keeping up with my nieces and nephews, married kids, and former coworkers. I have enjoyed videos and pictures of many relatives and some funny video postings by friends from YouTube. I occasionally chat with my daughter or my daughter-in-law or one of my nieces using Facebook.

I have added numerous applications, Flair, Pets, Virtual Bookshelf , and Good Karma, to name a few. I use Virtual Book shelf a lot, but have kind of let my pet down. My virtual pet, Bennie, the Airdale has been neglected lately and probably needs food and attention. I share Karma and plants from Lil Green Patch with friends and coworkers, just to let them know I am thinking of them.

It was very easy to sign up and to find friends. I will probably stay with Facebook, but I don't get on as often as I used to. I really dislike the new format. My favorite applications are Virtual Bookshelf and Good Karma. I like Notes too and have used it often to take quizzes or to post favorite quotes.

It is good to know that you can permanently delete your Facebook account. May not want this stuff on the 'ethernet' forever!

Post #56 Potluck - Twitter Exervises

1. I looked at various Twitter profiles and found them way too time consuming. I have no desire to twitter by my time away. I have signed up to follow George Stephanopoulos, NPR politics, Stargate Universe and Stargate Central, and GMA. I actually signed up for Twitter about 2 weeks before this assignment came out. I only look at it once a day or less.

2. I used the search feature to look up "polar bears." I also looked at SXSW.

3. I didn't find Twitter very useful or helpful, mostly a good way to waste time. Although after the way Facebook has ruined their site, I may give them both up and have more time to read. Twitter is not your friend, it can get you fired, even before you get hired: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29796962/

Post #54 Exercise 3 - Social Networking with Books

I use the Virtual Bookshelf on Facebook, Library Thing, and Good Reads, to keep up with the books I read and so share them with family and friends. It is fun to look at how others rate a book that you liked or disliked. Often there is a wide range of opinions on a book, people either hate it or love it. Both can make for a good discussion. Books that don't inspire such passion often don't get finished. The reader gets bored and quits. I started using Good Reads to keep track of books "to-be-read." That is much harder than keeping track of what I have read, it is so easy to lose track of a book that looked interesting at one point.