New Media Stand Out on Sad Day

Many online news sites, including especially the major cable news networks, covered the sad breaking news from Virgina Tech today. The number of ways video news coverage has changed since the introduction of camera phones is astonishing. The future of the Internet is video, but perhaps greatest change is that traditional news organizations no longer try to hold back video that's not what the station engineers would consider "broadcast video."

I have not checked all the major cable/broadcast network news web sites to see how many of them are streaming or broadcasting live, but most are. Worth noting is not only are they doing it, the broadband Internet appears to have withstood what has surely been a massive demand on bandwidth. I'd be happy to hear from anyone who has that data.

Klopfenstein Stands By 1985 Forecast!

I have been telling my new media students for years that in the future our TV sets would include the brands Apple and IBM. I'm stunned that it too so long, but the day is at hand. Yes, Gateway 2000 and Dell have had TVs before, but finally Apple has one with its name one it.



So, this one goes down as one of my most optimistic forecasts ever. I was sure the computer manufacturers would come up with a monitor that could be used for TV and computing, and that consumers could save $hundreds by buying one screen, not 2. What I missed on was the fact that television until now has not followed the audio component model in which we buy separate radio receivers, amplifiers, CD players, etc., rather than having them bundled into one.

I will say I think the consumer electronics industry would have done well to bundle them instead of scaring everyone by saying "do that and if one part goes out, you're screwed!" Those words must have been spoke by a million polo shirts at consumer electronics stores around North America if not beyond. I've had a combo DVD/VCR player for years now, and even if one or the other "went down," I would have easily survived without repairing it. I'd either replace it, keep using the working side, or (oh, my!) been without it a week or less while it was repaired (doubt that would have been an economically sound decision at any point).

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You may use this content (better still, argue with me!), but please cite my ideas as © 2007, Dr. Bruce Klopfenstein. Find any typos! Don't smite me, let me know!