Gates: Broadcast model faces irrelevancy First Microsoft began to push blogging. Now this. Podcasting, anyone?
“Broadcast TV is under a challenge. That’s news to no one,” Gates said. “You know, ABC was more valuable for its (ESPN) sports franchise than its broadcast franchise even years ago. That was recognized. The networks have a still super-interesting position, but it won’t be like it is today.”
The fundamental difference, he said, will be the demise of today’s concepts regarding channels and schedules. “The idea of just having that one linear thing — you don’t change your channel, so the local news leads to the whole lineup getting this great popularity — that’s on its way out,” Gates said. “But slowly.”
This change is being caused today by DVRs and by the breadth of available cable and satellite channels, he said. In the near future, however, the advent of Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 and other technologies will offer more options and flexibility to creators and audiences alike.
“The ideal for many content people would be that they just put their content on the Internet and then they have a direct relationship with the viewer,” Gates said. “That model for low-volume content is the future.”
via C. Coulter
I just read your comments on PCMag Online about the lack of broadband connectivity in the USA. In the last paragraph you mentioned VoIP. Have you seen and/or tried Skype?
I began using Skype in late summer and have started to use it in preference to my cell. Skype is computer to computer but SkypeOut allows me to dial out from my computer to landline phones.
The cost for SkypeOut is 1.7 cents per minute for all of the US and the western part of Europe. [Actually, the cost is in Euros – ten Euros for about $12.50.
Skype.com
Hope that you try it and give us all your reaction.
Lee
Abilene, TX
Interesting read at thr Register:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09/23/orlowski_interactive_keynote/
Where the music industry is also warned about the future of technology. i.e. In five years’ time, iPods will fill themselves, like a TiVO, 24 hours a day. Apple might not build an iPod that does, but someone else will. Compared to the self-filling iPod, the Peer to Peer problems you have today will look trivial. 🙂
Favorite line:
CD sales are increasing; it’s very hard to plead the victim now. If you’re going to arrest 12 year old girls when sales are going up, you need to do better.
So, we finally got a form spammer… Not only #3, but also the bottom one here.