"yes, uncle?" | 6:48 AM >

Well well. While I really liked that post on how the Apple "One More Thing" announcement would be about Apple apologizing for the ROKR phone, the actual announcements we all knew were coming were just as interesting. The one thing I didn't expect to hear about with the release of the new iPod was the immediate availability of downloadable seasons of TV shows. Especially ones owned by Disney (although, I suppose when you think about it Fox would have been much more shocking). It's funny how Jobs is able to do with the market the things that Microsoft can't. He releases a proper Media PC (the new iMac with remote and Front Row, and in a time frame where such a machine makes sense, a timeframe in which compression technology is finally at a point where things like the iTunes video store are now a reality. I don't particularly like that the movies are only 320x240, but then again I didn't like that you can only buy songs at 128kbps. And I did buy a few songs; more than a few at this point, although having a physical CD is still preferred. So what's next? The ability to rip a DVD and encode it for your iPod using Fairplay? An iPod which sits in the horizontal position, as was predicted by artists? And what about DVD special features if you buy the set? So far I haven't been able to try it. I was going to grab an episode of Lost as I left off mid-season (around episode 1x18) last year, but so far I can't even get TV video previews to work, and people online are saying that they are having trouble. I'm betting Apple didn't have the infrastructure ready to meet demand. Even more interesting will be when the Mac Mini also starts coming with a remote and Front Row and has video cables in the box. At its size it really is the perfect set-top box. I wonder if the EyeTV guys will start allowing recording to iPod format from their software. Nobody else seems as interested in the above developments as I am. Think about it: this is the convergence that's been building. It's no longer about TV commercials; it's no longer a question of people pirating TV shows; if you want you can go and grab this week's show for a nominal fee. (Personally, paying $1.99 for a good show is not something I find offensive.) Couple this with the fact that the iTMS is on both PC and Mac, and you have very large installed user base with the ability to choose to wait a day and download the shows they want. And the shows are on Apple servers, so the speeds will be fast and you won't have to worry about your only seeder turning off their computer. I wonder how long it'll take the other networks to catch up and sign on for this. Heck, I wonder how much money is made from advertising on a single show in a week, and how many copies of the show would need to be sold to make it worthwhile for networks to jump on this bandwagon. Completely unrelated: I've added a Flickr badge to the side. I've thrown some of what I consider to be my best photos up there. I'm no professional but every so often I take a good picture. If you want a higher res version (for desktop wallpaper, perhaps), email me or get me on IM.