Althouse: "We know what the future of the Internet's going to be."

December 26, 2012

"We know what the future of the Internet's going to be."

"It's going to be a great, big video platform."

And here I thought it was all about the return to reading and writing.

20 comments:

Shouting Thomas said...: Well, it's NPR, liberal technological illiterates, so you know they have to be wrong... and they are.

Video isn't the future. It's the present.

The future is a full immersion 3D environment, the Holodeck of Star Trek fame.

Porn will be the leader in building this platform. Social interaction of the more sedate kind will follow.

On the porn side, users will be able to walk into a virtual whorehouse and pick their mate for the night. On the social side, people will be able to sit together at a cafe on the Rive Gauche.

The future for NPR is probably obsolescence.; 12/26/12, 8:25 AM
Aridog said...: "It's going to be a great, big video platform."

Yes, it very well may be that...and to view it may require you have a high tier cable or satellite television connection for your ISP. Y'all peons without that combo package...sorry ....sucks to be you.

Think I'm kidding? NBC Universal tried it with the last Olympics...e.g., to sign in and view LIVE Feed you had to validate through your TV/ISP provider. Now most sports other than NCAA, NBA, NBA, NFL etc are controlled that way.

Until 2012 year, you could *subscribe* via your ISP individually for the less usual sports...usually captured via Eurovision feed by Universal. No more. A peasant in Slovenia (or Canada) can sign up, but not you...you have too much money Yanks, and you shall be relieved of more of it shortly.; 12/26/12, 8:37 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: Time Warner has an app that allows me to view TV shows on my iPad. I can also use my iPad as a remote control, although it's kinda clunky.

Only pre-recorded stuff. Live broadcasts evidently don't function yet, or the cable companies don't see a financial purpose in streaming live broadcasts. The only live broadcasts I can get are sports, and those are usually subscription based.

True, you've got to pay the full cable charge. I had the phone, TV and internet with Time Warner for $140 a month. I called and gave them a sob story about being a senior and they reduced it to $120. A friend of mine bargained them down to $90 by threatening to quit and to move from year to year to a new provider to get the new customer discount.

And I watch movies on Netflix. 8 bucks a month. On TV and on my iMac.; 12/26/12, 8:44 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: And, costs will go down when the inevitable happens... a cable provider emerges who only charges per viewing for the channels you actually want and the shows you actually watch.; 12/26/12, 8:46 AM
KCFleming said...: The future of the Internet's going to be a great, big government tax and spy platform that will decide what you're allowed to see. Bread and circuses, yes. All else, no.

But I'm being optimistic today.; 12/26/12, 8:53 AM
Anonymous said...: One day we will have interactive internet gloves: you put them on and sensors synthetically convey the feel of whatever the user is viewing.

Commercials will skyrocket with this technology: Feel the Lexus! When you touch the Lexus your screen will exhibit lens flare to further enhance the 'you are here, touching a Lexus' experience.

While this would seem to tie nicely to porn that would generally require the use of only one glove, cutting the experience by 50%, but half-a-loaf better than none etc etc.

Myself, I believe it would inevitably lead to yet more cute cat videos. Furry, fuzzy tummy, yes you have...; 12/26/12, 8:58 AM
Aridog said...: ST....you're using Time-Warner, so the sports feeds I'm referring to you are available to you if your package is high enough tier.

I am about to sign up for Direct TV this week, just so I can **qualify** for the live feeds of track & field, equestrian, and skiing sports coverage...and hopefully, so long as I pay the $360 to $480 TV package costs, I can then "qualify" and still keep our Comcast hook up.

Our Comcast ISP and eMail addresses alone make it impractical to really switch....plus Comcast is the fastest. If Direct TV and/or Universal Sports require an actual physical Cable and/or TV hookup...I will have to install a coaxial splitter switch box of some kind so I can switch back and forth.

The main US provider of Olympic type sports live feeds is Universal Sports, owned by NBC, majority owned by Comcast...BUT, you can have the highest tier Comcast bundle and you still may NOT access Universal Sports.

Yes, I have had several conversation with Comcast wheels and written exchanges (even via snail mail) and they cannot explain why (NBC)Universal Sports, which they own, is not part of their bundle. And they do not give a shit either.

Cable and Satellite hook ups have given us a huge range of channels...every one, save a couple, with the density of advertising magnitudes worse than the old broadcast networks stuff.

Soooo...if you have a bright happy view of cable/satellite/TV/ISP viewing in the future...don't hold your breath unless you like the look of blue lips.; 12/26/12, 9:10 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: One day we will have interactive internet gloves: you put them on and sensors synthetically convey the feel of whatever the user is viewing.

Might start out that way, but it will quickly get better and not require the user to wear any sort of equipment.

This stuff is gonna happen more quickly than you can imagine. Ray Kurzweil estimates, using Moore's Law, that computers will equal and surpass human intelligence within ten years. After that, computers will take over the design and construction processes.; 12/26/12, 9:14 AM
edutcher said...: 99% of the videos I watch on the Internet star a WI law professor, her spouse, and their several borrowed dogs.; 12/26/12, 9:22 AM
Anonymous said...: "Might start out that way, but it will quickly get better and not require the user to wear any sort of equipment."

If equipment = pants, then yes.; 12/26/12, 9:22 AM
Rabel said...: Last night my Comcast DVR died. So I hooked up a little antenna to the TV and tried watching the local broadcast channels while I worked on supper.

Goodness, it was awful. The only thing remotely worth watching (to me) was the Grinch with Jim Carey (I said remotely). And the commercials - Aahhhh! There was no escaping them without the DVR.

Comcast, I love you and I'm sorry for all the bad things I have said about you in the past. I'm not gonna kiss the cable guy when he comes over today, but I will be especially nice.; 12/26/12, 9:44 AM
somefeller said...: Video killed the blogging star.; 12/26/12, 9:59 AM
Aridog said...: Clarification: In my two wordy rants, I am simply referring to the fact that **Internet** live feeds are being folded in to commercial TV connections. You won't be able to have one without the other, and in some cases, two or more **bundles**...why? Advertising exposure to **eyes on** features. Period.; 12/26/12, 10:00 AM
Aridog said...: I mentioned Eurovision as a outfit that covers sports. Eurovision has feed links to new York City and Los Angeles...at which point it is *captured* ...e.g., you peons may NOT go on-line and contract for a Eurovision feed via a streaming Internet connection.

So much for Internet freedom of access, eh?; 12/26/12, 10:07 AM
Astro said...: I've read that broadcast HD is better than cable or DirecTV HD. My son has a Mohu antenna (inexpensive, thin and revolutionary) and agrees that's true, but he also lives in a area with many stations nearby. He cancelled his DirecTV service. He sometimes has to meet friends at the local sports bar to watch football. He also has Roku, Hulu, Apple TV, etc.
I've got DirecTV and pay through the nose for the few shows I watch, plus Amazon Prime and Netflix. My Roku box sits there mostly unused except for Pandora.; 12/26/12, 10:31 AM
Methadras said...: Ann, have you not been watching the trends of computing. Words are being replaced by icons. It isn't what it says, but as long as the icon to the app is pretty and you can mash it with your finger, why then, the visual worked.; 12/26/12, 6:18 PM
Anonymous said...: Porn. The internet is for porn.; 12/26/12, 7:05 PM
Anonymous said...: I thought it was whack-a-mole with pop-up ads!; 12/27/12, 6:02 AM
Anonymous said...: I thought it was whack-a-mole with pop-up ads!; 12/27/12, 6:02 AM
Anonymous said...: I thought it was whack-a-mole with pop-up ads!; 12/27/12, 6:02 AM