TV Is Dead

I've been blabbing about this for a while (not here) but I think TV as we know it is dead.  The concept of waiting around for shows or having to record them for later (no matter how easy DVR or Tivo make it) seems completely antiquated to me.  Maybe I'm just a geek, but I don't really watch TV anymore - I've replaced the idiot box with another idiot box known as my computer.  If I'm in my car I'm usually listening to audio podcasts, and when I'm home I can usually be found hunched over my desk getting lost on the Internet.  All of this stuff is on demand when I want it - even if something I love is on live, I usually will just try to catch it later via download (with the exception of sports).  Even Sportscenter, which I used to be able to watch a few times a day (of the same highlights over and over) seems like a waste of time to me now when I can get the same news in my car or in a few minutes via Internet video.  

What actually made me think about this now was a recent browsing of the iTunes video podcasts selection.  It's amazing how much video content is being produced that is actually very good (and free for that matter).  Even more amazing is the variety of content - much, much more than what's on television.  I think TV will eventually have to pattern itself after the iTunes sort of model where content is released and viewers subscribe to a channel of content or a specific piece of content and pay per subscription.  The concept of paying for 150 channels, 5 of which you watch with some consistency, will eventually be recognized for what it is - a huge ripoff.

Switching - A Few Quick Bits

Like I said in the previous post, I'm not ready to do any kind of review of the MacBook Pro or OS X yet, but I thought I would post a few quick bits on things I've noticed since the switch.

• OS X has pretty eye candy (of course), but the polish, clearness, and efficiency are what jump out, especially after using Windows Vista a little bit.  Things are located in one place and one place only because the designers knew it was the right place - not where people would be looking for it from previous versions.
• The slot-loading disc drive on the MBP is a little sloppy.  Instead of smoothly taking in discs, it sort of violently sucks them in when they are pushed in to a certain point that triggers the grabbing mechanism.
• The System Preferences pane in OS X is very clear as it should be.  You don't spend time looking for things.  Everything is contained in the same place and is clearly marked by the correct name and icon.
• Syncing Bluetooth devices is really easy, period.
• OK, this is a personal belief, but every OS should come with a stand-alone address book application that integrates with other apps called what else.......Address Book.  
• The MagSafe adapter is brilliant (and the magnet is stronger than I thought it would be).
• The sound seems really good  or at least a lot better than my last machine.
• FrontRow seems cool but somewhat useless.
• The backlit keyboard is beautiful.
• Buying a Mac can be dangerous as it seems to open the floodgates towards more Apple purchases.  Damn you Apple.

On Switching....

I decided to make the big switch and jump onto the Mac bandwagon this past week.  Actually I decided to do it a while back and I've been waiting for a good time to take the plunge.  After the somewhat minor refresh to the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines a week ago, the older models were ripe for the picking at a nice discount, so I snagged a 2.2GHz MBP.  I don't think I'm really ready to give any kind of a real review yet as it's my first Mac and I'm still "moving in."  

As a geek and someone who has used Macs in the past out of curiosity, I'm pretty familiar with OS X and some of the applications for Macs.  "Moving in" to a Mac is a strange experience, however.  I've been using Windows for my entire computing life which translates into way more hours than I want to think about or guess at.  On top of that, I've been using Windows XP for about the last six years so not only was I completely comfortable with XP, but I had my computing routine completely refined in terms of how I worked, what programs I used, and what kinds of settings I preferred.  

I'll say after a few days with the new machine, it's getting a little easier and actions are becoming more natural, but the first couple days were rough as I would constantly look for shortcuts and apps from my previous machine.  You could say I was suffering from Windows withdrawal (although I'm still able to get my dirty fix at work every day).  I still need to move all of my belongings into the new computer and get a few apps (including Windows, although I haven't completely decided on BootCamp vs Fusion - that's another post), but moving into a Mac has been pretty fun so far (especially video-chatting with a friend easily within five minutes of booting up the new machine).  Saying goodbye to the old beast will be tough.