I was pretty much ignoring the whole digital TV switch thing (other than giving my converter coupons to my mother-in-law), since I have DirecTV with local channels included. But on June 10, we received a letter from DirecTV dated June 1, telling us that our existing dish and receivers need to be replaced to accomodate the digital signals. July 31 is the earliest we can get them replaced. Luckily for my family, I can locate online both the shows we watch from our local channels. I don't have anything to stream media to our TV, though, so they either have to watch on one of the computers, or i have to burn to DVD to watch on the 27-inch "big screen".
We just went from the highest tier of DirecTV to the lowest, saving about $75 a month. I don't watch much TV, but nearly everything my wife and I do watch we can find online or rent, so we just kept the family pack with channels the kids watch.
Lack of local competition in our rural town is hurting us in the ISP area, though. I'm glad we have broadband available, but there is only one game in town, so 3Mbps DSL costs a total of $80 a month once you include the phone we never use. If we drop the phone number, the DSL "access fee" is conveniently the same amount.
Has anyone been following Trent Reznor's tweets (http://twitter.com/trent_reznor) about raising money for someone who needs a heart transplant? On nin.com, people can do anything from donate $10 thru buy a VIP package with tickets, backstage pass, and dinner with the band. Since May 20, almost $860,000 has been raised, and they had to stop accepting VIP offers because they simply could not accomodate anyone else.
It is up to the content creators to find a model that works, not the consumers. The point that Mike makes over and over and over is that file sharing is here to stay, whether or not it is legal, whether or not the content creators/entertainment industry like it. The CONSUMERS like it. I got a C in college macroeconomics, but even I can see that the entertainment industry must adapt to the inevitable. Shutting down a big distribution channel, even an unauthorized one (that no one is profiting from), is not the way to the pot of gold.
Is that a USB turntable, so the buyer can easily rip the songe and make it available online? It would be interesting to see how far/fast it spreads via P2P, since it is literally starting with only one copy!
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Re: Why does he need a license?
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I am so ashamed...
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Bully for them!
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Re: Ooh, ooh, me! Me! I know!
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Funny story...not.
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Lack of local competition in our rural town is hurting us in the ISP area, though. I'm glad we have broadband available, but there is only one game in town, so 3Mbps DSL costs a total of $80 a month once you include the phone we never use. If we drop the phone number, the DSL "access fee" is conveniently the same amount.
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speaking of superfans...
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Re: What should the new business model *be*?
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