He is concerned with Virtual Reality head set, goggles, whatever that stuff is. He takes trade in on used games, resells used, lots of profit when gets pre-orders on new games.
But he is concerned Virtual Reality might just be downstreaming. Bye, bye Game Boy store.
I hauled my VHS tape duplicating machines to the dump last year. Bye Bye bootlegging.
I can't remember the last time I have bought a CD or DVD or BLURAY Disc. Its been over a year, and even then was just a single DVD on sale I sporadically bought on a whim. All media (video games, ebooks, movies, music) that I purchase, I do so via direct download. My newest laptop did not come with a CD/DVD/BLURAY drive.
Its actually a good trend in the long run. Yes, stores might suffer initially, but they will evolve into providing other items for sale to make up for it. But when all media sold becomes digital only, there will be no more endless amounts of packaging, manuals, etc... Saves the consumer money, saves the environment, no shipping involved.
I am a pretty big video gamer, I think VR may be briefly a fad, but I don't think it will catch on. It certainly won't for me. Having screens right on my eye gives me a headache and makes me feel constricted (I hate stuff on my head, I never wear hats). I would much rather sit at my gaming PC. I know a lot of gamers (most of my friends are huge nerds like me) and I can't picture any of us getting into VR games. Maybe one day when it becomes totally seamless (many decades down the line), but the next few generations of VR over the coming years will not put a major effect into the standard gaming market.
I don't support bootlegging in the slightest. But if you want to acquire illegal movies there are endless easy ways to do so online for free. Technology makes everything easier (including illegal activities). I don't support pirating copywrited content on principal. But the days of copying rented VHSs are long gone (and have been for quite some time) and if you really want to steal movies it can be done far easier and faster online ...
I have never bought a BLURAY, I haven't bought a CD in over 8 years.Quote: GandlerYes I think so.
I can't remember the last time I have bought a CD or DVD or BLURAY Disc. Its been over a year, and even then was just a single DVD on sale I sporadically bought on a whim. All media (video games, ebooks, movies, music) that I purchase, I do so via direct download. My newest laptop did not come with a CD/DVD/BLURAY drive.
Its actually a good trend in the long run. Yes, stores might suffer initially, but they will evolve into providing other items for sale to make up for it. But when all media sold becomes digital only, there will be no more endless amounts of packaging, manuals, etc... Saves the consumer money, saves the environment, no shipping involved.
I am a pretty big video gamer, I think VR may be briefly a fad, but I don't think it will catch on. It certainly won't for me. Having screens right on my eye gives me a headache and makes me feel constricted (I hate stuff on my head, I never wear hats). I would much rather sit at my gaming PC. I know a lot of gamers (most of my friends are huge nerds like me) and I can't picture any of us getting into VR games. Maybe one day when it becomes totally seamless (many decades down the line), but the next few generations of VR over the coming years will not put a major effect into the standard gaming market.
I don't support bootlegging in the slightest. But if you want to acquire illegal movies there are endless easy ways to do so online for free. Technology makes everything easier (including illegal activities). I don't support pirating copywrited content on principal. But the days of copying rented VHSs are long gone (and have been for quite some time) and if you really want to steal movies it can be done far easier and faster online ...
I have Netflix free and use free hulu and whatever other free services. Many networks offer series for free. Youtube has shows and movies.
I'm wondering if sling TV will be any good and stay inexpensive.
Quote: AxelWolfI have never bought a BLURAY, I haven't bought a CD in over 8 years.
.
I'm still using the one I bought in 2002. I
don't even know what a blueray is. I can't
remember when I watched a DVD last, it's
all Netflix and On Demand now.
Quote: AxelWolfI have never bought a BLURAY, I haven't bought a CD in over 8 years.
I have Netflix free and use free hulu and whatever other free services. Many networks offer series for free. Youtube has shows and movies.
I'm wondering if sling TV will be any good and stay inexpensive.
I have just two BluRays (Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket). And, I mostly bought them (I think 4 or 5 years ago) because they are 2 of my favorite movies and I wanted a hardcopy of them.
I agree, I think with the Internet TV is on the way out (at least in the traditional sense) . I won't miss it, I grew up without TV and I still never watch it. I don't have netflix or hulu either, but I can understand the appeal of those kind of services. I am content with the internet.
Quote: EvenBobI'm still using the one I bought in 2002. I
don't even know what a blueray is. I can't
remember when I watched a DVD last, it's
all Netflix and On Demand now.
Bluray is basically a Disc (same size as a CD/DVD), but it is made in a way that it can hold far more data. So BluRay discs are usually used for High Def movies since they can fit.
As for movies/TV, I don't think it will move to an entirely online market ("who needs to buy 'the complete I Love Lucy' on DVD if every episode is available on HuluNetflixAmazon?"), but discs are going to be replaced, either by something like an SDHC or by plugging your 1TB iPhone into a USB (oh, wait, this is Apple we're talking about - USB-C) port on your TV.
Quote: ThatDonGuyI agree. I have two video cameras - one I bought in the late 1980s that used tapes, and one I bought three years ago that uses SDHC cards and a built-in SSD drive. I also have a DVD recorder, but the only thing it is useful for now is to record programs from my satellite radio.
As for movies/TV, I don't think it will move to an entirely online market ("who needs to buy 'the complete I Love Lucy' on DVD if every episode is available on HuluNetflixAmazon?"), but discs are going to be replaced, either by something like an SDHC or by plugging your 1TB iPhone into a USB (oh, wait, this is Apple we're talking about - USB-C) port on your TV.
No, Apple will keep their phones at 16gigs, and then charge you 2.99 per gig of cloud storage. And make it impossible for any external storage devices....
Quote: ThatDonGuydiscs are going to be replaced, either by something like an SDHC or by plugging your 1TB
DRM'd digital files (especially if they need validation from a network server) are not a viable replacement for media.
There are a few cases where it makes sense to have something that just works, without having to phone home, and without having to stream from the cloud.
The biggest I can think of is children's movies - I absolutely do not want to explain to the 4 year old why she can't watch Princess Sparklefeather right now. I want to put the disc in the player and her to shut up*.
Similar cases for ships at sea, anyone without a fat-pipe internet (me, most of the time), and anyone who wants entertainment options available in case the fat-pipe gets backhoed.
A 32gb tablet is a decent start, but it can only hold a finite amount of video - maybe 16 HD movies, or 50 SD movies, along with the other stuff (apps, etc). If you want more than that or a bigger screen, using a different storage medium is a good idea.
I have nothing against streaming digital content, but a lot of people seem to forget that if that's their option for entertainment, it breaks when any part of the system doesn't work.
*I mean be thoroughly engaged by the stimulating and educational age-appropriate content, of course.
Quote: Dieter
I have nothing against streaming digital content, but a lot of people seem to forget that if that's their option for entertainment, it breaks when any part of the system doesn't work.
Nothing drives me more nuts. It is nice to d/l a bit of media in my underpants and get something new without having to shower and drive somewhere. But many times, when I want something, I want it.
Nothing is worse than not being able to play because the one line going to your town got whacked by someone who still can't drive in the snow. Or your modem gets filled by an errant chocolate milk spill and goes teets up. Or you enjoy nostalgia but the server is no longer supported.
If I want to play Super Mario, all I have to do is insert the cartridge, press it down, back up, back down, remove it, blow on it, barely put it in, stuff it down, blow on it some more, put it up and down 3 more times, and then I'm good to go. And I will always be good to go, from this day, until the end of my days. The last game I purchased has an expiration date, based entirely on the whims of the company who hosts the server. Nuts to all that. Gimme the disk, and don't make it internet only.
Power steering and the automatic transmission ?
Quote: dummystepping stones for womens iberation were
Power steering and the automatic transmission ?
I can see that, yeah.
Quote: dummyAm ithe only one who thinks that the stepping stones for womens iberation were
Power steering and the automatic transmission ?
Nuts. First 3 cars I drove had manual steering. Didn't stop me. First 5 cars had manual transmissions; I love them and miss them in what I'm driving now, though it does have the autostick available, it's not the same at all.
Yeah, you were kidding, kind of, maybe. But I like DRIVING a car. ABS/PS/AT/AWD all take getting down IN the car and DRIVING it to a more remote sensation. And IMO, leads to more accidents because the car's doing enough of the work you think you can screw around with the stereo/phone/food/drink/lipstick/whatever while you're moving. You really can't afford the distractions. A quick interaction at the most, while still watching mirrors/traffic/gauges as the primary duty.
I don't think that has anything to do with male or female. It has to do with maintaining an awareness of what you're doing and how fast you're doing it.
A woman hears a strange noisewhiledriving and shewill head to thedealer or a mechanic.
Average man will just turn theradio up louder.
Quote: DieterDRM'd digital files (especially if they need validation from a network server) are not a viable replacement for media.
A thumb drive or SDHC card is "media" just as much as a 5 1/4" floppy disc was back in the day.
I don't mean that you download the software onto the card; you are sold the card with the software on it, just as you are sold a disc with the software on it today. Granted, that doesn't work as well with the 1TB iPhone method I also mentioned, but I think that, eventually, even Blu-Ray discs will be replaced by something that can fit as much, if not more, data in a much smaller space. The standard disc size (i.e. what somebody decided about 30 years ago could fit a recording of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in 16-bit stereo at about 48 kHz) is an anachronism.
Oh, who are we kidding - Disney and Fox (not coincidentally, the two main proponents of the DivX system Circuit City tried to shove down everyone's throats) would lead the charge to get rid of hard media entirely and make everything streamable, for no other reason that the ability to control when somebody can watch something includes the ability to control when nobody can. Disney would probably love a return to the "make movies available only once every 7-8 years" days, and someone like Vince McMahon could use it to suddenly decide, "CM Punk wants to bolt on me? Guess what - as far as I'm concerned, all of his matches no longer exist (something Vince pretty much did with Chris Benoit for years), and nobody can ever see them again."
Quote: AxelWolfI have never bought a BLURAY, I haven't bought a CD in over 8 years.
I have Netflix free and use free hulu and whatever other free services. Many networks offer series for free. Youtube has shows and movies.
I'm wondering if sling TV will be any good and stay inexpensive.
How are you managing to get netflix and hulu free? :) Lucky!
I seen a program about consumption and someone came up with a brilliant Idea where companies purposely design things that break. There was something about lightbulbs, planned obsolescence from some cartel.Quote: KavourasAren't you all tired from technology making things obsolete and having to buy new things that basically do the same thing as the old things?
I'm not sure if it's true but it made me think, I found it interesting, but I really don't care.
The coffeemaker is a percolator, electric made of tin with a little glass bulb on top, and I prefer a drip (for taste) so I'm now on my 6th drip coffeemaker in the last 15 years, because they're made of plastic and go bad. The phone is a desk model, rotary, just had to modify the plug and it still works on modern lines. The fan is a black steel small metal desk fan, rotates 6oo, still goes fine. Have also burned out 3 modern box fans and 2 room A/C's, but that fan is still turning without complaint.
Quote: beachbumbabsThey WANT to sell me a new dryer every 3-5 years; they don't want it to last another 20,
You get what you pay for. My paid a lot
for a pair of Maytag's in 2000, and they
are still going strong.
Quote: beachbumbabsIt is absolutely true that many things are built to a standard of planned obsolescence.
Babs, we have had terrible luck with appliances, replace them all the time, and btw a similar experience with dryers to yours. It's a miracle we have any money left. I swear if the media weren't so lame this would be a big issue today. In my book it's a scandal.
YES BY GOD I THINK THERE SHOULD BE CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS!!
Quote: EvenBobYou get what you pay for. My paid a lot for a pair of Maytag's in 2000, and they are still going strong.
Not always.
I bought a Philips DVD recorder back in 2002 for about $700; it went south on me pretty much one week after its one-year warranty expired. I replaced it in mid-2003 with a $450 Sony model, which is still working, although I rarely use it as it can't record HD and the tuner is now useless (I can set the timer, but it has to record the channel that the cable box is set to).
I also have a Maytag dryer that I bought when I moved into my current house in mid-2003 that still works; in fact, most of my appliances (refrigerator, range, microwave, dishwasher) still work just fine after at least 12 years.
There is one thing that does tend to go bad after 3-4 years; a TiVo box - but that's because of the lifespan of the hard drive. Once the price of Solid State drives comes down, the TiVo lifespan should improve noticeably.
Quote: ThatDonGuyin fact, most of my appliances (refrigerator, range, microwave, dishwasher) still work just fine after at least 12 years
A - 12 years is nothing compared to the way things used to last
B - you have just jinxed yourself
Quote: dummyAm ithe only one who thinks that the stepping stones for womens iberation were
Power steering and the automatic transmission ?
Women getting The Vote was much more important.
Things really started to change when during WWII millions of women entered the work force for the first time; many found they enjoyed the ability to work (outside of the tasks of being a homemaker) and resisted returning to their traditional roles when the war ended.
Couple that to the increased enrollment of women in universities post-WWII and voila', a change in attitude.
You go, girl.
Things really started to change when during WWII millions of women entered the work force for the first time; many found they enjoyed the ability to work (outside of the tasks of being a homemaker) and resisted returning to their traditional roles when the war ended.
Couple that to the increased enrollment of women in universities post-WWII and voila', a change in attitude.
You go, girl.
Totally agree with you.