Thoughts on the Macworld announcements
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The big story out of Macworld to me, is the revamped Apple TV. I’ve been on the fence about getting one since it came out, but now it looks like it’s a no-brainer (especially with the price drop to $229). Before it was basically just a big iPod. You downloaded content on your Mac and then synced it. Now you can browse straight from your TV. That’s great in itself, but the killer feature is the podcasting support.
I watch and listen to podcasts more than I watch TV. I simply prefer the niche content to the generally bland greatest-common-denominator stuff on TV. I think most people would if they could easily access it and watch it on a big screen. Streaming video Podcast support on the Apple TV basically adds a hundred thousand new channels to your cable line-up. No doubt more producers will jump into video-podcasting because they now have a viable way to get into people’s living rooms.
Biggest disappointment: the iPhone update. Yeah, location detection is great, but come on, my notes still don’t sync to my Mac? Seriously? No to-dos on this putative “smartphone”? Please throw me a bone here.
Gutierrez: Strong demand for free money
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez issued this statement on Friday:The TV Converter Coupon Program opened as scheduled on January 1, and is off to a great start. Americans have begun requesting coupons that will help them get the converter boxes needed for when our television signals change on February 17, 2009. With these coupons, the federal government will defray $40 of the cost of an eligible converter, which is expected to cost between $50 and $70.
The demand for coupons is strong. We’ve taken requests from every state for nearly 1.9 million coupons from more than one million households.
The demand is strong? Really? For something that’s free? You’re kidding.
Let’s see, 1.9 million coupons requested at $40 a pop is $76 million of taxpayer money out the door in just four days. As Secretary Gutierrez says, “off to a great start” indeed. At this “great” pace it’s good to know the coupon fund totals $1 billion.
What are you waiting for? Get your piece of the American dream here.
Bush and Baby Einstein
Nick Gillespie writes of the State of the Union speech, “Most nauseating moment for me personally beyond all the foreign policy stuff: The shout-out at the end to the creator of the Baby Einstein videos, Julie Aigner-Clark.” He objects to “the way Bush tries to take credit through association for the $200 million company she built[.]” When I saw that shout-out, I thought to myself, does he realize she’s probably responsible for the autism epidemic in this country? I wonder if he can get credit for that, too.Mythbusters in the NYT
Nice NYT article about my beloved Mythbusters. Very cute quote by Jamie, who after saying about Adam, “We don’t even like each other,” and “We don’t hang out with each other any more than we have to.” Admits that “I find myself feeling out of balance or awkward without him there to bounce things off of.”Senators Tackle Competition In Sports Programming
According to the National Journal today, Arlen Specter and Patrick Leahy, the present and future chairmen of the Senate Judiciary Committee, are concerned about DirecTV’s “Sunday Ticket” arrangement with the NFL, which might abridge every American’s constitutionally protected right to watch any football game they want for free. “My concern is restrictive policies which are going to require people to pay a lot more money to see the games,” Specter told reporters. “The recent migration by the National Football League away from free, over-the-air television for transmitting NFL games to the public concerns some fans,” Leahy wrote in a statement. I’m glad this is what the senate is now working on.Federal Censorship Commission?
In an op-ed in the WSJ, NBC Universal’s Bob Wright body slams the FCC’s think-of-the-children media rules. “So an FCC policy intent on ensuring that there will be nothing on broadcast TV that is inappropriate for kids during certain hours is doomed to failure. Do the math: 85% of households have cable and satellite, leaving 15% receiving broadcast TV only. Two-thirds of those households do not have kids under 18. Thus, the FCC appears to be basing its actions on a policy that is relevant to 5% of households. Moreover, government efforts to regulate content are invariably riddled with unfortunate consequences.”-
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This is the personal site of Jerry Brito, a lawyer and writer in Washington, D.C. He’s an academic researcher and the creator of Unclutterer and several other blogs. More »
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