Netflix is outdated.

Ok, so for the last few months I have listen to friends neap and moan about the fact that Netflix raised the prices of the streaming and DVD rentals of their movies.  As for me, I was content enough to stick with them over the rise in prices and the split in DVD rentals.  I can deal with these things as long as there is something that I want to have.  And last night I lost my redeeming reason that I wanted to stay with Netflix.

So here is the deal.  I love the fact that I can stream a large library of movies to my  TV, Phone, or Computer at any time.  Yes, I understand that not everything is up there .  I know that some things I am going to have to get via DVD service.  The last straw?  Last night I decided to watch a movie.

Powering up the PS3 I get to the movies and start looking around.  I think I found five big movies that had been made in the last two years.  The majority of titles were filmed back in the 90’s.  The “New Movies” section had such hits as “Harry and the Hendersons” “Mortal Kombat” and “Airplane”.   These are all movies that came out way before the Y2K mark.  I ended up settling on “Greedy” which is an older Michael J Fox movie. 

So Netflix, here is the deal.  I am giving you 60 days, which is going to be the beginning of December, to make your Streaming Service worth my keeping.  Let me point out that this is the main reason as to why I have not left for Blockbusters just yet, they don’t have a streaming service.  But if I am just going to be stuck with DVD’s, then I am at least going to stick with the option that allows me to drop them off at local stores. 

Oh, and just to let you know, telling me that you are going to have a huge selection of Dreamworks titles available some time in 2013 is not going to do it for me.  I am not going to wait around more than a year to be impressed. 

The End is Near! Don't look it up.

A visit to my local library today turned up something very interesting.  A poster by the front door showed in large red letters that the Internet was a terrible option to having a library.  Looking at the comments made here were confusing from a technical view, and disgusting from a common sense point of view.  The poster made points to its case by making claims such as “The information on the internet is not new, it is 15 years old!” and “You cannot curl up next to a warm fire with a laptop.”  There were a few worthwhile notes on here such as the fact that the internet is not complete, and that there are some things that a library would have on hand that one would have to pay for on the internet. 

However, the points made here are ones that would pray on the ill-informed and the paranoid observer.  People who still believe that the computer is part of the future and is still Science Fiction.  Or those who think that the computer is something that can only be used by those with Master Degrees in Mathematics.  The truth of the matter is that computers are quickly becoming one of the things that more and more people each day are becoming used to.  With the advent of simple to use smart phones such as the iPhone and tablets that do not require any but the most basic understanding of following instructions, the computer is something that more and more people are coming to understand.  Like any other tool throughout history the easier it is to use, the more people who will use it.

Will the internet replace the library?  Those who believe that the Government is out to get them and that computers are the work of the devil would have you believe that it will.  But think on this;  it is a simple matter to open up a browser and search Google for the stats for the 1996 Baseball Season.  However to find this information in a library normally one would look up the location of the book in a computer (oh the irony of this) that would have the information, and then physically pull that book off the shelf.  Then find the information contained within, which could take a few minutes. 

Want to know who did what and when they did it?  The internet can tell us in about thirty seconds flat.  And with the advent of phones that all most every person now caries having the internet on it, anyone can look up anything almost anywhere.  Want the latest novel by a favorite author?  It is available at the library for free, subject to availability.  For a fee, one can download the book the day it comes out and not even leave their bed. 

The real truth here is this, that no one can know what will happen in the near future with the technology that we have today.  There was a time when radio was thought to be dead once every home had a TV, and yet it is still widely available to all.  Despite On Demand services that allow movies to be watched at home, Theaters are still popular and people still flock there on the weekends.  Just because something is new does not mean that it will replace, rather that it will simply add to what is already there.

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Coming Soon

Within the next five years I can see tablets becoming a necessity in life.  Students will start to see them creep onto the School Supply list for the semesters.  The average user will incorporate Tablets into their daily lives, and only the people who really need to have computing power will hang onto the Laptop or Desktop computers.  Yet even those are at risk.

It is easy to look at Technology today and think about how the future might play out.  Instead of trying to use a Cloud to sync data between home, work, and a phone.  A user might simply come to work, drop their phone into a cradle and have their work on the screen in front of them.  Going to lunch?  Just take the phone out and work on a presentation while eating.  Once the day is done use the phone to plug into a similar station there and continue working.  All files, programs, and data are contained on one device that already goes everywhere.  

We are on the edge of how things will work.  The thirty year old doctrine of having to be tied to a desk and trying to cram information onto a thumb drive is about to go out the window.  Same with Operating Systems.  Forget trying to get a Windows program to open on a phone.  Why should you when the programs running on your computer are all coming from the phone anyways.  

With the advent of 3G and 4G networks, WiFi hotspots all over the world, and texting or emailing replacing vocal phone calls, we are entering a world that is about to be completely  connected and integrated with technology.  

Yes, there will be those who oppose and hate what is coming, but they will do what others in the past have done.  Adapt or get out of the way. 

Bonus Content

Just a little something I did for myself in celebration of my birthday last night.

3.141592653589793238462643383279502884

My way of admitting my age this year.

The Truth

We might make things smaller, but we cannot make people smarter.  And that, is a shame.