Posts tagged Hardware
Poll: Best Computer Fiction Movie
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I love Information Technology. I love movies! Obviously I am a fan of computer themed fiction movies! Who isn’t, right?
The question is: What is the best computer themed movie out there?
Today, our Information Thought of the Day (ITTOD) is a poll subject.
I would like your answers to the following poll today. Tomorrow, I will share my hope for this topic with you!
Loading ...I will be sure to share the results. Feel free to add a comment below to add other thoughts that should have shown up on the list.
Do you like polls as a daily topic? Do you have a recommended one for another week? Please let me know.
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for April 30, 2010 ©Scott Coughlin.
News Commentary: Is Blu-Ray Dying?
1It is a well publicized fact that Apple’s lack of support for Adobe Flash on its mobile web devices, including the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, has had the chilling effect of beginning the end for this technology. Where once the whole web thought that Flash was here to stay, today rarely is a new site opened that relies on it. Even where webmasters chose to employ Flash, they almost always provide a Flash-free site in order to have access to those millions of lucrative Apple customers. I wonder though, if Flash was not Apple’s first recent technology sniper job, or really its second.
On Mondays I offer comments on some 
of the most interesting information technology stories that I have found on the web that week. Please feel free to join in the discussion or suggest other stories.
Today’s comments follow the most recent reading of a story describing how Apple is refusing to integrate Blu-Ray disc support into its operating systems and computers. Give it a read below.
Network World – Steve Jobs email hints at no upcoming Blu-Ray support on the Mac By Yoni Heisler
Read more:
“During an informal Q&A session in October of 2008, Steve Jobs explained why Apple wasn’t interested in supporting Blu-Ray on the Mac.
"Blu-ray is a bag of hurt," Jobs famously declared, "I don’t mean from the consumer point of view. It’s great to watch movies, but the licensing is so complex. We’re waiting until things settle down, and waiting until Blu-ray takes off before we burden our customers with the cost of licensing."
Just as it did to the serial port, floppy disc drive, external monitor, and most recently Flash, it sure does look, by now, that Apple has it out for Blu-Ray. There are certainly no lack of third party vendors willing to install them into Apple machines. Also, the guts of a Mac today are really nothing more than a top-of-the-line PC so there is no hardware incompatibility. The reality is just the Apple chooses not to support Blu-Ray at all.
What could possibly be their reasons?
- Apple runs the iTunes movie rental and purchase store. Obviously, Blu-Ray support would negatively impact the sale of online movies..
- There is a licensing fee involved with supporting Blu-Ray. It would negatively impact their bottom line to support it. Of course, they could just pass costs to buyer.
- Most benignly, they think that physical media is dead and thus are looking to ignore newer, not fully established, formats.
I am sure that I don’t know exactly why Apple is not supporting Blu-Ray, but I sure wish that they would. Frankly, I think that it is a bit embarrassing today that you can easily spend $3000 on a Mac Book Pro, but still don’t and can’t get the latest industry standard for movie watching. Seems a bit crazy to me. For a platform that aims to be a media center and content generation device out of the box, it looks like a strange oversight.
What do you think about this topic? Do you agree or disagree with me? Do you have a recommended news story for next week? Please share your ideas below.
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for April 27, 2010 by Scott Coughlin.
Image Credit: Blu Ray Discs
News Commentary: TV 3.0?
0I consider TV 1.0 to have been the basic, over-the-air 5 or so channel content that was prevalent up until 1985 or so. I consider TV 2.0 to have been the explosion of content that came along with the rise of cable TV and its thousands of channels today. For a very long time people have been promising that TV 3.0 will occur when we finally figure out how to integrate the Internet along with TV content in an effective, additive, and pleasing way. If anyone can get this often tried, and often failed, job done, it should be Google.
On Mondays I offer comments on some of the most interesting information technology stories that I have found on the web that week. Please feel free to join in the discussion or suggest other stories.
Today’s comments were generated after I read a CNN story that was reporting on comments found in the The Wall Street Journal. Give it a read below.
CNN – WSJ: Google TV to be announced in May
I am very ready for this fusion to occur. I actually hope that Google can pull it off once and for all. I would welcome a closer coupling between TV content and the Internet. What would I like?
I think that we are long overdue for this merger. I also know that even giants like Microsoft and Yahoo failed at it so this is far from a done deal. However, I think that the timing is more right, the Intel based hardware is most right, and the demand is finally here for this to be a success. Good luck, Google!
What do you think about this topic? Do you agree or disagree with me? Do you have a recommended news story for next week? Please share your ideas below.
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for May 3, 2010 by Scott Coughlin.
Image Credit: The US Govt Blog