Apple TV

Not too long ago, in a galaxy far, far away... no, scratch that. Anyway, not too long ago, VHS video tapes were the way to watch movies. You popped one into your VHS player and away you go. It was easy, and amazing when the technology first debuted in 1969 by Sony; it was the first widespread video cassette.

Basically, videotape was a means of recording television pictures and accompanying sound onto magnetic tape which could be read by a helical scan video head which rotated against the moving tape. Ya, don't ask how or who figured that out; it just worked and it was great... until DVDs.

The digital revolution introduced digital video formats. Eventually HDTV production and technology was distributed. The digital video disc (DVD) was thought to put a end to the VHS for good... and eventually it pretty much did.

Now we face the possible decline of the DVD. In the modern technology world, the Internet allows for downloading of video in practically any format. No postage or waiting for shipment, no ordering or waiting in line at Blockbuster while sifting through your wallet searching for your membership card.

You can download movies, music and even television shows. The only tricky part is getting those multi-format files you've downloaded to play on your television. Now there is an answer.

In the ever so converging world of multimedia, some people are already wiring their PCs directly to their Televisions. The thin line between television and the world of PC has been crossed.

Apple TV is now on sale for the commercial market. For $300 you now have the ability to bridge the gap yourself, at home. This isn't the first attempt. Microsoft Xbox 360 and Netgear's EVA8000 also hit the market with the PC to TV technology.

The new Apple TV is a small 1 inch tall by 7 inch box that can inconspicuously attach to your television. Unfortunately for old school television viewers, this new toy requires a widescreen HDTV setup.

What is Apple TV exactly? It is an ipod of sorts, for your television. Your downloaded files from your PC are transferred wired or wirelessly to the 40 GB hard drive, and it even keeps the copy updated. It can't record like a TiVo, at least not yet... but that's what upgrades are for.

What is most important about this and the similar devices hitting the market is the simple fact that with the possibility of combining your PC with your TV you can eliminate the need for DVDs or any external disc or tape. The formula is simple, download and play.

Of course with any new technology or device, some bugs must be worked out. But in time the transition from PC to TV will be as smooth as MP3's to an ipod.

Worlds within Worlds

I read in the New York Times today about Microsoft's newest introduction, The Xbox Elite. This new gaming system will be Microsoft's newest artillery in the vastly competitive video game war.

Supposedly the Elite will hit stores in April, will retail for just under $500 and will feature a 120 GB hard drive, HDMI (High-definition Multimedia Interface) port, wireless controllers and a new look for the game systems external casing.

These next generation consoles, including the Elite and Sony's Playstation 3 (launched last year), take the video gaming experience to an all new level. These "entertainment hubs" also incorporate full Internet compatibility and the ability to download game demos, music and videos easily.

I have read about someone who actually removed the 60 GB hard drive from their Playstation 3 and replaced it with a 160 GB hard drive and actually installed the Windows Vista operating system. With the PS3's cluster of USB inputs, a USB keyboard, mouse or any other computer related device can be easily implemented.

That's not all, because the next generation gaming consoles are also state-of-the-art movie players. Sony's PS3 has "BluRay" technology, which is basically a next-generation optical disc format that can play high-definition video (HD) and store large amounts of data. The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc.

The current Microsoft Xbox, the 360, also has a HD DVD player. It's similar technology, with the common purpose of high definition display and image. With either of these technologies and a television with the capability to display the true power of these new formats, the user has the opportunity to truly have one unique experience.

While Microsoft and Sony are tapping into high end gaming consoles, companies like Nintendo are aiming at expanding the fun of gaming with more interactive technologies. The Nintendo Wii for example comes complete with a motion sensor controller than encourages the user to become much more animated during game play. Although the Wii lacks the graphics and other higher end technologies that the PS3 and Elite will offer.

Over all these new entertainment monsters will now give our generation their own world. A infinite playground to interact and mold into multiple outcomes and experiences. Worlds within our own world.

With the largely popular and expanding universe of online gaming, where anyone with a fast Internet connection can fundamentally hook their next generation console up to a live network, the possibilities seem endless. You can not only play in an online world 24/7, but now you can interact with more than computer generated characters... because online you play with other real people.

Imagine a time in the not so far away future where kids and adults alike sit in their living rooms fixed on a couch or sofa, leaving an indentation on the cushion; playing as a character they created from scratch and designed from their personal preferences... in an online world with images so real, you forget that it's past your bedtime.

Imagine now if that same concept is not in the future, but right now. We are facing Generation-I, the Internet generation of expanding technology and infinite possibilities. So sit back and enjoy your future... no... your present.

My space, your space, who's space Y?!

The latest rumor on the web is that Yahoo is trying to buy Facebook for 1 Billion dollars. If this transaction were to take place, it would be only weeks after YouTube was purchased by Google for 1.65 Billion... And that transaction was made only two weeks after serial entrepreneur Mark Cuban made the comment that "only a moron" would buy YouTube.

On July 18, media conglomerate News Corp. revealed that it's buying Intermix Media, the company that owns MySpace for $580 million. Myspace has about 22 million members.

Just as Microsoft dominates the software and technology market, large internet industries are slowly swallowing up smaller independent competition... Who knows what the future holds. YouTube, Google and almost all viral websites and web based information exchanging sites were all started and operated by a few young people, with an idea and some ambition. Now, those independent forefathers are reaping the benefits of determination.

Do you remember Napster... the concept, not the lawsuit...

Facebook and MySpace are huge web based forums for "keeping in touch" or meeting new people from anywhere around the world. Basically, they are social-networking sites, and the new media conglomerates that are inevitably the world's greatest cash-cows. YouTube and viral based video sharing sites alike are based on a very simple concept... upload your personal videos, with any content you wish, and people around the world will watch. This voyeuristic tendency has spread like wildfire, and all one (creators of YouTube) had to do was establish the outlet.

Now that the outlets are established, the rush to dominate this newfound, largely expanding market has skyrocketed.

Yahoo and Google are establishing (in their own ways) similar "outlets" for user (viral) videos as well as marketable video from networks and commercial industry. AOL has launched AOL Video 2.0, and In2TV which do the same thing, In2TV airs old programming (such as Growing Pains or Godzilla Movies) as well as marketing videos which go as far as political satire to attract attention to their product... and it works because it's fresh, creative and it captures "eyeballs." AOL also gives the viewer the ability to submit their own videos ala YouTube.

It is a rapidly developing world and it's raising many eyebrows; from large corporations’ to the occasional web surfer. The Internet is by far the greatest gift to mankind.

So much for the pony express.

The bottom line is, with this immergence of modern media, and the limitless potential to basically do anything, where do we stop? Where is the ceiling? And how much profit can be squeezed from every orifice of this monster we call the web? Only time will tell, but in the meantime keep your eyes open... if you blink, you'll miss something.