The Game is The Game Edition
Todays links of interest:
- Scorsese’s Stones film to open Berlin festival
We love Scorsese; we love the Rolling Stones, and yet, there is a bit of cynicism here about this project. Like the nagging feeling that it’s at least 20 – 25 years too late. Let’s just say that Christina Aguilera’s interaction with *those* Rolling Stones would be much much different than whatever we will see in this film. - 8 Websites That Jumped The Shark
Totally brutal. But absolutely dead on when it comes to things like MySpace. - ‘American Idol’ returning for season 7
Sigh. When are all y’all gonna get sick of this shit? - Apple Reinvents Film Biz With iTunes Movie Rentals
Yeahhhhhhh . . . no. - FCC Probes How Carriers Handle P2P Network Traffic, E-mail
This right here, is what the FCC should be doing, as opposed to worrying about whether or not somebody accidentally said "fuck" on network TV. Not that we’re watching much network TV these days. - Apple announces ultrathin laptop, movie rentals
The problem with topping yourself over and over again is that people are always expecting you to top yourself over and over again. But not every product can be "Exile on Main St." or "Manhattan."
American Idol, in a land now devoid of any new scripted entertainment, is all bonus. Thank the gods it’s back!
This Apple movie deal is, to my mind, about the best means for distribution yet. It totally eliminates Blockbuster, gives you a choice between HD/5.1 and standard, has deals with all the major studios and can be done, uh, now. What is the down side here? I personally don’t want to own every movie I see, I just want to see movies and be done with it.
This is finally what Apple TV should have been from Day 1. I think this is a historic move and will change things–maybe not tomorrow–much like the iTunes store did.
Yes, the Apple movie deal is major. Apple is (not so quietly) taking over the entertainment industry. The future is digital, and so far no one else is even close to delivering what Apple has today.
The thing that gets me is that most people assume that Microsoft or Netflix (or Wal-Mart?!?!?!) will somehow suddenly put all of the pieces together and marginalize Apple overnight. Well, it’s not going to happen.
1. With an extensive DVD library like you have Tim, the only excuse you have for watching American Idol isn’t the one you gave. However, my guess is that it’s a whole-family-together thing, which makes sense.
2. The iTunes store did not change things — the iPod did. Big, huge, key difference. And the iPod changed things by letting people leverage what they already had in a way that no previous player had.
That said, the downside to the Apple deal is — as always – the closed ecosystem. You know what I want from the next thing I connect to my TV? iTunes Movies. Netflix Downloads. YouTube. Funny or Die. Break. MySpace TV.
Of course, I can get all of that stuff with a networked computer on my TV, but I also want to be able to use a remote and have the full HD experience.
With the lack of new shows on the air, I’m never trying to catch up on anything current. DVD library notwithstanding. That said, it’s really Thursday nights I miss anyway. American Idol offers “unscripted” entertainment that works for me in a way that Survivor never did. Different strokes I guess. These Idol people, the ones who make it to Hollywood at least, are talented for the most part. But the appeal is the same, sort of like sports, in that you never quite know what’s gonna happen next. What the writers strike has done, in essence, is just make it easier to catch more of American Idol. However, if I don’t like the current crop, they will soon lose me. I’m not in it regardless. And that is the same with TV in general. I never got past the pilot to Bionic Woman, but I’m eagerly awaiting the third episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
As for Apple, I guess I just have no personal interest in watching a YouTube video on my television. It’s crappy enough on a computer screen. Again, personal tastes. My DVD player didn’t play them either and I never had a problem with that. Although it’s odd that the iPhone/iTouch can play YouTube videos but the Apple TV cannot. After reading about the Netflix deal, I’m not sure if it is as good a plan and I’ve seen no technical specifications. Can you get HD movies and 5.1 sound?
The issue here is movies, and the distribution thereof. Apple has little to gain by inviting everyone to the party. They got the movie deals in place with the studios and these will roll out in the coming months. Isn’t that a great thing for consumers? So far, Microsoft has failed miserably on the entertainment side and Apple is on the right track. Might not be perfect yet, but it’s a step up. I have to applaud them for that, although I still hate the fact that they put out the first Apple TV without any real idea of what they were doing. A rare misfire has now been rectified. Early adopters should ask for a rebate.
I still think Apple needs to rethink their pricing structure for TV shows/music videos.
Jim – the new Apple TV will probably give you everything you want except Netflix downloads. It’s that DRM thing again. The movie studios want DRM and Steve Jobs is happy to oblige with a proprietary standard that locks consumers into Apple hardware. The studios are falling into the same trap the recording industry fell into. In five years they’ll complaining that Apple has too much control over their business. By then it’ll be too late to do anything about it.
Let’s be fair, Xbox does a similar thing, just not as sexy. Which pretty much defines Microsoft. And Amazon is doing this too. Just because Apple leverages their cool software with amazing hardware I don’t think they should be denigrated. I don’t think this is quite the same as the music industry as I don’t think the piracy is as rampant.