
Can cable block the Google TV revolution? - shawndumas
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/can-big-cable-block-the-google-tv-revolution.ars
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geuis
What Google TV revolution? I developed a web app for the GTV Logitech box and
it was absolutely horrible. I'm talking about both the hardware _and_ the
software.

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nhangen
I'd prefer to call it the new set top box revolution: Roku, Boxxee, Apple TV,
Google TV.

Still, they aren't catching on, and I can't tell if it's because of Netflix's
ability to be everywhere, or if it's the cable networks blocking the momentum.
I suspect it's a bit of both.

~~~
r00fus
Roku revolution sounds better (they were the first fastest innovator in this
space).

I seriously wonder what Comcast is preparing to do to my 2xroku/appletv
household.

The merge with NBC doesn't portend well for cable internet rates.

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jrockway
I don't really get why the government is involved. If content creators don't
want their content to be next to Google's content, then they should release
their content as a movie that is only viewable in a tightly-controlled
theater.

Of course, there is no money in that... but you can't have it both ways. Wait
until I tell the networks that I take a shit during the commercials and read a
book instead of watching CNN at the airport. Oh noes, I'm stealing their
content and making it "confusingly similar" to taking a shit...

~~~
fleitz
The gov't is involved because TV is in the final stages of gov't intervention
subsidy. It's been taxed, it's been regulated and now it's time to subsidize
it.

The method of subsidization the gov't has chosen is: barriers to entry.

It's a favorite of gov't because it's a tax that no one sees.

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fleitz
Who even has TV anymore?

I bought a digital projector, connected it to my PC and have never looked
back. Last week I was watching #egypt on Al Jazeera in 720p @ 120 inches. I
don't even miss the remote as when I watch something I don't have to worry
about commercials or changing channels to find something interesting.

~~~
mv
this statement is why I love HN, and it is also the reason why I take most
business feasibility ideas given here with a grain of salt. The intelligence
and community here breeds people that become so disconnected with how the
other 99% of people work/think that they fail to see how a normal person would
have NO idea how to even go about setting up a PC to watch TV on a projector.

That said, I do love my 1080p projector hooked to my i7 xbmc computer :-)

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fleitz
Yeah, HN is on the crazy smart scale. I have this theory that once you reach a
certain level of 'intelligence' you become so smart that you're actually dumb.
What I mean by this is that you've lost touch with how everyone else lives
their lives that your ideas are ahead of the curve and you actually need to
hold off on implementing them because the timing is not right.

Somewhere between the Newton and the iPod Steve Jobs lost enough intelligence
that he's now a visionary where as in the 90s he was being mocked on SNL for
the Newton. The alternative is that he stopped producing computers for
producers and started creating them for consumers.

Woz on the other hand is still so crazy smart that he rides a Segway.

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cybernytrix
Google just doesn't get it - TV is about simplicity. It is not about having a
clunky keyboard. Apple probably had the best chance to succeed... There is no
chance for Google to succeed when the venerable Apple did not...

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austinB
Sure it's about simplicity at times, but how convenient would it be to read an
article or browse the internet on half your television screen while a
basketball game you want to passively watch is on simultaneously? I wouldn't
mind eliminating the laptop that constantly sits on my lap (fittingly.) while
I watch tv. If they are able to make television content searchable as well,
that's gravy for me.

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r00fus
WebTV died years ago. I don't think many people really want a modern website
on their TV.

I wouldn't mind twitter/RSS updates in a side area or Growl box (like a chat
box in a FPS), but the web doesn't fare well on the lower-resolution TV;
similarly as with mobile devices, websites would have to be redesigned for TV
usage.

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austinB
People may not want modern websites, but articles and/or documents can still
be read not in the context of a standard browser. Twitter updates along a side
is a good idea, perhaps email notifications such as comcast does with caller
id too.

