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TVs fade out as technology takes over
Stuff.co ^ | 9/14/06 | SMH

Posted on 09/14/2006 7:37:16 AM PDT by qam1

If you had to choose between your PC, TV set or mobile phone, which one would you pick?

That was one of the questions researcher Forrester posed to almost 4800 households in the US and, although the TV set still ruled the roost in most homes, the study showed that it was no longer the top gadget of choice among the young and prosperous.

Forrester found that less than 20 per cent of the gen Y group (aged 18-26) ranked TVs top compared with the 37 per cent who rated their PCs as the most important. A further 27 per cent preferred their mobile phones, while the remainder nominated other gadgets.

Among the older gen X age group (27-40) only a quarter of respondents gave their TV set the highest rating against a more substantial 28 per cent who preferred their PCs, with only 19 per cent nominating their mobile phone.

Those earning above $US75,000 ($100,000) a year also had a marked preference for their PCs with 32 per cent electing them as their favourite devices compared with the 27 per cent who nominated their TVs. However most of those earning under $US75,000 still preferred their TVs.

TVs also triumphed among older age groups, and they claimed top spot overall with nearly a third (32 per cent) of all those surveyed still nominating them as the most important device in their lives, compared with 21 per cent who preferred their PCs (desktop or laptop). Mobile phones, meanwhile, ranked third as the must-have device for only one in seven.

Forrester said: "It's inevitable that TVs' long reign as the most important device in consumers' lives will come to a close as computers, cell phones and other connected devices transfer control over entertainment, communications, media and creativity to consumers."

But with 54 per cent of homes expected to own an HDTV by 2011, the researcher added: "The TV set isn't dead, it's just shifting to become only one of many devices that advertisers, content owners and distributors and media companies should live with in the TV present while preparing for the PC and cell phone future."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News
KEYWORDS: genx; tech; technology; theresnothingon; tv; vastwasteland
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To: LasVegasMac

LOL, that and the Fairly Oddparents are the only two shows I get to watch these days.


21 posted on 09/14/2006 7:52:49 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: qam1
The day of the so-called programmed broadcast with fixed start and stop times for programming will likely be disappearing by 2015, with good reason: by then the vast majority of Americans will get at least 5 megabits/per second download broadband Internet access, and many Americans will get 100 megabits/second download (or even faster!) broadband Internet access using fiber-optic connections.

At those speeds, instead of waiting for a broadcast you will program a home media server machine to automatically download all your favorite programs at 100 mbps or higher broadband speeds maybe twice a day; that way, when you turn on your TV set you will automatically get a list of programs ready to watch anytime you want.

22 posted on 09/14/2006 7:54:06 AM PDT by RayChuang88
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To: sittnick

Do you have a PC?


23 posted on 09/14/2006 7:55:00 AM PDT by Old Professer (The critic writes with rapier pen, dips it twice, and writes again.)
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To: Venerable Bede
I read that book... it was excellent.

Odd how much of what was presented as comedy in the book is now accepted as...normal. I guess we are not advertising on police cars yet but everything else has a corporate logo...and I guess we are not facing wheelchair-bound Canadian terrorists yet either. Perhaps 2007 will be named after a corporation...
24 posted on 09/14/2006 7:55:25 AM PDT by P-40 (Al Qaeda was working in Iraq. They were just undocumented.)
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To: qam1

Computer/PC/Laptop is the first choice for me (along with the requisite Internet connection).

Regards,
Star Traveler


25 posted on 09/14/2006 7:56:18 AM PDT by Star Traveler
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To: sittnick

I don't understand why people get such gadget ladden phones.

If they would adopt a slightly larger piece of equipment, they could have a mini-computer capable of even playing back a DVD/CD (think of something the size of a portable DVD player, about 1/3 the size of a laptop).

You'd get a "real" keyboard, a "real" video screen, CD access (for software, pictures, music) and COULD STILL store "i-pod" like music on it. DVD/CD/MP3/phone (with earphone)/radio wireless device.

But it wouldn't fit in your pocket. (unless you got bigger/deeper pockets or put it in the breast pocket of your jacket). Then again, Sony originally developed a pocket sized radio by making their own shirts with a slightly bigger pocket...


26 posted on 09/14/2006 7:57:08 AM PDT by weegee (Remember "Remember the Maine"? Well in the current war "Remember the Baby Milk Factory")
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Comment #27 Removed by Moderator

To: Star Traveler

A computer without the internet wouldn't rank nearly as highly for these plugged in people.


28 posted on 09/14/2006 7:57:57 AM PDT by weegee (Remember "Remember the Maine"? Well in the current war "Remember the Baby Milk Factory")
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To: qam1

Going to have to go with the PC on this one. Add some components to a PC, and you'll have all the important funtionality of a phone or TV. I've yet to see a cell phone or TV that has the processing power to function as a full-time PC.


29 posted on 09/14/2006 7:58:12 AM PDT by Ex-Dem
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To: theFIRMbss

LOL at # 16. However, without television having offered up some worthwhile moments, I wouldn't be able to smile at the parallels with the classic William Shatner / SNL "Get a Life" skit.


30 posted on 09/14/2006 7:59:40 AM PDT by Charles Martel (Liberals are the crab grass in the lawn of life.)
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To: Hildy

Just wondering what kind of a laptop you chose. I am in the market for a new one, with a 17" screen.


31 posted on 09/14/2006 7:59:56 AM PDT by Maceman (This is America. Why must we press "1" for English?)
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To: sittnick
Well, we have no TV and no cell phone,

Ditto

32 posted on 09/14/2006 8:00:24 AM PDT by Vince Ferrer
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To: LasVegasMac

Love Spongebob and Fairly Oddparents (although the newer Spongebob shows kinda suck and aren't as funny as the older ones.)


33 posted on 09/14/2006 8:00:41 AM PDT by reagan_fanatic (In loving memory of those lost on 9/11)
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To: RayChuang88

As it is, many "new" broadcasts are repeated even within the first week of airing. The shared experience of "everyone" watching the same thing at the same time seems to only hold for sports, award shows, election results, and tragedies anymore.


34 posted on 09/14/2006 8:00:56 AM PDT by weegee (Remember "Remember the Maine"? Well in the current war "Remember the Baby Milk Factory")
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To: qam1
Honestly, if posed with this question how could the answer be anything other than a PC? Here's my point. Broadband is increasing rapidly. I personally have a 4mb DSL connection and I hear that 10mb connections will soon be the norm. With a PC you have access to all the information of the world, you can communicate via e-mail, use video if you wish, and you can talk back with a community of people (FR). Soon video will be streaming like Internet radio so you'll be able to get sporting events anywhere, anytime. You will be able to download any movie ever made and play it just as soon as you finish receiving it. All this...compared to a static TV receiver???? Why would anyone hypothetically pick a TV?
35 posted on 09/14/2006 8:01:17 AM PDT by Obadiah
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To: qam1

The rapid pace of technological and social change has my head spinning...I'm 54.


36 posted on 09/14/2006 8:01:51 AM PDT by aligncare (In warfare, the only moral stance is to win)
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To: reagan_fanatic
Love Spongebob and Fairly Oddparents (although the newer Spongebob shows kinda suck and aren't as funny as the older ones.)

Same in our house! And, why is that with Spongebob? I simply cannot figure this out.

37 posted on 09/14/2006 8:02:32 AM PDT by Obadiah
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To: Incorrigible
The revolution will not be televised!

On the contrary, it will be live, and then we'll have Greta, Shep, and Hannity on in the evening to talk about it.
38 posted on 09/14/2006 8:02:48 AM PDT by July 4th (A vacant lot cancelled out my vote for Bush.)
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To: Maceman
Check out Motleygirl's thread: COMPUTER HELP-Looking to buy a laptop computer. (VANITY)

Have you checked this one: VANITY: Any (constructive) Advice on a new laptop -- j/k

39 posted on 09/14/2006 8:02:56 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
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To: qam1

You can take my computer when you can pry it from my cold, dead hands.


40 posted on 09/14/2006 8:04:52 AM PDT by kevkrom (War is not about proportionality. Knitting is about proportionality. War is about winning.)
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