I have been living in a house that does not have cable (or even a fully functional antenna) to watch television in for the past whole year.
I'm still sane.
Through my computer, I have been getting everything I need from a TV, without a TV. I have been kept up with daily news, I can still watch all the shows I want to watch, I can even find ways to watch the NBA playoffs (live sports games are one of the harder things to find online) without having to find a TV with cable hooked up. Nowadays, you can get your random tidbits of news from YouTubers such as sxephil, your entertainment news from LikeTotallyAwesome, your celebrity news from Perez Hilton, your TV shows from Hulu, and so much more.
Of course, it's very reasonable to counter-argue that news such as these are not complete, and TV shows from Hulu doesn't include everything you want to watch. Without bringing in file sharing (eztv, releaselog, anyone?) as one possibility of getting everything you want to watch, I can confidently say that people have found ways to watch any TV content they wish through a computer. Most of the times, your computer provides all a TV can provide and more!
Undoubtedly, another reason why many people sit around a TV is for their console games. However, there are simple wiring techniques to play your console games through a computer monitor. In addition, with the power of emulation, that need can be eliminated as well. Personally, I have playing Final Fantasy XII (a PS2 game) on my computer for the past two weeks using a PS2 emulator known as PCSX2. Granted that my computer is good enough to handle the emulation perfectly, I bring this up more as a proof of concept.
Please don't interpret my words as "we should throw away our television sets." I love having a TV, but the reason I'm posting a blog about this is because of how little difference it made for me to live without a TV for a year. If we currently have enough technology through a computer to do so much a TV can provide, how much longer will it be before the concept of television fade into the pages of history? For now, I will agree that the answer to that question is still "quite a long time away," but it's something interesting to think about.
Andrew Dai
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"(live sports games are one of the harder things to find online)" - LOL well then sorry bro, T.V. is here to stay for me until you can get that problem fixed LOL
ReplyDeleteJosh
ESPN3. Just for starters.
ReplyDeleteAnd again, I'm not advocating the removal of your television sets. I'm bringing these up as a proof of concept. Imagine the technological possibilities down the road. For now, without a doubt, your TVs will definitely be here to stay for you for a long time.
Bro.