Teh future is now!!one

2 really cool tech things that have been on my mind lately:

Google as an ISP seems to be coming closer to reality. They're busy acquiring bandwidth for their own uses, because their stuff uses crazy BW and will continue to as they launch video and mapping services - but what if they start service as a consumer-level ISP as well? They're acquiring fiber-optic lines all over the place so they could conceivably give insane levels of service. Even better could be Wi-Fi access with targeted local advertising. Go google go!

On demand content. Podcasting is storming the world (even if it is a dumb word), TiVo is a smash hit, and Comcast is pimping its on-demand cable services just like every other cable carrier that supports the service. Graham's idea is that within 5 years, every cable company will go entirely on-demand as a means of access control for cable companies. I think it's a fantastic idea. The internet has already been moving this direction for ages - I can name several people who would eagerly wait for Tuesday morning for the release of the newest episode of Red vs. Blue, for example. All of the TV marketing can remain the same, except commercials can say "Friends: releasing this Thursday at 8pm!" and everyone can go gather around the TV and stream it in from their content providers. Podcasts are working the same way, and the iTunes feature of auto-updating is brilliant. Content providers will like it so they can fight TV show piracy (which is easily the dumbest thing I've ever seen, TV shows air freely and nobody deserves to get sued over them), viewers can click a button to watch the show they want, and everyone goes home happy. Get on it, content providers.
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