July 25th - articles of interest on the web

I've decided I need to start recording some of the stuff that I come across on other blogs and such. So, today is the first installment of my new "articles of interest" series. Basically there are tons of people talking about online video and I can't seem to always get to post about each one. So, here I'll just put links to articles that perhaps later on I'll come back to and blog about. We'll see. Other than that, it is basically a way for people to see what others are saying about that I think could be useful down the line, but so far, these are just articles that piqued my interest so I thought I'd share!

The Way to Save Internet Video, Mark Cuban, Blog Maverick

ABC Launches New iView Internet Video Service, posted by Nick Brouhall, Gizmodo

Are You Ready to Give Up Cable TV for Internet Video? Wade Rousch, World Wide Wade

I actually started writing a long response to this in the comments section but decided to cut it short and put the full comment here on my own blog. So here goes:

I completely agree with Wade, but I have to say being a major TV junkie I can't seem to quit my cable habit. Sure, I'm spending well over $1k to my cable company each year (I too have the bundle)and no doubt I will somehow garner enough courage. I think I keep coming back to cable for these three reasons:

First, I like the mind numbing effect of turning the TV on and bearing with whatever is on the screen. Sure it doesn't sound glamorous, but I have to admit, on a Saturday morning I'll usually point my guide to VH1 and sit back for a few hours while I read my Us Weekly or New York Magazine and enjoy. Granted this is not active viewing, but I enjoy the glow of my HD set as I zone in and out of yet another episode of Food Network Challenge or House Hunters.

Second, and perhaps most importantly is the element of comfort. I love my couch. I like to watch TV on my couch point a remote at it and change it at will instead of sitting at my desk or having a hot laptop on my lap surfing around for something more to watch on a smaller screen. As my adviser said to me once "I have to make decisions all day, when I go home and turn on the TV I don't have to make any decisions about what I am going to watch or search for something. It just happens" (Of course, I'm paraphrasing a bit, but you get the idea).

Finally, I'm not there yet! I still find myself watching the "edited for content/formatted for your television" versions of The Princess Bride and Legally Blonde simply because they are on TV despite the fact that I own the DVDs. I sit through the ads, I endure the cleaned up language and deleted scenes, why? because it is convenient.

Watching online requires more energy and Clearly, I am not there yet, but I will be. So while I might enjoy watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Fiddler on The Roof on Hulu.com, I will still pay my astronomical cable bill because I can't kick my TV habit. I'm thinking I'll get there, but until then I will have to settle for not being an early adapter and keep my cable box warmly in my entertainment unit until something new comes along that is an offer I can't refuse.