TUAW and Cult of Mac recently wrote about Contexture Design’s one-of-a-kind iPod cases made from old cassette tapes. Now this was a clever idea: both retro and cool. Sadly, I believe they are all sold out. However, if you consider yourself crafty you can gather up your old Chicago, Def Leopard or Huey Lewis tapes and make your own custom case.
I’ve been playing around with the slick Silverlight-powered Olympic video feeds found on NBC’s official Olympic webpage. The technology is great, and the video quality is really amazing, but what has struck me is how spoiled I’ve become. Anyone who embraces technology is now accustomed to being able to watch, listen to or access just about anything at anytime.
This new Olympic video service is nice because you can play director and watch several different feeds simultaneously. Also, you are watching the raw material before Bob Costas has made it emotionally meaningful with his heartfelt narration. Blow the image up to full-size and its just as good as what you’d see on a standard definition TV (maybe better). Once I started playing with this service, I realized that this is just one of a growing number of technology-provided enhancements that puts me, the user, in control.
Thanks to my DVR, I really couldn’t care less what time any television show is scheduled to air. As long as my DVR knows that I want to record all the new episodes of some series, I don’t think twice. I know when I’m ready to watch it, it will be waiting for me.
Netflix has been a great way to catch up on old movies, TV series and other obscure entertainment options. Between my Netflix queue, my DVR and what I can rent or purchase from my AppleTV, I can’t imagine being frustrated with my entertainment options. If it was produced in the last 70 years, chances are I can get it with a few clicks.
On the audio side, I remember having to listen to hours of crap on the radio in the hope that they might play something I like. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I listened to music broadcast over commercial radio. Radio stations are still great for news, weather, traffic, but my iPod meets all my other audio needs. Not just music mind you, but podcasts and audiobooks provide me with hours of listening pleasure. Speaking of audiobooks, say you want to go for a walk, work in the yard, go to the gym, run errands, etc., in the past you couldn’t very well read during your busy work, but stick in your earbuds and, if you can find it at Audible.com, you can listen to just about any book anytime.
I guess I’m now so spoiled that I don’t think I can go back to an analog-only world. If I did, I would have to quit cold turkey and live in a cabin in the woods. Come to think of it, that actually sounds kind of nice.