Remember my little observation about the Music industry’s fear of iTunes? Remember that it’s because people can choose to purchase the one good song off a generally bad album they’d usually have to pay a whole $14 for? Well, it looks like Apple is freaking out the television industry by wanting to offer shows for download. It’s not that $1.99 is too little. It actually works out to be quite a bit for a single episode, however the network TV stations hope that you’ll stick around for the bad show sandwiched in between two good ones. Sounds familiar, eh? You can read the scoop at endgadget.com.

It’s amazing how our culture’s thirst for money clouds reality.

I’ve just read an interesting article by John Dvorak, a well known and respected computing columnist. He’s terribly concerned about bias in the tech media because he notices that all the people who sing the praises of Apple Computers (at the expense of Microsoft powered PC’s)–all these reporters are using Apple Computers themselves! Heaven forbid! Now, I’ll give Mr. Dvorak some credit. He’s made an interesting connection, but I don’t understand his conclusion. He is saying that the media industry’s use of Macs is biasing them to report on Apple’s products often and with much enthusiasm. Poor Microsoft powered PC’s are left out.

Um. I think I missed something here. Consider the possibility that Apple really does produce better computers that give users really-honest-to-goodness better tools to work with. Couldn’t that also be a reason why the media people use Macs and are enthused to tell others about them? Okay, I understand that reporters should strive to be fair and report all sides. But Macs really are more exciting to use. I resented his accusation that Mac users are all Windows-naive computer neophytes, too. I have a Bachelors in Computer Science and have been working on PC’s since I was 12. I watched (and continue to watch) the evolution of Microsoft’s operating systems and software and I can honestly say in my professional opinion that Macs have an intuitive beauty about them that Microsoft is sorely lacking thus far. Yes, if you know all the ins and outs of Windows and know what to avoid that causes bugs and crashes you can be quite productive and happy. I know people who would have a terribly time switching to Macs because quite a bit of the way you’d have to work is different. But that is an issue of familiarity, not raw functionality. What? Grandma wants to get her first computer? Buy a Mac.

Back to the article. The entertainment industry is following this logic too. They complain that movie and theater sales are dropping. They cry foul and claim that there are so many obstacles in the way to people seeing their movies and paying for them. Piracy is rampant in the streets, media give poor reviews, politicians are limiting art….ARGHG! But no one stops to ask a more pointed question: could it be that movie sales are declining because they are just boring same-old movies? I mean, 28 Days, Dawn of the Dead, Resident Evil: Apocalypse? It’s the same plot with different stars and a couple of minor details. Oh, but we spent so much on the graphics and special effects! Uh huh. Microsoft spends a lot, too.

Read the article here: pcmag.com

For those of you who haven’t stumbled on Jack Johnson yet, you should. Here’s a link to his music at the iTunes Music Store: Jack Johnson. You’ll need iTunes to buy it online. But the most intriguing part isn’t his new music…it’s his new music video. You have to watch it to believe it. Here’s a link to check it out. You’ll need the new Macromedia Flash Player to see it.

Jack Johnson: Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

They recorded the entire video in one take, backwards. This man is a versitile genius. Fun to watch!