Is the future of Magazines a Netflix-like service?

This is a very interesting idea, and one that had not occurred to me. Interested to see what a newspaper/magazine industry veteran like Sean thinks of this.

Imagine if you could pay $10-$15 per month to have access to the daily editions of hundreds of newspapers, or the latest issue of any magazine that crosses your mind. Yes, publishers would need to get used to running with lower profit margins than they'd like. But those margins are going to get thinner every year unless the industry finds some way to meet the digital age head on.

If you needed proof that "digital" is not always better...

...look no further than this article.

There is a commercial about the coming "digital switch" next year for television which brags "You know digital makes everything better." We need reminding that a "digital" solution is only as good as the developer who wrote it and the hardware behind it. I am wondering how many people will be without TV at all next year, when their new digital TVs or digital tuners are load tested for the first time, and the manufacturers stop answering customer service calls.

Are you ready for the DTV changeover?

We have discussed it before here, but in informal chats with friends I am finding that most are not aware that 2008 is the last year for over-the-air analog TV. It has been coming for over a decade, but Congress appears to finally be serious about reclaiming the vast analog TV spectrum for emergency responders, and forcing TV companies to take up a smaller spectrum for digital over-the-air (HD) broadcasts. If you have an existing non-HD television, and still get your TV from an antenna, now is the time to start thinking about your backup plan. (If you have an HDTV, look for an ATSC tuner. If you have cable TV, don't worry about it as cable is not affected by this legislation.) The simplest and most effective is to order a converter box for your TV which will switchover digital channels into analog ones. If that is the way you want to go, < the government is offering subsidies to anyone making the switch. Click on over and take a look. Now is the time to sign up, to give yourself maximum time to adjust.

Photos Immediately Before, During, and After Bhutto Assasination

This is what it means to live in a digital age. Days after the event, a photographer can narrate, in his own voice, what he experienced during the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, with his digital photos taken in the moment.

Fair warning, some of these images are graphic and may not be suitable for young children.