Forum - View topicHey, Answerman! - In Search of Stability
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23754 |
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No doubt I'm about to embarrass myself hugely since the sum total of my technical expertise with respect to computers (or just about anything else for that matter) could easily fit in large print on a standard size Post-it-Note.
Anyway, I'm about to describe a scenario that I think would have to be in place before the vaunted Digital-Only Age can commence. First, imagine a situation where any digital content you buy can be stored in a one, permanent, virtual storage place. This place doesn't exist on any hard-drive you own ... it exists somewhere in cyberspace. Any time you buy a digital product it gets plopped in this cyber vault. Mine's called Blood-'s Stuff. I can access Blood-'s Stuff from any device I want. When I want to access my copy of Wild Canadian Sex Bunnies (the book, not the movie), I turn on my device, access that title and start reading. After a few chapters, I'm bored. I fire up my HDTV. From it, I access my copy of Wild Canadian Sex Bunnies (the movie) in all it's hard-core glory. Ah, that's more like it. There is no down-load time nor any buffering issues. I simply hit play and the movie starts. Now, the only way I can access these titles is by providing my name - Blood- - and my password. But no matter how many different devices I own in my life, I will always have access to the titles I've purchased that are stored in the permanent, undestroyable Blood- Stuff virtual storage space. I don't think we are far off from this scenario. |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 9835 Location: Virginia |
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@Blood-
Not the worst idea I've ever seen, it might actually work. Now you just need to get the idea to a startup with money to actually implement it. I think the technology is already there, you just need someone to figure out how to make a profit off it. A couple of thoughts. The "Cloud" is not actually in something called "Cyberspace". It is actually space on someone's servers somewhere. Think of it as the digital equivalent of those storage lockers used by people with too much junk (or too many bodies) in their homes. They will require a monthly rent, likely based on how much storage you are using for a given month. A good cloud company will have redundant backup and will be adequately capitalized. The Cheap John House of Cloud storage, podiatry and horse shoeing, well... Think of when they go bankrupt and your stuff is tied up in court for years, in the meantime the servers simply disappear. The bit about no buffering etc. That is determined by the character of your internet connection, the character of the Cloud Storage companies internet connection and the traffic between the two. You are in a major metropolitan area so you are probably good on the first and last items. Cheap Johns will suffer from the fact that the more successful he is the more equipment and connections he will need. Think of the problems Crunchyroll has during peak viewing hours. It will be interesting to see what limitations will be imposed by content providers in this scenario. At a minimum the item will be playable on only one device at a time and you will not be able to "loan" the show to someone without deleting it from your storage. I would not be surprised if for current movies etc. that they add a royalty fee for every time you access the file for the first five or so years. Anything available 24/7 on the net like this can be hacked if there is an incentive. Also when the future Mrs. Blood- (the previous Cindy Bigguns) breaks up with you she will probably use your password to take what she wants and delete the rest, especially your "hot stuff". I'm really not trying to rain on your parade, just sprinkle it a bit with reality. Let me know when two of the four biggest anime providers sign up for such a service, assuming I'm still alive that is. Maybe in your lifetime.... |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23754 |
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@Alan45 - yep, the possible problems you raise are reasonable doubts. The other thing that neither you nor I nor probably anybody else at this stage can predict is what future advances might be made. Maybe some gang of whizkids are working on something that could make my idea practical (or a better one) for everybody on Earth.
But I am formally declaring Blood-'s Law here: Anything that can be made available digitally will eventually only be available digitally. |
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5823 Location: Virginia, United States |
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Right now you can't get everything online. I really don't see that changing much in our live times, even in the near future.
Physical media ensures you will have access to your favorite shows during your life time, when it falls out of popularity and is no longer available online. There is no guarantee that your shows in the cloud will be there when you want them, due to some of the reasons stated above. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23754 |
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Well, I'm almost 50. Assuming I live to the average age of a Canadian male (which in my province is close to 80) that means I (theoretically) have about 30 years left. Compare the digital situation today with 30 years ago. Considering that, historically, computer advances tend to occur more on the exponential side of things as opposed to incremental and you have to be figuratively near-sighted to think there won't be much changing in "our life times." |
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Polycell
 Posts: 4623 |
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We'll probably see some limited movement to cloud storage over local, but it heavily depends on bandwidth rollout, especially at the last mile, which can take quite a while(usually for no good reason). The US might see it about the time the sun's ready to explode.
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walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
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Blood's fear isn't irrational as magazines and newspapers begin to shut down their physical print departments, so the fear is that physical media becomes a luxury. I don't think it'll wholly disappear, it just won't be cheap. A new hardcover book will probably shoot to $75 or some ridiculous number, and it will be accepted.
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