Categories
Meta Technology

Out With You, Analog

There are only two more days here in Japan before analog broadcasting stops, and this morning they (and by they I mean someone sent over by our realtor) came over to replace the old antenna on our roof with a digital one. We’ve been watching digital TV for over two years now, and we did it by simply buying a small UHF antenna — you know, those “rabbit ear” kind of deals — and it’s worked fine, although occasionally we get a weak reception.

I’m glad that we have a digital antenna, but I don’t think we’ll be able to use it, since the outlet is not in our living room, and I don’t think I want a long cable going through two rooms so it can reach our TV. But the option is there I guess.

Also, I’m rather impressed with Apple’s new Thunderbolt Display, and not only would I like to get one to use with my laptop — my trusty MacBook Pro 17″, which has been my workhorse for over two years now — but maybe also to plug in my consoles when the TV is otherwise occupied. Is this something I can do? I’m not even sure if I can use it with my Thunderbolt-less MBP. 

It’s a digital world, and I like it.

Categories
Magazines Technology

Digital as Expensive as Print to Produce?

To produce? Maybe for the content itself (although for the most part, content is shared between the two), but one of the biggest selling points for going digital is to save on printing costs and distribution. I do still have problems with some of the points this piece from Forbes brings up though on the content production side of things. I get that producing videos for a digital edition adds costs, but the idea that including more photos in the digital edition also raises costs is ridiculous — we’re just getting to see more from a shoot, the parts that usually end up on the cutting room floor.

The question of bandwidth could be an issue, but really, is there actually an alternative to releasing magazines for the iPad than through the iTunes App Store? The article gives Zinio as an example, suggesting that all magazines sold through that device are doing it through its own servers. Is Apple really not getting any cut from sales that are done through the iPad app though? If so, then I guess we can expect to see the release of a Conde Nast (or Time, Inc., etc.) app, that will house all of its magazines.

Update: A reader suggests that the point about the photos is not so ridiculous, considering that most photographers are paid for each photo published. I assumed they were paid for the shoots.