September 26, 2014

Spoiler alert!!  What follows are the mythical musings of an unrepentant Luddite.

Coincidentally, on the same day that Netflix hired a cultural anthropologist to conduct ethnographic research (Google those two) about the changing nature of TV viewing, my wife irretrievably lost all of the photos on her cell phone. The wailing and self-recrimination continues.

It started me thinking about the changing nature of technology in general.  Simplicity has given way to complexity – resulting in inferior products. True invention died on the same day as Steve Jobs.  We now invent new things by combining a bunch of old things and calling the result ‘ground breaking’.

I speak of not just cell phones;  but cars, computer printers , TV and even coffee makers

Cell phones are now amalgams of phone, camera, calendar, GPS, flashlight, web browser, mini-computer (none of which works as well as its stand-alone forerunner) and a talking direction finder named Siri.

My once-simple computer printer is now a ‘multi-function’ machine, complete with fax, scanner, and copier; alas there is no troubleshooter. But at least it’s cheap – unless you count the $69 ink cartridge which needs replacement monthly.

The upgrade from my  old drip percolator now makes coffee, cappuccino, latte and espresso ( though I drink only black coffee).  All from easy to use (read pricey) plastic non-biodegradable cuplets.

And cars are now computers with wheels. Who wants to be bothered with the hassle of parallel parking while enjoying Sting’s latest recording on the car’s Bose system while the steering wheel records your blood pressure?  Is a TV monitor on the dash board worse than texting?  And who wouldn’t want a pre-cocktail nap while driving home secure in the knowledge that your car will never crash into another due to the accident warning system that engages the brakes at the correct moment. (Random thought — can the car also detect a warm human or will you simply roll over her like road-kill?)

Back to Netflix: They have hit on a great formula: pay a monthly fee and watch all the movies you wish without commercial interruptions. Thirty to sixty minutes of pure entertainment. The ‘must-see-TV’ networks have yet to understand we don’t want 12 minutes of entertainment and 18 minutes of moronic commercials every half hour .(I hope I live long enough to see the Aflac duck eating the Geico Gekko in prime time.) That is breaking news I’d pay to watch.

Network TV executives are slow learners. Their business model no longer works. Get over it and learn to charge us for what we want to watch – not what you think we should watch.  Then your pre-tax earnings can go into developing better content;  not psychobabble consultant fees.

You are welcome.