“The new iPod is its own little addictive medium. Its limitations – a viewing experience that requires headphones and a hand-held screen – create a level of intimacy that arcs to television in its infancy, when the glowing object was so marvelous it begat silent reverie,” David Carr writes for The New York Times. “You now stare at bejeweled color and crisp lines rendered in miniature. The ability to download programming of my choosing gives me a new kind of private, restorative time, a virtual third place between a frantic workplace and a home brimming with activity.”
“‘Lost’ always sounded like a show I’d like, but as the father of three with a job that required long hours, and a commute thrown in for good measure, viewing network programming at an appointed hour never seemed to work out. The ‘Lost’ bandwagon left without me,” Carr writes. “With the new iPod, I could start at the beginning of the series and view ‘Lost’ at my leisure. The average episode lasts 44 minutes, about the length of my commute. Watching ‘Lost’ on the bus next to a large man working his way through a crinkly bag of nuts is a deeply satisfying media experience. Goodbye crinkly nut man. Hello Claire and John Locke. (It is a bonus that the man can’t see the image from the side, as hard as he tries.)”
“I actually watch very little television in my home. Between the phones, both cell and landline, the kids’ homework and other needs, and a wireless broadband connection that keeps me on the work grid, the TV often ends up being a silent piece of furniture,” Carr explains. “The iPod, on the other hand, gets charged, programmed and used almost every day… Still, what kind of idiot would pay for shows that are otherwise free? I am paying a so-called convenience charge… I have become the gift that keeps on giving for Apple. The company has my credit card and I will continue to fork over $1.99 an episode to find out what is around the bend in season two of ‘Lost.’ When that ends, I will probably give ‘Monk’ a try.”
Full article here.
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