Philosophy
The shorter of the short people wants desperately to make a call from a phone booth. He's seen them in old movies and really wants to try one, as if it is some exotic phenomenon. Payphones are simply pointless when everyone has a cellphone.
I drive by the vacant shells of several former video rental stores on my way into the office each day. Yes, in these difficult economic times, many businesses have gone under, but what we are seeing here is not just a player going away, but an entire industry. Video rental places will be things of the past. Netflix and on-line delivery will make them unnecessary.
I recently past the place where Chick's Records used to be. I cannot tell you how many hours of my teenager years I spent looking through boxes of discount albums upstairs at Chick's. But with downloads becoming the delivery means of choice, it seems that music stores will become cultural dinosaurs. As we bid a sad adieu to Borders, will Amazon make this true of bookstores in general as well?
What else that has been a normal part of life in our culture is doomed to fade away in the not so distant future?
- The Overhead Of Contemporary Life
I was listening to an NPR discussion concerning the entry of the music service Spotify into the U.S. market. The basic service is free, but to have the capabilities that any real music fan would want, there is a monthly fee -- of course. It led me to...
- Demise Of Video Stores...like Book Stores?
"Comedy Nights and Party Supplies: How Local Video Stores Are Scrambling to Survive" Store owners have to think beyond rentals in a post-Blockbuster world by Gary Moskowitz November 15th, 2013 Time Just a few weeks after Netflix surpassed 40 million...
- Economics And "no Need"--printed Phone Books
It was bound to happen...the near elimination of the telephone book, particularly the "white pages". The phone companies wish to cut more costs and raise profits. A lost art... "Phone-book delivery disappearing" by Wendy Koch June 1st, 2011 USA TODAY...
- Small, Independent Bookstores
In my city of nearly two million, they are virtually gone...maybe three left. Even used bookstores are nearly gone and relegated to thrift stores. "Is there hope for small bookstores in a digital age?" by Bob Minzesheimer February 9th, 2011 USA TODAY...
- College Book Rental Experiment
This might be a good idea especially for those required courses where the required books have little appeal beyond what is necessary to fulfill graduation requirements. "Textbook Publisher to Rent to College Students" by Tamar Lewin August 14th, 2009...
Philosophy
8-Tracks of the Future
The shorter of the short people wants desperately to make a call from a phone booth. He's seen them in old movies and really wants to try one, as if it is some exotic phenomenon. Payphones are simply pointless when everyone has a cellphone.
I drive by the vacant shells of several former video rental stores on my way into the office each day. Yes, in these difficult economic times, many businesses have gone under, but what we are seeing here is not just a player going away, but an entire industry. Video rental places will be things of the past. Netflix and on-line delivery will make them unnecessary.
I recently past the place where Chick's Records used to be. I cannot tell you how many hours of my teenager years I spent looking through boxes of discount albums upstairs at Chick's. But with downloads becoming the delivery means of choice, it seems that music stores will become cultural dinosaurs. As we bid a sad adieu to Borders, will Amazon make this true of bookstores in general as well?
What else that has been a normal part of life in our culture is doomed to fade away in the not so distant future?
- The Overhead Of Contemporary Life
I was listening to an NPR discussion concerning the entry of the music service Spotify into the U.S. market. The basic service is free, but to have the capabilities that any real music fan would want, there is a monthly fee -- of course. It led me to...
- Demise Of Video Stores...like Book Stores?
"Comedy Nights and Party Supplies: How Local Video Stores Are Scrambling to Survive" Store owners have to think beyond rentals in a post-Blockbuster world by Gary Moskowitz November 15th, 2013 Time Just a few weeks after Netflix surpassed 40 million...
- Economics And "no Need"--printed Phone Books
It was bound to happen...the near elimination of the telephone book, particularly the "white pages". The phone companies wish to cut more costs and raise profits. A lost art... "Phone-book delivery disappearing" by Wendy Koch June 1st, 2011 USA TODAY...
- Small, Independent Bookstores
In my city of nearly two million, they are virtually gone...maybe three left. Even used bookstores are nearly gone and relegated to thrift stores. "Is there hope for small bookstores in a digital age?" by Bob Minzesheimer February 9th, 2011 USA TODAY...
- College Book Rental Experiment
This might be a good idea especially for those required courses where the required books have little appeal beyond what is necessary to fulfill graduation requirements. "Textbook Publisher to Rent to College Students" by Tamar Lewin August 14th, 2009...