DVDs will be obsolete in 10 years: Bill Gates

AFP ^

[YoungHickey]

2 hours, 8 minutes ago Add Technology - AFP to My
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FRANKFURT (AFP) - DVDs will be obsolete in 10 years at
the latest, Microsoft boss and founder Bill Gates
(news - web sites) predicted.

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Asked what home entertainment would like in the future,
Gates said that DVD technology would be "obsolete in
10 years at the latest. If you consider that
nowadays we have to carry around film and music on
little silver discs and stick them in the computer,
it's ridiculous," Gates said in comments reproduced
in German in the mass-circulation daily Bild.

"These things can scratch or simply get lost."

Gates' vision of television of the future was: "TV that
will simply show what we want to see, when we want
to see it. When we get home, the home computer will
know who we are from our voice or our face. It will
know what we want to watch, our favourite
programmes, or what the kids shouldn't be allowed to
see."

[Richard Kimball]

Approximately $30,000?

That's the capacity of the thing, but that was my first thought when I saw that also. The point is, for music there's already more capacity than anyone could use. I've got about 600 songs (most burned from CD's), but quite a few downloaded from iTunes, and it takes up a little over 1 gig. When I think back on all my old records, 8 tracks, cassettes, etc, though, it is a little scary how much money I've spent on music. Unfortunately, almost all my old records are too scratched to be listenable, and I think that's true for a lot of people. Dittos with eaten cassettes, scratched CD's, etc. If you collect movies or music over a period of years, you've got quite an investment, and right now I could fill a closet with the DVDs and video cassettes we've got. It would be great to have a storage device that would work like an iPod for movies.

[Richard Kimball]

What happens when my wife and I walk in the door at the same time? Will the television show the Avalanche Hockey Game or Trading Spaces?

No, it will go to Bravo and show people trading hockey.

[theFIRMbss]

>Your TV is forcing you to watch reality shows now?

Is your computer forcing you, now, to look at the pic of Paris? But I bet you did. That's how TV gets to you. It's just there to see . . .

[paul51]

DVDs will be obsolete in 10 years

So will I

[freedumb2003]

LOL -- great thread.

I guess they didn't know how to deactivate it 2 years ago.

[theFIRMbss]

>I can't name a single storage medium since the 8 track that has lasted 10 years without becoming obsolete. Except paper

Don't forget canvas. Pretty darn good for storing full-color pictures!

[freedumb2003]

I can't name a single storage medium since the 8 track that has lasted 10 years without becoming obsolete.

CD's have been around since the 80's (http://www.oneoffcd.com/info/historycd.cfm)

[hispanarepublicana]

When we get home, the home computer will know who we are from our voice or our face. It will know what we want to watch, our favourite programmes, or what the kids shouldn't be allowed to see."

If this is based on the same technology that Amazon.com uses for its "The Page You Made", then it will never work. Amazon still can't make sense of me--someone that buys Bob Wills, Billie Holiday and George Will all in one shopping trip.

[Charles Martel]

"I'll check but the last time I looked my dad still had his stereo console cabinet in the living room. I believe the turntable was still in working order. Stashed alongside was an album rack filled with Perry Como records, my mom's favorite"

*************

Sounds like my Dad, too, only last time I checked it was Herb Albert and the Tiajuana Brass.

Some people sneer at the "Ameriachi" music, but *I* think your dad has good taste. :-)

[TalBlack]

WOW! I actually had and played that Four Seasons tape in my '66 Galaxy 500!

[ConservativeMan55]

bttt

[IDontLikeToPayTaxes]

Sounds great in theory. But I can imagine talking to Tech Support for 3 hours so I can rent a movie and get my lights to turn on and off. :)

[steplock]

I did! I luv Herb Alpert! also "Love is Blue" and "The Earth" "The Sea" and "The Sky"

[steplock]

I did! I luv Herb Alpert! also "Love is Blue" and "The Earth" "The Sea" and "The Sky"

[ashtanga]

At Bell South we tried to go paperless years ago. The slow down was such that folks just stacked more and more paper throughout the office as reference points. The computers were too slow! The paperless office became a joke. I've been retired about four years, so perhaps the situation has changed.

[neutrino]

I think he's right. Bandwidth is increasing rapidly, and from that all else follows.

[x]

Gates' vision of television of the future was: "TV that will simply show what we want to see, when we want to see it. When we get home, the home computer will know who we are from our voice or our face. It will know what we want to watch, our favourite programmes, or what the kids shouldn't be allowed to see."

So... the computer revolution was all part of lonely young William Gates's master plan to build himself a friend. Who knew?

[Rebelbase]

I sure enjoyed looking at that album cover when I was a kid.

[Jmouse007]

Way cool man you were in that fight too! Brothers in arms, I wrote tons of nasty letters to congress, and Demon City, telling them we would never buy from them again if Dickey not so Sharp forced DIVX down our throats. I also went numerous time into their stores and talked people out of buying DIVX Praise the Lord it worked!! Demon City lost over 20+ MILLION dollars, tons of customer support and Richard Sharp found himself out on the street. Sure he went away with tons of money but still, we won, Sharp's name is MUDD and OPEN source DVD has just skyrocketed!!!!!!!!!!!

Sure DVD may be obsolete in 10, but the good news is you don't have to pay for it EVERY IME YOU WATCH IT, which seems to be what Bill Gates has in mind for our VIDEO future. Only this time he wants up to pay him directly instead of Demon City, Sharp and his Lawyer pals. As for me, I will stick to DVD's, besides if they become obsolete, they will be cheap to purchase... "out with the old and in with the new," great way to build my library :o)

P.S. Since the DIVX debacle my family and I have bought less than $80 worth of merchandise from Circuit City and we are not alone, Divx and CC's "lets screw the public and get filthy rich in the process" attitude hurt em BIG TIME!

[KarlInOhio]

The Wall Streen Journal doesn't allow you to see the archive, but I found the article on another site.

If TiVo Thinks You Are Gay, Here's How to Set It Straight : http://www.bmedia.org/archives/00000223.php