On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 10:00 PM, Tom Wolper <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> I don't have any guilt about this at all. It sounds like Amanda Peet's >> problem is she does a lot of vanity recording and then can't admit how >> low her brow really is. If you don't want to watch "The War" then >> don't watch it, and stop recording PBS. With TiVo, you are better off >> recording what you actually want to watch, and not what you want your >> visitors to think you like to watch. > > I don't know why this is limited to the TiVo. As the digitization of > media leads to a flood of free media, we are all going to run into a > time shortage where we load up on programs and just can't make the > time to watch/listen/read them all. I don't have this problem with TV > shows because I consciously don't tape what I won't watch within a few > days. On the other hand, my iPod is loaded with podcasts and > downloaded radio shows I never seem to find the time to listen to and > don't get me started on the pile of books I have yet to read.
I agree with you about the podcasts, but not the books. I have a long wish list of unread books to get to, but when I buy a book I have a pretty high rate of reading them - I guess the books I buy and don't read within a month is less than 15%. But then, books cost money, and podcasts don't, so that is probably a big part of the difference. But another difference, that is more interesting to me, is that I have a pretty accurate sense of my reading patterns and preferences. I have to read a lot for work,a lot of which I have to bring home, but I also do a moderate amount of reading for pleasure (in the summer maybe 1-2 books a week, the rest of the year more like 1 - 2 books a month). OTOH, I have a very poor sense of both my preferences for podcasts, and the amount of time I am likely to devote to actually listening to them. The result is I sign up for a lot of podcasts that I think I might like, but don't like, or do like but don't allocate the time to enjoy. I suppose as I get a better sense of these things I might have fewer podcasts that wither an die on the vine of my computer. What all of this leads to is, I am surprised so many people don't seem to have a good sense of their own television watching patterns and preferences. Like Amanda Peet, I like Meet the Press, and other Sunday Talk Shows, but I don't sign-up for season passes for any of them. I know that if I don't watch them live, there is no way I will get around to watching them later. If I am free to watch TV on Sundays, I am almost always watching sports, and I would not have time to watch archived Sunday news shows until Monday night at the latest, and by then they would be stale. I like Seinfeld reruns, but I do not have a Season Pass for them, because I know I would never be able to watch them at a pace to justify it. I watch them live once in a while, or I tape a few just to have on file in case I am in the mood. Shouldn't most adults have a pretty good idea of the kind of television programs they enjoy, and roughly the amount of time they have to watch television (over a period of a say a month or so)? I still am convinced that I spend less time watching TV now than before I got the TiVo. I used to get home, turn on the TV, and watch the least objectionable program that was on at the time until I fell asleep (while also getting work done and doing things with the family). Now I mostly only watch programs that I actually want to watch, and if I am not in the mood to watch it at a particular time I can turn off the TV, secure in the knowledge that I can go back and watch it later. And if a program I thought I was going to enjoy turns out to suck, I can just delete it, and, if I want, all other archived episodes, and count the time as redeemed. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Like TV only smarter. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
