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August 22, 2006

speculation

[Slate] An iPod for TV : How Apple Could Make it Work

Posted Aug. 22, ’06, 11:07 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar
Category | Apple » Speculation

Just when you thought that the issue of why Apple won’t build an iTV had been put to bed, yet another Slate contributer comes up with a counter-argument for Paul Boutin’s article from a few weeks ago.

I think Paul’s absolutely right about the limitations of media center convergence. That doesn’t mean Apple shouldn’t bring an iTV to market, though. Apple has an opportunity here, but it is not a matter of merging the computer with the home theater system. Their opportunity lies, simply, in fixing the way we watch media from the couch—because today’s home theater systems are fundamentally broken.

One of the ironies of the last decade of technological change is that things that used to be difficult for ordinary folks to master—setting up an e-mail account, getting an Internet connection—have grown far simpler. Meanwhile, lots of things that used to be easy—say, changing channels while watching TV—have gotten more perplexing. You know the drill: You try to change the channel using the TV remote when you actually need to use the cable box remote (or the TiVo remote), and suddenly the screen goes blank because it’s on Channel 4 instead of Channel 3. I know many people who have printed instructions near their media system that explain how to turn it on or how to turn up the volume.


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