When it comes to technology, there's a ton of stuff you don't need to know about. Let's do a quick rundown of a couple items.
- The Death of HD-DVD. There was a lot of stuff in the news recently about the death of HD-DVD and the triumph of Sony's Blu-Ray format.
Here's why you shouldn't care. First, unless you have an high definition TV set (HDTV), you can't take advantage of it anyway. Second, even if you have an HDTV, if it isn't gigantic and/or you sit very close to it, it's unlikely that you'll notice much of a difference. Wait for prices to come down before you care about switching to Blu-Ray. Now, if you have money to burn, that's another matter. Send it to me. It'll have a good home.
- The transition from analog TV broadcasts to digital. First of all, the important date is February 2009. That's right, it won't happen for another year. Then, when February does come, it only affects people getting over the air TV broadcasts. You read that right, cable and satellite subscribers. This doesn't affect you.
- The awesomeness of Linux. Linux, is a free, open-source operating system. And yes, it's awesome. It powers my car's GPS unit, my router, one of my PC's and one of my desktops (I like the Ubuntu flavor of Linux). But look, unless you're a techie and already use Linux, you don't need to know about it.
Why? We're kinda at the point where Linux is becoming transparent -- it's so awesome that you might not even know you're using it. So as long as you know it's awesome, don't waste time thinking about it
2 comments:
Good rundown. I'm a geek and I didn't even realize that sat/cable folks were cool with their old-school sets.
I like Ubuntu, too! (tu tu tu tu tu) If you include Unix (what Linux is modeled after, right?), that particular operating system framework is underneath far more gadgets, including Apple computers and iPhones. :)
Travis, my understanding is that there will be an analog-to-digital switchover for cable/satellite subscribers, but it's way down the road.
As to Linux, it grew out of reverse-engineering Unix to make a Unix-like and even Unix-compatible OS (as I understand it).
The list of places where you find Linux, especially in embedded devices (like routers, cell phones, Tivos, etc.), is huge and still growing.
Speaking of being a geek, Travis, you need to stop in with your portfolio so we we can talk comic books some time.
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