2004: The Year Media And Technlogy Converge

[DudeAsInCool]

2 INDUSTRIES CONVERGE : Media and Technology in 2004

December 29, 2003. The convergence of media and technology, long predicted but not yet fulfilled, is at last showing signs of happening - with high-speed Internet access making much of it possible. With more American households going to broadband, faster Internet connections are changing the movie, music, telephone, computer and cable businesses.

The battles brought on by these changes are likely to occupy the media and technology industries in 2004.

Record companies ratcheted up the copyright battles in 2003 by suing people who share music files over the Internet. But the companies are also eager to find appealing new ways to sell music, in stores and online.

Meanwhile, the movie industry is searching for technologies that will make copying movies more difficult even as high-speed Internet connections make downloading movies more feasible.

Electronics manufacturers are beginning the fight over the technical standard that will apply to the next generation of DVD's for use with high-definition television. And computer makers are moving fast into the business of high-end flat-screen television, taking on television manufacturers for their most profitable new lines.

Cable companies are hoping to grab a good share of the traditional phone business in 2004 by using Internet technology to deliver voice calls over cable lines. Phone companies, too, are planning to offer lower-cost Internet calling and expand bundled services to attract customers.

Online commerce continues to grow, with search engines becoming leaders in Internet advertising. Investors are eagerly waiting for Google, the Web search giant, to go public next year. But few expect the excitement over Google to set off a new boom in technology stock offerings.

We look ahead at some of these trends and ideas for the new year.

NYTimes.com

[HolyMoly]

BTW, it's been about a month now and my Vonage.com phone service is still working like a charm.

[DudeAsInCool]

I think this is the year that people will wake up and see the convergence working; but frankly, it's been steadily building. I find it amazing that the financial community put all this money into the Internet Space and then backed out in a year--no wonder it crashed. They, better than anyone, know that it takes about 5 years to build a profitable company. Worse yet, they were backing companies that didnt even have a business model. I think it's a shame that all the young kids running these companies were slammed, when the people from Wall Street were the one's backing them--where was the financial guidance? As far am I concerned, the Wall Street Bulls should be in jail--if they were going to invest in a revolutionary trend, then they should have gone the distance instead of hyperinflating the market and then pulling out when there werent instant profits. Maybe I should have gone to Wall Street--anyone could have done a better job than those clowns.