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I Want My MTV... PC?
Tsar writes: "MTV Networks is putting their imprimatur on a line of entertainment-oriented PC's to be available early this year. Targeting the college-age crowd, they'll have TV & radio tuners, DVD players, remote controls, and 'MTV-specific content.' CNN has this article on CNN's SCI-TECH page, but the original story was posted last Thursday on IDG.net. There's also news of MTV's impending digital music player, which uses DataPlay's 500MB matchbook-sized discs with built-in digital rights denial^H^H^H^H^H^Hmanagement."
Yep, I build my own too but I've never been able to get flames on the side like the hotwheels computer, except for the time some guy named Tom took the heat sink off my Athlon.
4 Words...
Jenny.
McCarthy.
Nude.
Screensaver.
S.t.e.v.e.
Damn, doesn't MTV remember the past? They've tried this sort of thing before, and where did it get them. I think it was in 95 or 96, they considered releasing a similarly themed "Media Box" that was part laser disc, part cd player, part tape deck, part vcr, etc, etc
Needless to say it failed (You don't see any around anymore, do you?). During it's short lifespan (Remember those annoying commercials with the flashing colors and slow, loud beat?), a friend of mine picked one up.
I've never seen a worse piece of consumer grade electronics in my life. The laser for the cd must have been loose or something, because it would skip on just about every damn cd. And the tech support? It was a nightmare.
Basically my friend was told to bugger off because they had stopped production. In the warrenty it covered against this, so he was SOL.
And now they want to try this sort of thing again? God I hope they do a better job.
Hah! you haven't seen How Cool It Looks!
You know you want it.
I survived the Dick Cheney Presidency 7 to 9 AM 7-21-07
College students these days ARE teeny boppers. I swear, most of them seem to see college as just an extension of high school...
So true. I would not be caught dead with one of these bimbo boxes. But you know what, many college students have no freaking clue about computer hardware. Hard to believe in this day and age huh? So these people are the ones targeted. They will buy the stupid mtv computer, and marginalize the the crowd that knows hardware (not that this isn't already the case) as a bunch of quacks/dorks.
When you say that college students are subject to peer pressure -- I don't think that the hardware saavy (sp?) individuals are exerting peer pressure on anyone other than their hardware saavy friends.
Speaking of peer pressure, I am reminded of the time three other friends and I were in a bar. My one friend was kicking it to some woman, and my other two friends and I were talking to her somewhat cute friend (another female). Well, I was inebriated, and so naturally the topic changed to operating systems. In an uncanny moment of smoothness, I asked her if she used Windows. You can guess that she said "yes." I immediately replied that people who use Windows are idiots. Well, that pissed her off, but the amazing thing was that my other two friends joined in ripping on her because of her choice in operating system. What a fiasco that turned out to be for my (normal) friend who was hitting on the other woman. Needless to say both women left.
And if you're wondering, It's GNU/Linux all the way baby.
I'm in college now, and I have to tell you, MTV will do amazing with this if they promote it the right way.
Most college-age guys and girls want nothing more than to write papers and play music on. Sure, it's an amazing waste of processing power, but that's all they want.
If it says Windows, the goons think "Word", and if it says MTV, the goons think "Music". Word and Music, that's the only reason they need the PC anyway.
The internet is a big factor, but people are slowly starting to realize that the internet is available anywhere with a connection, and isn't PC dependant at all. They're still shaky on the music and processing part, for some reason.
Oh well, I expect to see dozens of these in the dorm room next year.
Just how much Silicon can one company push?
I really hate Dan Patrick.
They are saying the pc will be produced by Lan Plus, so this is probably what it will be.
/* Of course I'm real, but can you prove it? */
Well, I'm a bit cynical about all this, but here's my theory:
MTV built itself up in the 80s as being a cool, rebellious channel that played all sorts of music. Because old habits die hard, they still have this reputation today. I think that somewhere along the line, MTV's bottom line changed from playing music videos to being a profitable corporation. Marketing became the controlling force, and if a show wasn't generating buzz or good ratings it would be axed. Anyone remember Headbanger's Ball?
So then comes along shows like The Real World. People watched them, and MTV decided to experiment a little more with what people would watch. As I recall, in the early 90s they experimented with animated shows like Aeon Flux and Beavis & Butthead. But on the whole, shows like Road Rules probably got higher ratings than videos, as well as being a better target for merchandising.
I think MTV today is just a further reflection of this trend. It has little or nothing to do with music any more, it's just shows that are designed to be watched by a certain demographic (teens who need someone to tell them what's cool). Unfortunately, that demographic isn't terribly intelligent, and the shows reflect that. MTV will never take a risk on anything that would potentially bring them lower ratings and less advertising cash.
Or maybe I'm just completely off-base. You be the judge!
I know this will be taken as a troll, or flame-bait. But here I go.
Everyone has put down MTV, the MTV computer idea, and so much more. It goes to show one thing:
Computer geeks don't get pop culture
Someone above posted:
Even if you are a college student, would you want your computer to come from a channel that headlines a show where people pierce their asses? Not me, I just don't see this idea being sucessful.
I guess that person doesn't realize that many, many people watch that show [Jackass]. MTV is way more than just a shiny things type of network. It's young 'veejays' are usually working 100 times harder behind the scenes. It's movie awards, while a comedy show, has really challanged the Oscars by giving awards to movies that the majority actually like. The Matrix would be a good example. No doubt that movie was a hit, but no nod from the academy.
If anyone is closer to what is on the minds of the public [from age 11-2?] than MTV, where are they? No doubt their success is proof.
Will this venture work? Maybe not. But if they got these machines hooked up to a broadband connection - it could be another MTV.
Remember, music artists spend millions to put their music on TV when they receive no immediate reward. Computers offer much more than TV.
I think free music would be one big draw. And even without DRM it would keep some piracy at bay. Think a thousand mp3 streams at your finger tips. MTV has the money and power to put that together.
Most college students I know are downloading mp3s and using P2P just to have something to listen to.
If they don't try to make this a computer, and more of an appliance that plays music, movies and videos... it could work.
Just something to think about.
Get your Unix fortune now!
Just think about that for a minute.
If it ain't broke, you need more software.