Re: FCC Orders All TV's To Have Digital Tuners By 2007

["Joseph Pappalardo" <joepappalardo2001@yahoo.com>]

> Assuming that digital TV is beneficial to the industry, and I happen to
> believe DTV will ultimately prove to be a pretty damn cool thing....then
> JP's view is a remarkably short-sighted view of the process.  Did the
> public want to pay extra for catalytic converters in their cars?  No,
> probably not...but it's a damn good thing they're mandatory - they make
the
> inherently "dirty" internal-combustion process at least somewhat cleaner.

So digital TV is just as important as a health concern?

> Or, to bring it closer to home, the public did not demand that AM
> broadcasters stop using their FM stations as mere repeaters for their AM
> content.  But the FCC finally mandated separate programming and, overall,
> the result has been overwhelming good.  Yeah, sure, there's lots of
> problems with AM and FM today, but there's a heckuva lot more and better
> music programming now than there was prior to FM.

And the AM band is dead.  Progress?

> Or what about Microsoft for that matter.

But it was the consumers choice...as it still is wetther to buy a Mac or
Windows PC...we did not make it illegal to buy a Mac.

> Remember what a huge pain in the ass it was when
> Macs were still in the running?

They still are 'in the running'.

> When it comes to technology that literally depends entirely on a specific
> standard to work, "market forces" are a disaster in the making.

But again, if the public sees no benefit in it...why force them to pay for
it.

JP