I am writing this column after the close of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. I have to admit that this year we thoroughly enjoyed it. My wife and I were glued to the TV every night - we haven't watched a Netflix since early in the month. We thought the event coverage was excellent, the reporting was great, and just the right touch of "up close and personal" segments. Although the show ended late at night, our trusty DVR (just can't live without my DVR!) solved the problem handily. We would start recording when we went to bed, and then review the previous night's coverage at 7PM the next day when NBC was showing game shows. The DVR also enabled us to skip those ever-annoying repetitive commercials. So, perhaps the true star of the Olympics this year was our DVR!
I read recently that the Western Union telegram service had finally been shut down. I was surprised, having assumed that this service had long ago gone the way of the black and white TV and the AM radio. For those of you who don't even remember, telegrams were typed messages on yellow forms that were delivered by courier. They were primarily used for emergencies and also for emphasis on special occasions, although they were more popular in the 1920's and 30's as they were cheaper than long distance phone calls. But the cell phone doomed it, and the high cost of providing the courier service was the final straw.
The technology that enabled the telegram was the telegraph. The first telegraph message was sent on May 26, 1844 by Samuel Morse. Telegraph was just a single electrical circuit between locations, and as such it could only be "on" or "off". Morse invented a code to send letters, numbers, and punctuation using two "characters" - a short "dot" and a long "dash", now called the Morse code. Morse code was also used in early radio communications. With practice, you could get quite proficient in it. As a ham operator in the early 60's, I could receive about 45 words per minute, which was quite respectable. In my case, I didn't write it down - I just listened and comprehended it just like speech.
Later telegram technology used teletype machines, which looked like giant electric typewriters. Teletype used a similar on/off signal, but the code was changed to make it easier for the machines to send and receive it. In Morse code, some letters were short and some longer, depending on usage. But the teletype code always used 5 elements for each letter or number. Additional elements were used before a transmission for synchronization purposes.
I consider it fortunate to have seen some of this technology advance, but it was somewhat wistful to hear of the passing of the telegram anyhow.
On a different note (pun intended), Apple announced last week that the one billionth iTunes song had been sold. These was great news for the music industry, as it implies that people are actually not illegally copying music that much, and are willing to spend a reasonable amount of money to purchase it. But this added another nail to the coffin of the traditional CD sales channel. The advantages of online music purchase are: a) you get it now without having to go to a music store, b) you can pick and choose single cuts rather than whole albums, and c) you can sample before you buy. But the downside for the industry is that the revenues are lower - even if you buy a whole album online, it costs about $10 as opposed to $15 or more for a CD. On the other hand, there is no manufacturing cost, and no distribution cost. The big loser: the traditional music store.
One other factor: at the current time, buying music from an online store invokes one or more forms of Digital Rights Management (DRM) and you might not be able to use the music you buy as flexibly as you want. But if you rip a song from a CD you purchased, you can use it anywhere. One the other hand, the next version of PC hardware will make ripping difficult or illegal, so that method of acquiring digital music may disappear anyhow.
But, as with Olympics, telegrams, and digital music - technology marches on!
(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport - Oak Island area. You can visit his Website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail questions or column ideas to him at bsc@bobseidel.com. For specific inquiries, please call Bob Seidel Consulting, LLC at 278-1007.)