Death of the television
There are multiple cool technologies on the horizon, multiple ways that visual technology could go. But whether devices are on our laps, hands, or windows, the interaction has already changed from that of sitting round the family TV set.
To paraphrase Joey from Friends, if we don’t have a TV, what do we point our furniture at? Note how the fireplace has been pleasantly ignored as the new toy has filled it’s place.
Of course the word ‘television’ literally means ‘far vision’, which seems like tongue-in-cheek stone age etymology to us 21st century folk. It is a definition easily fulfilled by nearly any modern electric device with a screen.
But should the need for a perennial room centre-piece persist, many believe a major player like Apple will fill the role. And Apple TV has clearly already put their big glossy toe in the door.
So is TV destined for cyberspace? If so, the way we interact with it is key. Whether we continue to want after Minority Report style interaction (as with Samsung’s new Smart Window) or hope for something with more texture, it has to be intuitive and evaluative. We need to be able to evaluate where we are going, what we are looking at, because it will be shaping both our work and our play.
Chris,
Oolone
Someone needs to say it and often! Oh, and love your search engine. Will definitely start pushing it.