• Join the discussion

The reverent hush, the smell of popcorn - all of this tends to be evoked, by critics of a certain age and temperament, in nostalgic or even elegiac tones. What will happen, in the age of iPod, DVR, VOD, YouTube and BitTorrent, to the experience of moviegoing, to say nothing of the art of cinema?

Share article: 

top

• Join the discussion

In a way that even e-mailed photos never could, the web cam promises to transcend both distance and the inability of toddlers to hold up their end of a phone conversation. Some grandparent enthusiasts say this latest form of virtual communication makes the actual separation harder. Others are so sustained by web cam visits with services like Skype and iChat that they visit less in person. And no one quite knows what it means to a generation of 2-year-olds to have slightly pixelated versions o

Share article: 

top

• Join the discussion

The other day Kevin Kelly watched clips from a movie as he pumped gas into his car. The other night he saw a movie on the backseat of a plane. We will watch anywhere. Screens playing video pop up in the most unexpected places - like A.T.M. machines and supermarket checkout lines and tiny phones; some movie fans watch entire films in between calls. These ever-present screens have created an audience for very short moving pictures, as brief as three minutes, while cheap digital creation tools

Share article: 

top

• Join the discussion

If Roy Schoenberg, the start-up's co-founder and chief executive, has his way, patients will no longer have to wait a month to see a doctor for an urgent sore throat, wait all day for a doctor to return their call or leave work midday and drive a long distance for a routine appointment. Instead, patients will log on to their computers and find themselves face-to-face with physicians over webcam.

Share article: 

top

• Join the discussion

Most were pretty stoked to get it because the new experience carries the new streaming Netflix service (many in HD). Until they discovered they needed to upgrade their Live membership to gold to be able to stream it. Now they're not quite so stoked.

Share article: 

top

• Join the discussion

Jim Goldman of CNBC says he has it on "good" source that Microsoft is looking to create a smart phone that builds on its Zune music player. Which sounds a lot less compelling than Apple leveraging the much more popular iPod for its iPhone. Zune is a struggling brand with zero cachet. (When was the last time you saw one anywhere?) It would take a lot for Microsoft to dissolve Apple's mindshare, with its first-mover advantage and sex appeal and all.

Share article: 

top

• Join the discussion

Japan is the world's fourth largest mobile phone market after the United States, China and India. But it makes up only a tiny part of sales at Nokia, whose products have failed to lure customers away from more sophisticated Japanese ones. Most of the mobile phones used in Japan are part of third-generation networks and boast features such as TV broadcasting and electronic payment functions.

Share article: 

top

• Join the discussion

Here's the thing: to understand the next four years of American politics, you are going to need to understand something of the politics of ancient Greece and Rome. There have been many controversial aspects to this presidential election, but one thing is uncontroversial: that Obama's skill as an orator has been one of the most important factors - perhaps the most important factor - in his victory. The sheer numbers of people who have heard him speak live set him apart from his rivals - and, in

Share article: 

top