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Not much of a challenge with Hulu, YouTube, torrents and various other means you can see an episode hours after it first airs and can find almost any tv show past or present.
With that said... going without tv, and all the entertainment that comes with it, as in never seeing video entertainment again except in DVD form or on the big screen would still be my choice. A computer is not only how I make my living but a large part of how I entertain and educate myself. From researching topics to playing video games I spend way more time on the internet than in front of the tv (even accounting for time playing consoles).
We've never had cable tv and have done just fine. I'd hate to go without internet access though. For me this is an easy choice and I'm hoping it is for you too.
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"College baseball this weekend."
(set 4 days ago)
Location: Suburban Dallas
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I think both still serve their purposes in my life, although I'm on the computer more often than I am in front of the TV. But I do love my cable and I still have good choices in my area when I want to watch.
TV. It is a one way street. "They" project, you watch. With the internet, there is some level of interactivity. Plus, there's hundreds of thousands of websites. And many are educational, too. And it has a worldwide reach. One of my favorites websites is Flickr. I love that site...it has opened my eyes. I could never make that claim about TV.
One thing that bothers me about it is how arrogant and self important the big networks are. There was an article awhile ago about Jay leno moving his show to 10 pm. Wow!! The network suits didnt like it. It encroaches on their almighty "scripted" television shows. Scripted shows that have been going downhill in quality for 10 years. Replaced by cheap reality show entertainment thats even worst.
The whole tv universe has turned into something thats out of touch with everday americans. The internet is more of a free democracy.
Turned the cable off five years ago to rely on a rooftop antenna. When digital shut everything down that was the end for tv. There's very little, if anything, missed by not having it. As others have said, most everything I want ends up on the 'net. Later than the air date of course but that's no big deal whatsoever.
If nothing else, I've taken back hours of precious minutes that no longer need be wasted on commercials while I await the program's return from the break. Too, I no longer have to pay to watch those commercials with a cable bill. The 'net version usually has 15 or 30 second spots, I can deal with those by hitting the mute button.
Think about this, an average one hour program runs 42, maybe 43 minutes total. That's eighteen minutes of your life every hour of tv you watch. Ten hours of tv per week and you've wasted 180 minutes of your time. That's three hours that one day you'll wish you had done something better with.
I don't have cable and I don't feel like I'm missing anything.
My girlfriend and her mom are hardly ever home but they pay a huge cable bill. My girlfriend says she loves CNN but I told her they have a website and you can find news all over the internet. Her stupidity bothers me sometimes.
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