Digital-Lifestyles recently offered me (Reese) an invite to beta-test the new Joost application. As part of the deal, I promised to write this short response about my experience with the application and content.
No Joost on pre-Intel Macs
First off I have to confess that I haven’t been able to access the content offered by Joost because of my aged computer. I, like many others out there, use a pre-intel Mac, and Joost has yet to make their application compatible to our platform. That being the case, I have no response to the usability of their application, simply because I haven’t been able to access it.
Nevertheless, I do have a few things to say about the movement of media companies to the Web. I swore off TV many years ago, and until 2002 lived without a computer (I was lounging a bit in the dark ages, I admit). So, when I finally connected to the Web, I immediately realized that it was television’s alter ego. For the past 5 years I’ve been plugged in, waiting for large media companies to understand that in order to succeed in this new digital world, they would have to migrate over. It appears that Joost has finally convinced them of exactly that.
Internet television will succeed primarily because it allows the user to access content at their leisure, and to do so from their PC’s. It is no secret that the laptop has become the new TV. Without offering content through the Internet, media companies will soon understand that their programming is being rivaled by forces entirely non-existent ten years ago (like blog’s and YouTube), that allow for a kind of grassroots variety gong show, often much more entertaining than Friday night sitcoms.
Still, I would love to be able to watch National Geographic and Soccer, my two reasons for wanting Joost in the first place. Eventually I’ll upgrade this aging machine, or Joost (fingers crossed) will preempt me by offering their application to us Macosaurs. Either way, I’m humored that my decision to swear off TV has been vindicated so many years later by Joost…because it wasn’t the content that bothered me, but the way we accessed it.
So, cheers Joost. I’m sure there are many companies wishing they had pinned the tail on the zeitgeist the way you have.
You can read more of Reese‘s thoughts on his blog.