the timboucher experience

And now for a little crystal ball gazing:

2009: All television signals in the United States are officially converting to digital.
Question: What happens to analog signals? Rumors abound that Google is preparing to (or already has?) spend almost four billion dollars to buy up massive blocks of the spectrum.

I’ve been tracking this theme for a while. Check out these previous articles:

1. Google Veiled Video Ad Rollout
2. Google eavesdropping plans - uses your computer microphone to identify what’s on television in the background
3. Coming soon: Google TV?

Evidently Google and Microsoft, among others, are hoping to convince the FCC to open up additional frequencies to them after 2009 which they can use for broadband internet access, among other things. Two articles about that:

1. Internet Access Via Old TV Analog Channels
2. Web Giants Angle for Spectrum

What I’m envisioning is an “all level integrated media experience” courtesy of Google. You could still browse the web in the normal way, but your TV would become a sort of automated receptacle for media artifacts which the Google algorithm selects for you based on your browsing history, alongside videos which you have queued up for later watching while surfing the web. Maybe their sites are set well beyond that though. One way to find out.

• Analog TV Switch-Off
• New Tumblr Account #5, I think
• Analog Internet
• Googlosity
• [Free Business Idea] Mp3 To Cassette Tape Service