Friday, June 12, 2009

The End of TV

Analog television ends today in the U.S. In its place, the government has mandated a conversion to digital. This may mean expanded bandwidth and more channels, tighter control, or both. Required immediately is a digital conversion box, or this can be the best time to "kill your TV." The popular slogan refers to leaving TV behind. In the Orwellian scenario depicted in Nineteen Eighty Four, telescreens were interactive and invasive. They combined spying and propaganda-news. Orwell may never have imagined how it would actually play out in terms of "infotainment," ubiquitous ads, and mind numbing 24 hour programming.

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