Vacation Robo-Post: The Lady or the Tiger OS 10.4*

The Internet. Not much of a contest, honestly.

Is it cheating to wish that the Internet in that world would stream serialized narratives to me on my computer?

Internet, because I download half of what I watch now. Also, it's the only way I can keep my netflix queue overflowing with movies I'll never watch at my current pace... 300 items in my queue!!!!

I added The Wire and Freaks and Geeks as you had suggested. I just got Weeds though and must say it's quite good. Gonna watch the first disk in it's entirety this weekend with my GF. Surprised to see a show so poignant revolving around Weed.

Sadly, I do have to say the internet, as well. As much as I love watching Lost in glorious HD on my 42-inch screen, those same capabilities may soon exist for television. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if in the near future, we see full-blown internet television: programs downloadable on demand (with limited commercial interruptions, but commercials targeted to you specifically to better sell you products you might want/need), cable channels available a la carte (or even individual shows a la carte), perfect streaming, etc. Pretty soon, our televisions will be nothing but really large and impressive monitors, and cable/satellite boxes will be relegated to the Betamax/8-track dustbin of history.

Internet... I live in Australia and our television programming gets worse every year (I choose to spend cash on internet over pay TV). Not sure how I'd survive without the web these days.

Selfishly, I would choose internet. The draw is not only the entertainment factor, but the info resource as well. I rarely pick up the phone book anymore to look up a number. I don't sit around wondering about a question I have, I look it up. The list goes on and on.

The biggest drawback would be that the tv provides some fun family time watching a couple of favorite shows together - our family members don't really "internet" together. But I think we could fill that time with other things to do "together".

No fair Robo-Poster - we want to know your answer too...!

Because the Internet is a two-way medium, unlike television, it has revitalized the way people communicate and participate in the marketplace of ideas in this country.

And the pornography on the Internet is way better.

I'm not so sure. For me, I think it is the TV. Lets face it, the internet is interactive and there are times that I want to just kick back in my recliner and be mesmerized by my 48 inch HDTV. The only interactivity is the remote. Perhaps when they increase broadband speeds beyond todays capability and make the PC voice responsive instead of having to click clack on a keyboard and mouse at a desk I'll pick the internet over TV. The internet still has too many limitiations.

Here is an interesting quote from Mark Cuban from an article at http://www.portfolio.com/views/columns/the-world-according-to/2007/08/23/Mark-Cuban where he said, "The internet is "dead and boring," Cuban says in an interview with Portfolio.com. "We have reached the point of diminishing returns with today's internet. The speed of broadband to your home won't increase much more in the next five years than it has in the last five years. That is not enough to work as a platform for new levels of applications that will require much, much higher levels of bandwidth."

TV. I love the internet. I belong to a couple of communities that have really helped me over the years. But all the stuff I get now online: news, blogs, online communites people got offline. TV news, columnists, letters to the editor, and those face to face friendships we nurtured. Television and film connect us culturally as do books and all forms of art. And the interactivity we find online can be found offline as well.

But I like watching my plasma alone sometimes or with a group of people and then talking about the show. I love going on line to TWOP and getting reaction. But I can live with getting reaction just from my circle. I can't live without the tv.

An interesting way to look at this, would be to measure the amount of hours spend per day (or week) on TV or internet. I probably spend 1 hour a day in the summer and maybe 1-2 hours a day otherwise watching tv. Internet? On and off all day long...

Internet, hands down. I agree with Lori--it's about entertainment AND information. I can't imagine how I'd do my job without the Internet (I vaguely remember something called The Reader's Guide, and long, narrow drawers filled with index cards, in a building called, I think, a library?). Besides, so much TV programming is available online, where's the real sacrifice? I definitely prefer watching shows on my TV to my desktop, but I could adjust.

A few months ago, I moved my computer into the living room and attached the VGA cable to my 42" plasma screen HDTV. I have the best of both worlds. NFL in HD on the networks, or downloaded shows on the internet. There's really no reason that this line won't be further blurred in the future. As Nicolas Negroponte said in "Being Digital" we will one day simply have an information utility (video, voice,etc.) whose bill comes along with those for water, electric, and garbage pickup.

@Lori...Interesting. I am online off and on all day at work from 8 to 5. When I get home, the TV comes on and stays on until 1 to 1:30 AM. I might go to the internet to buy something or check email in the evening.

@Bemused....I have a 17 inch monitor on my PC and a 48 inch HDTV in my den. My PC sits on a desk with a desk chair. My HDTV is in a room with my recliner and other comfortable seating. Regardless of how much TV prgramming can be found online, it just isn't much fun to watch a 2 hour movie on a 17 inch monitor while sitting at a desk.

@Mike....I get amonthly bill with my digital cable, telephone and internet access bundled right now.

We interrupt this thread briefly for the Dadaists who must know what the "Mad Men" captioner had to contribute this week. Not a complete list; I've spared you more than half of the gaffes. You're welcome.

heard / typed

(identifying the psychiatrist on the telephone) / physiatrist
jealousies, activities / jealousy's, activity's (lots of apostrophe-s'ing last night)
Montclair / Mount Claire
Last one to Chumley's / Last one to Chung Lee's

names:
Holloway, Rumsen, Lyndon Johnson / Halloway, Rumsin, Lynden Johnson
Betty Draper's nickname sounds like Birdie, though the captioner is torn, once using Berty and later Burty

What'd I say? / What I say?
Polka Dots looks like a lot of fun / Hope it does -- it looks like a lot of fun
simple, to the point, colloquial / simple, to the point
no chute, no body / no shoot, no body
Nights Inn off the Taconic / Knights Inn off the Deconic
bridesmaid's bridesmaid / bridesmaid bridesmaid
The nomination, as expected, is a lock / The nomination is expected as a lock
fan of the mollusk / fan of the mulusk
the stench of Brylcreem / the stench of Brill Cream
those long walks / those long locks
In what way? / The only way
eighth floor landing / eight floor landing

And over the end credits, Rosemary Clooney's memory is tarnished:
Botch-a-me, I'll botch-a-you / Bache me and bache you

The Internet is the future of programming. Millions of dollars are lost when people are on-line by the television giants. Interestingly, most have put the best shows online for viewing on demand.

Internet. No question.

Internet. I can do without the TV, but I couldn't live without the internet. I do tremendous amounts of research, and I can find anything I need to find on the net, whereas the TV has a limited offering, and is terribly limited in giving me information that I need/want. And now days you can stream TV programs onto the computer via the net anyway.

Internet. There is not one day I can do without it. Read the news, listen to e-radio stations, talk with my friends. Easy choice for me.

This is an easy one. The internet of course. I have been on the web for over 20 yrs ( yup before there was a web as we know it today). I like my information and entertainment when I want it and how I want it , not when the tv chooses to give it to me, and chooses for me what I should view and what information I should access each day. We turned off the tv for 5 yrs at one time and did'nt miss it a bit!

Internet.

As a matter of fact we don't own a tv. We watch movies (and some TV) exclusively on our computers. And, no, our friends don't think we are crazy. Many of them don't have TVs either.

I don't think that's a fair question James.

First of all, as many people have said, there are more things to do on the internet besides watch YouTube or southparkzone (which I have just discovered to my utter childish delight). You can talk to people (VOIP), write letters and participate in all sorts of interactive activities. TV, in comparison, is very passive. You watch tv. Maybe you dial in a number to vote for your favorite neonatal pop star but it's still a passive action. You react to tv.

But computer monitors suck hardcore compared to the HD beauties that festoon our living room. (I love the word festoon and I think it should be used more often.) When the fateful day arises that television and computers merge (which I expect to see in the next ten to twenty years) will you and Lev become one and form the super media blog?

Shall we call it Tuned World? Nerded In? Will you become Jev or Lames? I kind of like Jev personally. ^_^ Hope your Labor Day is a great one!

Internet, no competition.

I'm only 19 but I'm in confident in saying that I could live without TV but I wouldn't last 3 days without the internet.
It is where I talk to friends who are overseas, catch up on recent news, check out the latest music hits... all that with just a click of a button.
AND you can get access to TV programmes and such on the internet anyways.
seriously, what CAN'T you find on the internet?

Internet. My lounge room and bedroom TV's are hooked up to the computer with VGA cables running from a VGA splitter amp attached to a secondary monitor output on the video card (we used to use an AV Sender from the composite video output but VGA cable gives us High Definition picture). Control of the computer is by way of a pair of RF remote controls. This wasn't an expensive exercise, and we can watch on-line content and DVD's as well as listen to our music using the computer to manage the files. We don't lose our big screen experience.

I prefer the internet, because in the next future we will use the computer for watch tv.

Internet, hands down. I've been on the net since there was no such thing as a web-browser, computers with 8 megs of hard drive space were huge and powerful, commands were given in Linux and 300 baud modems were lightning fast. I can do without the TV, but not the net. If I had to write snailmail letters to my friends and family, they would never hear from me. Now I can talk to them online any time. I spend hours in research nearly every day. Also, I don't need a bookshelf full of cookbooks any more. If I want a recipe for lamb stew, I'm just a click away from thousands of them.