We Pay for Digital Media

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With a family of 5 and a lot of screens our bill is likely at least as high if not much more. AppleTV is our go to for movies on demand and the number of apps (in both app stores) we’ve utilized year over year is too high to try and tabulate.  I’m not opposed to paying for quality and utility and have certainly entered my password countless times.  Those small tolls really add up.

Nick Bilton explains …

I was tallying my spending of the last year, and much to my surprise, I spent $2,403 in one category. No, that wasn’t on clothes. It wasn’t on my most recent vacation, either. And it wasn’t the total of all my parking tickets (though that did feel as if it came close).

The $2,403 is what I spent on digital media.

But wait, people are spending money online? On media? Didn’t music industry executives declare, “People won’t pay for things online!”? Yes, as did movie industry executives. TV, radio, book, newspaper and magazine bigwigs, too, have all made similar claims over the last decade.

Well, those apocalyptic predictions turn out to be wrong.

I am spending more on digital media than I used to spend on the physical stuff. (The federal government says the average American family spent $2,572 on all entertainment, not just digital, in 2011.) And I know why I am spending more on digital media.

Digital media, unlike its slow cousin, is immediate. In the past, if friends mentioned a good book they had just finished, people made a note (mental or on a scrap of paper) to pick it up during their next visit to the bookstore or library. The same went for other items like CDs, DVDs or magazines.

via NYTimes.com.

The almost status of Nokia Software Checker

Ricky beat me to blogging this, but I also had the same experience using the Nokia Software Checker on the N79. Nokia Software Checker appears on the newer Feature Pack 2 devices (N79, N85) and appears to be an application who’s sole purpose is to schedule checks against the firmware database.

In theory this is a very handy thing as having the latest software on your mobile tends to deliver new features and most importantly bug fixes.  Updating firmware via FP2 is a simple non-destructive process so updating to the latest software is also painless.  

Back to the Nokia Software Checker … I noticed this application on the N79 first and decided to try it last week.  After pinging the Nokia server, I was told there was an update (not what update) and suggested I connect to my PC to run the software updater there instead of prompting me to check right on the device.  Over the air updates are a key feature on these new devices and I was surprised to see it not referenced.  I tried the OTA update anyway (homescreen > *#0000# > check for updates) and was told there was no new software available.

I’m not sure why there is a disconnect between the two applications and the database online here, but this is not a good way to create a positive user experience.  I’ve not had the chance to try an update from my PC yet but I’m guessing that the software update via PC and Phone are in sync and that it’s the Nokia Software Checker that’s out of alignment.