Dot.com winner Paul Graham writes on why TV lost — computers + television = computers. Of course as much is watched as ever, but the products (you and me) are getting entirely too uppity for business comfort. The broadcast model is as healthy as major record companies.

I work in media. The future of television is YouTube or similar. We know this. It’ll take a few years before the Internet is a better television than television, i.e. when your connection is a better delivery mechanism than DVB-T over the air. On the other hand, convenience beats quality every time.

We each sit comfortably in the lounge on our own laptop, watching videos as the whim takes us. The younger teenager uses YouTube as her personal jukebox. Even broadcast television (BBC Cbeebies for the toddler) is streamed live over the net. I have a television, and proudly pay my licence fee. I can’t remember when I last switched it on.

Saw a girl on the tube with a Get Hip Records bag. I told her I approved. I’m contemplating my own half a ton vinyl albatross rather less cheerfully. I’ve lugged this thing behind me for fifteen years. I want rid of the damn thing.

This involves (a) a lot of ripping vinyl to digital (b) getting rid of the physical objects.

Quite a lot of it is indie rock which literally exists in the world only on a thousand pieces of vinyl, so the right place would probably be a library who cared, which would mean in Australia, with me donating the shipping as well. Anything in the vinyl pile that exists on CD can bugger off. A few things (not more than a few crates) I’ll want to keep.

There’s a lotta cassettes to rip too.

The CDs, of course, go to FLAC then get used for, I dunno, skeet shooting.

That takes care of most of it, I think. I’m sure I’ll get all this done before I die.