Awh Man!

Keeping Up with the Tech Blues

TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- Sony's Blu-ray technology is emerging as the likely winner in the format battle for the next generation of DVD players after Toshiba appeared ready to ditch its HD DVD business.

People watch a demonstration of HD DVD at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Such a move would help consumers know which system to invest in and would likely boost sales in Blu-ray gadgets, analysts say. But it will disappoint the 1 million people around the world estimated by Toshiba who have already bought HD DVD players.

Toshiba said Monday no decision has been made but acknowledged it had started a review of its HD DVD strategy. The comments follow a flurry of weekend Japanese media reports that the company was close to pulling the plug on the business.

I sometimes joke with my father who still argues with sales clerks in department stores and goes on extended polemics standing on line at the small video store which still rents VHS. "Why don't they just make up their minds?" he drones. He has a VHS player and refuses to budge.

Who can blame him? I don't make a lot of money. The thought of having to chuck out all my gear and movie collection (as I had to do with my VCR and VHS tapes) sends a jolt of cosmic outrage up my spine. I can't keep up. I have friends who have made the jump to HDVD and Plasma this and High definition that and I still have the TV set I got as a freshman in college. And now with the 2009 cross-over looming, a large section of techy updaters are going to be shouting: "Awh man! Give me a break here!"

But now after roughly 6 years of building up a DVD collection I am hearing that Blue Ray will be the format of choice. It kind of hurts to hear it.

Storage methods have come a long way from film and magnetic tape formats. There are no doubts that in the next ten years grandpa will get teased for his funky Blue Ray collection.

So what do you do in the mean time? Have a lot of cash on hand I guess. Keeping up on the latest tech is pricey, and dicey. Ask any librarian who has a basement full of Microfiche. Its a hard life, that tech life.

Any thoughts?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/02/18/toshiba.hddvd.ap/index.html