Streaming Video - What Will The Outcome Be?

With the announcement of YouTube going widescreen, and Blockbuster joining in the streaming rental fray, a question arises. How will all of this extra load play out with the basic structure of the internet?

It certainly is a good thing that Mr. Obama was elected, as he is clear about the concept of net neutrality, and his unwavering support for it. With the model that the President-elect has decided to use for his ‘computer-side chats’ with the nation, it is certain he will not be wanting any restrictions on the flow of information to the people of the nation. I have read, with lots of interest, that the President-elect is very adamant about the free flow of information and data on the internet, and takes a very dim view of the caps that Comcast has imposed in places. The Obama view seems to coincide with mine, in that for the first 15 years of wide internet access, ISPs were able to make quite a tidy profit from their customers, and now, when consumption is going up, there should not be any squealing from the providers. Their chance to invest in infrastructure was during those highly profitable times. It is not time to start turning the spigot in the wrong direction.

With the large streaming providers gearing up, it appears that they know something we sense, but have not been able to point to just yet. There must have been lots of backroom deals already made, so that these efforts by YouTube, Blockbuster, TiVo, and the like are not in vain.  There is just no way that all of this effort is for naught. The puny minds that gave us the Comcast caps, along with the antiquated idea that growth of the internet can not continue at the same pace it has, during the first 15 years of widespread adoption, is impossible, are completely wrong.

As I have stated before, and should be apparent from the way this country moves during an economic crisis, all it takes is will. The generation that elected the administration taking over in January has decided that the internet, and its unfettered use, is too large a part of their lives to lose. The 25% of the over 60 crowd, that feels like they can do without the internet, can continue on in their ignorance; they have been passed on the highway of life by the information speedsters, and should get out of the way, as the steam rollers are close behind, to make the highway just that much faster and easier to traverse.

For me, the true information age will have arrived when, in most houses, is a telephone that provides the small video screen promised by the cartoons I watched as a child.

I can hardly wait.

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If you’re going through hell, keep going. Winston Churchill