I love downloading but I think even that will reach a plateau based on consumer storage needs and demands based on not having a physical medium. I learned a long time ago always have a physical copy if the virtual one is damaged or over written. Then you bring in the aspect of increasing hard drive space. We're at terabytes now but how long will that last? Just like a bunch of people you start off with one disc and soon it becomes 100 or more. The same could be said about storage and anyone who has worked with hard drives knows there is a shelf life, imagine backup of several terabytes wiped out because of age. Scary thought considering that right now there are too many intangibles to simply say direct downloading is going to be the successor of digital distribution. Also with concerns with bandwidth throttling it becomes an issue of who will have or not have the means of gaining access to downloading. If anything wait 5-10 years, oddly around the age of DVD before it was replaced, then maybe digital distribution can be a viable means.
The Chromebooks are here, starting with Samsung's Series 5, a cute little number that promises instant-on access, 3G connectivity, and long enough battery life to web surf with the best of 'em.
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I love downloading but I think even that will reach a plateau based on consumer storage needs and demands based on not having a physical medium. I learned a long time ago always have a physical copy if the virtual one is damaged or over written. Then you bring in the aspect of increasing hard drive space. We're at terabytes now but how long will that last? Just like a bunch of people you start off with one disc and soon it becomes 100 or more. The same could be said about storage and anyone who has worked with hard drives knows there is a shelf life, imagine backup of several terabytes wiped out because of age. Scary thought considering that right now there are too many intangibles to simply say direct downloading is going to be the successor of digital distribution. Also with concerns with bandwidth throttling it becomes an issue of who will have or not have the means of gaining access to downloading. If anything wait 5-10 years, oddly around the age of DVD before it was replaced, then maybe digital distribution can be a viable means.