Word: broadband
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...Edge network, is still not fast enough to allow wireless downloads of either iTunes music or some of the larger applications. Instead, I had to either log onto a wi-fi network or physically plug my phone into my PC. And it still feels pokey compared to my cable broadband connection at home. At times, downloads took so long that I gave up on checking for new messages and waiting for mobile websites to load. Even the prettiest browser can't make up for that...
...next two minutes or you're going to get fired. (A website called ThinkGeek.com sells a T shirt with a battery-powered wi-fi detector that displays the ambient signal strength wherever you happen to be standing. It's supercool, though if I'm too cheap to pay for broadband, I'm definitely too cheap to spend $30 on a T shirt...
...consumer-electronics company called Roku, in partnership with Netflix, has just launched a set-top box that brings us tantalizingly close to my dream. The Netflix player by Roku ($99 at netflix.com is a black, palm-size device that connects your broadband network to your TV (wired or wirelessly). For as little as $8.99 a month, you can have unlimited access to Netflix's library of more than 10,000 movies and TV shows on demand. Watch what you want, instantly, for as long as you want. You can even start a movie on your home TV and finish watching...
...have a few quibbles. On two occasions, movies paused for a few seconds to buffer. That's a buzz kill. The Roku folks say that can happen when your broadband speed drops below 1 megabit per second. (My standard Comcast connection is usually above 2 megabits per second, but congestion happens.) On the Netflix front, it suffers from two limitations. Netflix doesn't yet offer high-definition movies on demand, while its competitors (Apple, Vudu) do. And 10,000 titles is still a relatively modest selection. Indeed, a head-to-head comparison with, say, Apple's online store shows iTunes...
Twice, the movie paused for a few seconds to buffer the video stream. That's a buzz kill - the Roku folks say it can happen when your broadband speed drops below 1 megabit per second. (My standard Comcast connection is usually above 2 megabits per second, but congestion, I guess, happens. Either that or Comcast, which has long been suspected of throttling back on bandwidth hogs, is punishing...