Poet Ponders the Digital

Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley June 2, 2014 Deadline July 2014 Issue Owning is So Yesterday: Streams and Clouds Conquer Discs Almost eight years ago, I sat on the living room floor of our apartment and imported music from our massive compact disc collection into iTunes. The year was 2006, and I had purchased an iPod for my wife. We still use this ancient white iPod in our car, and it works fine. During my graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, I discovered Cheapo Records. There were two massive Cheapo outlets, one in each of the Twin Cities. The Uptown Minneapolis location offered the best selection of CDs I have ever seen. It reminded me of the glory days of Tower Records and the Virgin Megastores. The St. Paul location, conveniently located near my campus office, was smaller, but still impressive. I bought a lot of music, and imported the discs into iTunes. Our music library includes 1785 artists and groups. As an example of my compulsive need to own complete sets...

Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley October 31, 2011 Deadline December 2011 Issue Have a Happy High-Tech Holiday Holidays are about faith, family, and friendships, with some gift giving as an added bonus. If you can be with loved ones for the holidays, that’s the most important gift. Still, giving that perfect gift is a challenge we all face. The best gifts reflect how well you know the recipients. Allow me to offer some ideas from the Virtual Valley. Idea 1: Earphones. If the music lover in your family is still using “buds” instead of headphones, consider the gift of high-fidelity sound. Yes, old-fashioned headphones. Until I tried a pair of Skullcandy Throwback headphones, I had no idea how great an iPod could sound. Skullcandy (skullcandy.com) sells “over the ear” headphones resembling the old padded ones my father used in the 1970s. They might look odd to young people, but the sound difference is astounding. Marshall headphones (marshallheadphones.com) are a great gift for a...

A display of old televisions, VCRs and radios in Amberley Working Museum, England. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley December 6, 2010 Deadline January 2011 Issue Virtual Valley Predictions for 2011 Prognostication is a year-round sport in the technology industry, with everyone trying to anticipate the “Next Big Thing.” Few analysts guess the trends, but since it is the start of a new year, time to offer some predictions from the Virtual Valley crystal ball. The five predictions I offer share a common theme: with media going digital, traditional broadcasters and retailers are going to struggle. As newspapers and magazines have fallen to Web surfing, the next earthquakes will strike the film and television industries. Prediction 1: Cable and satellite television subscribers will reduce or terminate their monthly services. When the Fresno State Football Bulldogs beat Illinois 25-23 on December 3, I wasn’t near a television, but I was still watching ...