Pollyanna landed at our house this weekend so those of you who are still grumping over your morning coffee might as well give it up: This column is not for you.
What got us thinking about this was a friend of ours who cornered us on a chair lift the other day (not a hard thing to do). This friend lives way, way in the backwoods outside of Summit County, Colorado, and what she had on her mind was DirecWay. She and her significant other work out of their home and, after hearing their grousing about telephone Internet, we had recommended DirecWay.
They got it (after much, MUCH difficulty in finding a proficient installer ... to be the subject of another column) and were absolutely delirious with the results.
So we got to thinking ... wouldn't it be nice if 2005 was especially good to...
#1 – DirecWay AND WildBlue. Fact is, we need these services. In this big, big country of ours, lots of people live in areas that cable will never reach. And while we concede that cable broadband is a faster (and getting even faster) service, satellite broadband is pretty darn good. Which is critical for many people in our increasingly high-speed world. We've relied on DirecWay for six years now and can tell you it's a very good service which definitely has a place in the broadband panoply. (OK, for the sticklers among you that's in our Breckenridge home; we also use (like and rely on) cable broadband at our office and other abode.)
#2 – TiVo. Yeah, we know that first (or near first)-to-market with a new product is often a death knell but the fact is that years after its introduction TiVo is STILL by far the best DVR out there. It's got the best guide, the easiest searches and superior features to any other DVR (and that includes Comcast's latest and greatest) we've looked at.
#3 – VOOM. Ok, we're Don Quixote suckers. For sure, the lack of capacity (AKA no locals except, in the right circumstances, via terrestrial antenna) is a severe drawback ... as is the Johnny-Come-Lately position ... as is the fact that high-def has been slower taking off than expected. But the service is spectacular. And the insular DBS industry could use a third strong player. So we say "Go VOOM!" no matter what the boys on the Street think.
What got us thinking about this was a friend of ours who cornered us on a chair lift the other day (not a hard thing to do). This friend lives way, way in the backwoods outside of Summit County, Colorado, and what she had on her mind was DirecWay. She and her significant other work out of their home and, after hearing their grousing about telephone Internet, we had recommended DirecWay.
They got it (after much, MUCH difficulty in finding a proficient installer ... to be the subject of another column) and were absolutely delirious with the results.
So we got to thinking ... wouldn't it be nice if 2005 was especially good to...
#1 – DirecWay AND WildBlue. Fact is, we need these services. In this big, big country of ours, lots of people live in areas that cable will never reach. And while we concede that cable broadband is a faster (and getting even faster) service, satellite broadband is pretty darn good. Which is critical for many people in our increasingly high-speed world. We've relied on DirecWay for six years now and can tell you it's a very good service which definitely has a place in the broadband panoply. (OK, for the sticklers among you that's in our Breckenridge home; we also use (like and rely on) cable broadband at our office and other abode.)
#2 – TiVo. Yeah, we know that first (or near first)-to-market with a new product is often a death knell but the fact is that years after its introduction TiVo is STILL by far the best DVR out there. It's got the best guide, the easiest searches and superior features to any other DVR (and that includes Comcast's latest and greatest) we've looked at.
#3 – VOOM. Ok, we're Don Quixote suckers. For sure, the lack of capacity (AKA no locals except, in the right circumstances, via terrestrial antenna) is a severe drawback ... as is the Johnny-Come-Lately position ... as is the fact that high-def has been slower taking off than expected. But the service is spectacular. And the insular DBS industry could use a third strong player. So we say "Go VOOM!" no matter what the boys on the Street think.
