Thinkcage

Just days after this clearly-manipulated photo of Katie Couric started making the rounds (first on the web, but my wife pointed it out in People Magazine, too) we get the word that HP has announced a new digital camera with a “Slimming” function. According to the page on HP.com:

They say cameras add ten pounds, but HP digital cameras can help reverse that effect. The slimming feature, available on select HP digital camera models, is a subtle effect that can instantly trim off pounds from the subjects in your photos!

And to think we all thought that CBS used Photoshop.

Oh man how exciting is this? Pearl Jam’s rumored taping of the VH1 showcase, Storytellers, has finally been announced and will air at 9PM Central time on July 1.

From www.pearljam.com:

Watch the first-ever Pearl Jam Storytellers July 1 at 10 PM Eastern/Pacific and 9 PM Central. Don’t miss this exclusive, intimate performance featuring new songs as well as past favorites. For a sneak preview check out vspot.vh1.com. Then, after the show airs, get on back to VSpot for footage you didn’t see on TV!

I can’t wait!

New to the reality/home-improvement television genre is reality/auto-improvement. Shows like American Chopper are pretty entertaining even for a non-auto nut like me. The next phase, though, is the Trading Spaces/While You Were Out treatment on shows like MTV’s Pimp My Ride where a pro team takes someone’s wreck of a car and turns it into a chrome-wheeled hip-hop G-ride.

The newest show is Overhaulin’ on TLC. I’m looking forward to this one especially since 11 years of driving an extremely practical 72HP econo-ride has me feeling like the perfect candidate. I guess the hitch here is they do it to unsuspecting car owners and have to use some clever tactics to part them from their cars for a week. I’ll be watching for sure.

A recent CNN story reports that a study by Sony about the gaming habits of Playstation 2 owners shows that the majority of gaming takes place from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., directly competing with network TV’s “prime-time” programming.

The article concludes that perhaps the decline of TV viewership in general can be attributed to gamers. This is certainly plausible as Sony reports that 65% of those gamers fit the 18-35 male demographic. Personally, I think there is more to it than that.

To me, this is an issue of interactive vs. passive entertainment. It is difficult to sit and watch TV when you can interact with the Internet or a video game. Video games, in particular offer a similar visual experience to TV but allow you to control the action. Furthermore online-enabled play brings social interaction into the mix for a very immersive experience. The internet offers similar interactivity as we use instant messaging, email, and browsers. As well as the ability to control of the flow of that information.

I find it difficult to schedule time to watch the few programs that even appeal to me and find myself enjoying very little of that. With competitive entertainment like DVDs, video games, and the Internet, combined with DVRs that allow viewers to never miss an episode and watch them on their own time, I think it is safe to say that the death of “prime-time” is at hand.

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