Cable: bad idea? Unnecessary? Forum

[snowpeach06]

TV is what I do when I need to relax - so I actually just 5 minutes ago got it. Sure, if you don't watch a lot of tv and only regularly want to see a few shows, there is no need, you can just stream. But, if on a weekend you just want to sit down and flip through channels, then getting cable isn't a waste. Since i have a roomie I'm only paying about $60 a month for 2 cable boxes (so we never have to flight over the tv) and the fastest internet offered. Worth the price if you ask me.

[jlh39]

I'm not going to have cable in law school for money reasons, but I also watch espn all the time right now and I hope I can make the transition without resorting to killself. I figure maybe I'll get my Sportscenter fix at the gym, and hopefully use stuff like espn3 and myp2p.eu to actually watch football etc.

Words of encouragement from previously cable-dependent law students that have successfully made the transition to no cable are welcome!

(Worrying about cable instead of reading "Getting to Maybe" ftw!)

[sundevil77]

tel·e·vi·sion   [tel-uh-vizh-uhn] Show IPA
–noun
1. the broadcasting of a still or moving image via radiowaves to receivers that project a view of the image on a picture tube.
2. the process involved.
3. a set for receiving television broadcasts.
4. the field of television broadcasting.

Why is it so ridiculous to believe that this technology is becoming obsolete? Even definition #4, which doesn't definitively discount cable, is on shakier ground now than it has ever been before. I think if you believe that internet-based technologies won't entirely consume all of television's (cable or otherwise) market share within 20 years, you're the one being ridiculous. Sure, you'll still have a big screen in your house, but it will be a monitor, not a TV.

Even if the poster meant otherwise, the most common interpretation (at least for the purposes of this thread) is #4. Because of this, that comment was one of the most ridiculous I've ever read.

Ok, you're obviously having trouble wrapping your mind around this. There's this thing called the internet. You're using it right now. But here's the thing; it's got a lot more going on than TLS and that porn site you visit a thousand times a day. It will eventually destroy the field of television broadcasting as we know it. Here's some reading for you to peruse:*

(*note: these little blue chunks of text are called 'links', and will take you to a whole different part of cyberspace. It's kind of like changing the channel on your TV remote.)

http://www.slate.com/id/2128201
--LinkRemoved--
http://gawker.com/5457419/the-death-of- ... -at-a-time
--LinkRemoved--
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/in ... zattoo.php

HTH

sport (spôrt, sprt) n.
1a. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.
1b. A particular form of this activity.
2. An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

I know you're having trouble wrapping your mind around this, dood, but some people actually like watching sports. Maybe you can't stand watching "sweaty men chase around after inanimate objects," but the rest of us have engaged in physical activity once or twice in our lives and can relate. We enjoy it. Get over it.

I read through all of your articles and none of them can yet address the issue of watching sports broadcasting or live news coverage online. Incidentally those happen to be the two types of programming I watch most on TV. Let me know when there is an adequate, cost effective solution to those problems and then I'll buy into your argument.

[Burger in a can]

tel·e·vi·sion   [tel-uh-vizh-uhn] Show IPA
–noun
1. the broadcasting of a still or moving image via radiowaves to receivers that project a view of the image on a picture tube.
2. the process involved.
3. a set for receiving television broadcasts.
4. the field of television broadcasting.

Why is it so ridiculous to believe that this technology is becoming obsolete? Even definition #4, which doesn't definitively discount cable, is on shakier ground now than it has ever been before. I think if you believe that internet-based technologies won't entirely consume all of television's (cable or otherwise) market share within 20 years, you're the one being ridiculous. Sure, you'll still have a big screen in your house, but it will be a monitor, not a TV.

Even if the poster meant otherwise, the most common interpretation (at least for the purposes of this thread) is #4. Because of this, that comment was one of the most ridiculous I've ever read.

Ok, you're obviously having trouble wrapping your mind around this. There's this thing called the internet. You're using it right now. But here's the thing; it's got a lot more going on than TLS and that porn site you visit a thousand times a day. It will eventually destroy the field of television broadcasting as we know it. Here's some reading for you to peruse:*

(*note: these little blue chunks of text are called 'links', and will take you to a whole different part of cyberspace. It's kind of like changing the channel on your TV remote.)

http://www.slate.com/id/2128201
--LinkRemoved--
http://gawker.com/5457419/the-death-of- ... -at-a-time
--LinkRemoved--
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/in ... zattoo.php

HTH

sport (spôrt, sprt) n.
1a. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.
1b. A particular form of this activity.
2. An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

I know you're having trouble wrapping your mind around this, dood, but some people actually like watching sports. Maybe you can't stand watching "sweaty men chase around after inanimate objects," but the rest of us have engaged in physical activity once or twice in our lives and can relate. We enjoy it. Get over it.

I read through all of your articles and none of them can yet address the issue of watching sports broadcasting or live news coverage online. Incidentally those happen to be the two types of programming I watch most on TV. Let me know when there is an adequate, cost effective solution to those problems and then I'll buy into your argument.

I played varsity football, lacrosse, and ice hockey in high school. I still think sports are retarded. It's fine if you love them. I started talking smack about them because some other doucheburger was suggesting that people who don't watch sports have empty lives. Get over it.

I never said that there is an adequate, cost effective solution to watching sports broadcasting or live news coverage online. I said there will be. I encourage you to continue practicing your reading skills before law school starts though.

[bilbobaggins]

ESPN3 broadcast almost every WC game live.

[sundevil77]

tel·e·vi·sion   [tel-uh-vizh-uhn] Show IPA
–noun
1. the broadcasting of a still or moving image via radiowaves to receivers that project a view of the image on a picture tube.
2. the process involved.
3. a set for receiving television broadcasts.
4. the field of television broadcasting.

Why is it so ridiculous to believe that this technology is becoming obsolete? Even definition #4, which doesn't definitively discount cable, is on shakier ground now than it has ever been before. I think if you believe that internet-based technologies won't entirely consume all of television's (cable or otherwise) market share within 20 years, you're the one being ridiculous. Sure, you'll still have a big screen in your house, but it will be a monitor, not a TV.

Ok, you're obviously having trouble wrapping your mind around this. There's this thing called the internet. You're using it right now. But here's the thing; it's got a lot more going on than TLS and that porn site you visit a thousand times a day. It will eventually destroy the field of television broadcasting as we know it. Here's some reading for you to peruse:*

(*note: these little blue chunks of text are called 'links', and will take you to a whole different part of cyberspace. It's kind of like changing the channel on your TV remote.)

http://www.slate.com/id/2128201
--LinkRemoved--
http://gawker.com/5457419/the-death-of- ... -at-a-time
--LinkRemoved--
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/in ... zattoo.php

HTH

sport (spôrt, sprt) n.
1a. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.
1b. A particular form of this activity.
2. An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

I know you're having trouble wrapping your mind around this, dood, but some people actually like watching sports. Maybe you can't stand watching "sweaty men chase around after inanimate objects," but the rest of us have engaged in physical activity once or twice in our lives and can relate. We enjoy it. Get over it.

I read through all of your articles and none of them can yet address the issue of watching sports broadcasting or live news coverage online. Incidentally those happen to be the two types of programming I watch most on TV. Let me know when there is an adequate, cost effective solution to those problems and then I'll buy into your argument.

I played varsity football, lacrosse, and ice hockey in high school. I still think sports are retarded. It's fine if you love them. I started talking smack about them because some other doucheburger was suggesting that people who don't watch sports have empty lives. Get over it.

I never said that there is an adequate, cost effective solution to watching sports broadcasting or live news coverage online. I said there will be. I encourage you to continue practicing your reading skills before law school starts though.

And I'm saying I'm not so sure there will be. Mega TV deals are huge revenue generators for many sports teams, not the least of which are college athletic conferences. If TV broadcasters continue to pony up the $$$ to own the rights to show sporting events, and we assume that the demand for such sports is relatively inelastic, I don't see why the model will change. People want their sports. They will pay to watch their sports.

1. Pay sports team/conferences for exclusive rights to broadcast their games
2. Contract with cable companies to show such broadcasts
3. ???????????????
4. Profit $$$

[leobowski]

Words of encouragement from previously cable-dependent law students that have successfully made the transition to no cable are welcome!

I ditched cable and I was a big ESPN junkie, especially "Around the Horn." I rely on Netflix Instant for TV shows and a sports bar down the street for good games. It's as simple as that. The only times I miss cable are.. well never really.

[GettingReady2010]

Words of encouragement from previously cable-dependent law students that have successfully made the transition to no cable are welcome!

I ditched cable and I was a big ESPN junkie, especially "Around the Horn." I rely on Netflix Instant for TV shows and a sports bar down the street for good games. It's as simple as that. The only times I miss cable are.. well never really.

How much would you estimate this is saving you? I think cable will be unnecessary for me, but if the amount I will be saving will be insignificant then I might as well have it.

[quickquestionthanks]

Absent from this discussion is cable TV as a distraction, not just a necessity. That's why I'm not getting it. Jon Stewart and Alex Trebec are far too addicting.

At least there's a silver lining to the Suns losing Amare...probably won't be missing much!

[leobowski]

Words of encouragement from previously cable-dependent law students that have successfully made the transition to no cable are welcome!

I ditched cable and I was a big ESPN junkie, especially "Around the Horn." I rely on Netflix Instant for TV shows and a sports bar down the street for good games. It's as simple as that. The only times I miss cable are.. well never really.

How much would you estimate this is saving you? I think cable will be unnecessary for me, but if the amount I will be saving will be insignificant then I might as well have it.

Well I would have high-speed internet and netflix anyway, so I save about $65 a month or $780 a year. That would be additional grad plus loans at 7.8% interest, so I save about 5 grand in the long run.

Not everyone sees cable as a luxury though, some people absolutely have to have their TV and I can understand that. I'll probably get cable again when I'm in practice, it is nice sometimes.

[HBK]

Our lives lack the fantasy that because a group of men are wearing a jersey representing our city/state/region, we should give a shit about whatever it is that they're doing. Even though these men aren't originally from our city/state/region, and the corporations that own the logos on those jerseys do nothing at all to enrich our lives, or to better our city/state/region.

I'm from New England so... GO SOX!?!?!?!?!

You must be a blast at parties.

I ditched cable and I was a big ESPN junkie, especially "Around the Horn." I rely on Netflix Instant for TV shows and a sports bar down the street for good games. It's as simple as that. The only times I miss cable are.. well never really.

The fiancee and I in a bar for 4-5 hours every weekend would translate to at least $120+/month, which is considerably more than adding cable to my internet. However, outside of college football season, this argument may not hold any water.

[Baylan]

Our lives lack the fantasy that because a group of men are wearing a jersey representing our city/state/region, we should give a shit about whatever it is that they're doing. Even though these men aren't originally from our city/state/region, and the corporations that own the logos on those jerseys do nothing at all to enrich our lives, or to better our city/state/region.

I'm from New England so... GO SOX!?!?!?!?!

You must be a blast at parties.

I ditched cable and I was a big ESPN junkie, especially "Around the Horn." I rely on Netflix Instant for TV shows and a sports bar down the street for good games. It's as simple as that. The only times I miss cable are.. well never really.

The fiancee and I in a bar for 4-5 hours every weekend would translate to at least $120+/month, which is considerably more than adding cable to my internet. However, outside of college football season, this argument may not hold any water.

But but but, what about college basketball season? You don't watch any of those games?

[Burger in a can]

You must be a blast at parties.

I don't go to parties where people sit around and talk about sports... You sportsfans seem so flabbergasted by the idea that some people aren't exactly the same as you and all of your friends...

[darkknight2000]

Just me personally, but I don't think I could've gotten through 1L year without cable (for sports as well as random TV shows). I needed the TV on in the background while outlining or else it'd just be too quiet for me.

[truffleshuffle]

You sportsfans seem so flabbergasted by the idea that some people aren't exactly the same as you and all of your friends...

As someone who grew up around Hartford, I think this is hilarious. You just described New England sports fans perfectly. I hate baseball, and the constant Red Sox-Yankees bickering bullshit that I endured every damn day remains the reason I will never return to CT.

I was home this christmas. There were college football bowls on, NBA regular season, college basketball, hockey, even UCONN women for christ sake, and what the topic of every sports conversation I encounter? Hot stove baseball about the Yankees and Red Sox strengthening their bullpens.

EDIT: Forgot, the NFL playoffs were also on.

[Always Credited]

You sportsfans seem so flabbergasted by the idea that some people aren't exactly the same as you and all of your friends...

As someone who grew up around Hartford, I think this is hilarious. You just described New England sports fans perfectly. I hate baseball, and the constant Red Sox-Yankees bickering bullshit that I endured every damn day remains the reason I will never return to CT.

I was home this christmas. There were college football bowls on, NBA regular season, college basketball, hockey, even UCONN women for christ sake, and what the topic of every sports conversation I encounter? Hot stove baseball about the Yankees and Red Sox strengthening their bullpens.

EDIT: Forgot, the NFL playoffs were also on.

You're assuming baseball is a real sport, which it isn't.

[GermX]

I can't live without cable! Just don't get HBO and shit and you should be fine money wise, it'll cost like 30 bucks a month, not too bad.

[leobowski]

I can't live without cable! Just don't get HBO and shit and you should be fine money wise, it'll cost like 30 bucks a month, not too bad.

Where are you living that cable is so cheap? It costs at least 55-60$ for basic cable anywhere on the west coast.

[samiseaborn]

I had basic for $25 (and I mean basic ~10 channels) to have news and background noise while I worked. Netflix/hulu filled in the gaps nicely. Though, it does depend on how good your internet will be. If it sucks, the frustration of trying to stream will not be worth the saved money.

[Ty Webb]

I don't sit around at parties talking about sports. Quite honestly, it annoys the piss out of me when I have to listen to sports arguments.

This is because the average fan of Team X has literally no idea what he's talking about. This is true almost across the board, no matter the league, no matter the sport. It's a direct result of TV networks and the fact that 99% of the people in sports media/broadcasting having no idea what they're watching. These are the people who promote the importance of ideas like "a guy being good in the clubhouse".

You can reach a certain level in your sports knowledge where it becomes impossible to talk sports with underlings. I've reached that level in baseball, which seems to be the one game that people like to debate the most. I wouldn't expect Burger in a Can to understand this. But, as I said, I don't sit around parties talking about sports. I just find that people who like sports are more apt to be my kind of guy. My girlfriend doesn't like sports. But she's a chick and enjoys "other things" that I also enjoy.

I still assert that people who don't like sports/follow a sports team are missing out on some of what makes life great. You argue that I'm wrong. It's impossible for you to know this, though, because you're like my girlfriend.

I do hope that you bid on firms that don't require a great deal of personality. Your weird, misguided rants about "sweaty men wearing logos of corporations that don't impact my life" (or whatever it was you were spewing) are almost certain to earn you the an instant weird label amongst the masses of successful, driven, competitive men who find that sports are worth their time.

[sdv]

alright, so to put this in perspective, I'm a sports fanatic (everything but the NBA) and I also love my television (USA original programming is my guilty pleasure). I'm also paying for cable. With that said, I don't understand how "I want to watch sports" is a good counterargument for "why not stream shows online". I watch most of my sports on atdhe.net, which has literally every game in every sport streaming live, which comes in handy when my local teams aren't being broadcast wherever I am. I'm still on the side of "its not the same thing" though, so here are some better arguments:

1. Giant HDTV >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> tiny laptop screen
2. internet is slow, and internet fast enough to give you a viewing experience akin to watching tv costs as much as cable.
3. you can't work on your computer and watch tv at the same time if your computer is your tv.

[Burger in a can]

I like sports because I hope to impress the masses of successful, driven, competitive men who find that sports are worth their time. Sports enhance my life and make me competitive, because it is competitive to agree with the great majority of other men. However, any dissenting opinion of the mold from which I have extruded my personality will be dismissed as "weird" and ultimately uncompetitive. Instead, one should use the Andrew Bernard technique: "name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake."

Edited for brevity.

[Pearalegal]

This topic may have been overly examined.

[truffleshuffle]

You can reach a certain level in your sports knowledge where it becomes impossible to talk sports with underlings. I've reached that level in baseball, which seems to be the one game that people like to debate the most.

This is credited. However, I wouldn't call them underlings, they're just casual fans.

When I'm with my friends and baseball is on, I shut my mouth and let them do the talking. But when it comes to college football I pretty much only discuss it with a select group that gets the inside jokes and references that I do. It's people that try to talk about sports when they really aren't fans that piss me off. It's just like on TLS when some 0L tries to give advice on the transfer forum, they don't know what they're talking about so they shouldn't even enter into the discussion and it pisses people off when they do it.

Unfortunately, Burger in a can is stuck in Hartford, and Hartford is full of Boston sports fans AKA the most insufferable humans on the planet and mostly band-wagoners. I have friends who proclaim to be Celtics fans, and they think that Danny Ainge is a genius for DRAFTING Kevin Garnett.

[Dingus McBadger]

People who don't require cable are quite obviously not sports fans.

I can't fathom how weird and uncompetitive life must be for those who don't follow sports teams.

Our lives lack the fantasy that because a group of men are wearing a jersey representing our city/state/region, we should give a shit about whatever it is that they're doing. Even though these men aren't originally from our city/state/region, and the corporations that own the logos on those jerseys do nothing at all to enrich our lives, or to better our city/state/region alma mater.

I'm from New England so... GO SOX!?!?!?!?!

College Sports win.

So wait, the fact that some guys were recruited to attend a school because of their athletic prowess makes their performance somehow personal to you? Because you attended the same school/live in the same state? I still don't get it.


Well actually, I get it. I just think it's retarded. But to each his own.

That's why you go to restaurants and movies alone. Nobody calls you on weekends. And you wear size 48 wasted pants.