Remember that Qwest commercial? Circa 1999-2000? A guy walks into a diner in the middle of a desert, spots a jukebox in the corner, and asks the owner what's on it.
"Every song ever recorded by every artist, ever."
That commercial made me sh-t a puppy. I could not imagine a future where every song ever recorded is available on a jukebox. In fact, I thought it to be hyperbole.
Fast-forward to 2011. I have access to every song ever recorded, every movie ever filmed, and any tv or radio broadcast ever recorded...
On my f--king cell phone!
Imagine if the 1999 version of me --who was absolutely thrilled to download Metallica MP3s via Napster and my dial-up AOL service, even if it did take 3 to 4 hours-- could see what I spent most of this morning doing?
(It may be alleged that I dropped anchor in a certain Piratebay, where a torrent of bits of information streamed into my computer.)
On a HD screen that I can secure between the base of my thumb and the second knuckle of my middle finger, I am cruising through Rihanna's latest album.
Remembering that she was on Saturday Night Live well before I came to appreciate these songs, I opened my Netflix app, found the episode, and played her live performance (which made me think of Faith No More's appearance on SNL, a video of which I found on Youtube in about 15 seconds.)
Now, we would reject a device that would only give us access to every song ever recorded: Where's the video support, Hulu app or my digital download copy of The Dark Knight??
F--k a personal jet pack or commercial flights to Jupiter; this is exactly the technological nirvana my 30-year-old self would have fantasied about!
We Live In the Future. Enjoy It.
