Brenda Ann wrote:
"SFTV_troy" wrote in message
ps.com...

Was there a downside to upgrading from Cassettes to CDs? No. Was
there a downside to upgrading from analog VHS to digital DVDs? No.
Was there a downside to upgrading from analog radio to Digital
satellite radio? No. (I could go on-and-on with other examples like
digital MP3s and Ipods and Internet radio and.....)


No downside? Ever hear of replacement costs? Ever hear of
unavailability of product? Ever hear of CHOICE?

Hi Brenda,

Yeah just 5 seconds ago when I read your post. ;-) Although it's
sometimes painful to have to abandon your old record player and
upgrade to CD, I think it's worthwhile. You get better sound. (Of
course, you don't have to abandon records; there are still turntables
out there.)

Me, I'm stuck in the middle of this HDTV transition. I'm recording
HDTV with a vcr, which is totally inadequate for the task, but I'm
still glad the transition was made, because HDTV looks much, much
better than analog. I have no desire to take a step backwards to
analog.


Those that think there is no downside to "upgrading" technology do not
take a myriad of factors into account, some small (like the DX hobby)

Yes true. By the way, DX isn't dead. It moved to the internet, where
you can hear stations as far away as London, Russia, Australia, et
cetera. I hear more distant stations now than I ever did as a
teenager.


some larger (orphaning millions of listeners that don't live inside city
grade contours of broadcast stations, and lose their ability to receive stations
that they were previously easily able to receive)

The analog FM is still there. So too are the websites, so rural
listeners can stream them off the internet. Heck, I listen to
stations in my hometown, and I'm currently 1000 miles away, just via
streaming.



to larger still (the obsoleting of
literally hundred of millions (possibly even billions) of
currently useful devices (analog TV's (especially portables),
analog radios, turntables, cassette decks, ad inf.).


Yes. Just like when we abandoned horse-drawn carriages, steam
engines, and riverboats. It's called progress... moving from old
technologies to new technologies. Movign from slow or inefficient
technologies to faster, economical technologies.

BTW analog TVs are not dead. I've got a digital tuner attached to
mine, which means the set will die a natural death of old age. It's
not been wasted.



And has anyone considered the long term
ecological repercussions of having to dispose
of all these millions of now useless devices?

Trivial compared to the amount of trash generated from food
packaging. By volume I'd estimate a thrown-away VCR or Cassette
player is less than 1% the volume generated by food boxes, plastic
wrap, and containers.



Digital radio is an answer to a problem that doesn't exist,
and is/will create(ing) more problems than it solves.

Actually there is a problem. Young adults and teens are demanding
more variety, and analog radio doesn't have room to grow to meet that
demand (no room to add stations).



You mention digital satellite radio. That's fine, and I wouldn't mind
giving it a try.. but hey, satellite radio doesn't affect my ability
to listen to any of hundreds or more terrestrial analog stations
whenever I choose. IBOC terrestrial radios DOES!

No it doesn't. Just type in your favorite radio station's call
letters.com, and you can hear them over the internet. (If you can't
find your station, I'd be happy to help you locate its dot-com
location.)

Oh and you can try free XM by going he radioaol.com - That's
what I listen to during work (sometimes).



If you want to listen to digital radio, then get yourself
an XM or Sirius radio and listen to your heart's content

I don't want to pay $150 a year for radio. I like the free over-the-
air kind, but I want more stations.