I recently installed a digital media hub - the Hauppage Media MVP 1000. The MVP stands for Music, Video, Pictures, but could very well be "Most Valuable Player". The Media MVP is a router-sized device that hooks into the home network on one end, and the home theater on the other. Since my home theater also switches video signal inputs for my television, this means I can, on demand, play movies, music or view pictures on my television that are stored elsewhere on my network.
Even better, the Media MVP is a Linux-based device that uses a service running on my Windows-based PC. The service is constantly updated via upgrades - unusual for consumer products and quite anti- the model espoused by Sony-style companies - new features include DivX support, Internet Radio, and many more. A thriving community exists online, including software skins, et al. All this for a sub-$100 price.
This kind of digital convergence within the home is liberating intellectually, while stultifying in some ways. Sedentary in one sense, it amplifies the utilization of devices, creating a sort of information-sphere permeating the home. Couple this concept with pervasive Internet access, and we move further towards a hyperreal society, at least for those of us on the right side of the digital divide.
The digital divide, however, can potentially be bridged by such low cost technologies. In India, for example, the government has set up vast education television-based networks to educate rural masses. The generic, canned television programming can be replaced with dynamic, web-routed content, delivering the world to the village at a low cost.
Devices like the Simputer, a cheap Linux-based handheld, (retail product: The Amida Simputer)are changing the lives of farmers, enabling them to have access to retail price information, demand fluctuations and stocking levels. This enables them, albeit not sufficiently yet, to compete against the agribusiness conglomerates.
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