Here's the background:
The concept, trumpeted for years, only now appears to be making inroads. ABC, according to Ms. Sweeney, is pursuing the technology in several ways. With a Lost widget, ABC could perhaps feed fans extra clues about the mysterious storyline as they watch the series finale next year. A cooking segment on Good Morning America could be enhanced with step-by-step instructions that can be viewed onscreen via a widget.
And here's my question:
Aside from baby boomers, more and more people are viewing television programs over the Web, on some network sites, and Hulu and similar services. Those viewers, I suspect, are more technically savvy and adept at using various Web 2.0 tools to simultaneously access multiple content streams -- using Twitter while watching favorite programs, for example.
So while the TV widgets idea sounds cool, is it really going to matter if people aren't using their TVs anyway?
And with services like Twitter, and devices like the iPhone and iPod Touch, why but the widget in the TV?
This idea has some merit in its potential to transform the TV viewing experience to make it as customizable and interactive as the personal computer. But it may be too little too late.
Of course, if people are willing to trample each other to save a few bucks on a flat-screen TV, maybe TV as we know still has a chance at avoiding the tar pit.
Read the original story: ABC Pursues Television Widgets - TV Decoder Blog - NYTimes.com
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