Space Wars
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Virtual Space vs Physical Space
Image by Shadphotos
I’ve survived cassette tapes, the VHS era, and now what seems to be the end of the DVD and CD era. Each time a new media is born, I’ve had to go through the agonizing process of renewing my collections in the new format. Now that the DVD has given way to the Blu-Ray DVD, I am left with a similar dilemma, and although the CD is still the dominant music format, I have long since given up on purchasing them.
You see, the thing is that I’m tired of not only buying new medias, but of finding ways to store them. CD’s just are not practical to keep by the hundreds (I’ve got CD books laying all around my house and cars), and DVD’s just don’t seem to fit on a single bookshelf any longer. As a result, what I have started to notice about my buying habits is that I simply ignore the physical media in its entirety. If I am looking for music to buy, I’ll hit up Amazon’s Digital Download Service, which is quite attractive in both simplicity and cost.
With movies this process varies because the amount of data per movie is much larger than a CD and although downloading is feasible, it isn’t always the most efficient method. Streaming movies such as on Amazon or Netflix are a better option in this case. Still, it won’t be long until there is an efficient method to download or keep digital copies of movies, Blu-Ray or not. Personally, even though I rarely buy physical DVD’s any longer, when I do I keep digital copies of them on my pc.
The obvious truth is that the physical form of media is being replaced by the digital form. There are several reasons for this, but the one I would like to talk about is one that is rarely discussed, which is that of the physical dimension. Many of us understand, but don’t think of the issue in this manner…
Digital Storage is Cheaper and More Efficient than Physical Storage
Think about it like this: You can buy a 500Gb Hard Drive, small and portable, that is able to hold over 50 movies or thousands of albums. This device can be connected to nearly any computer and the files can be transported with ease. Were you to store the same amount of media on a bookshelf, you would be taking up much more physical space at a much higher cost per space ratio. Space in your home is at a premium because you only have a fixed amount of it. However, space in the digital realm is infinite! You can fill and entire room with Hard Drives and store an amount of media that would fill up your entire house.
Although digital media is much more convenient and accessible than physical media, I believe that the true power of digital media is in its ability to be stored infinitely. As technology improves and computers get faster, digital media will continue to evolve at an incredible rate. We already have access to a massive amount of media at the present, but in the very near future we are going to have access to a thousand times more. We will eventually be so overexposed to media that even if we dedicated every hour of our life to accessing it, we would never be able to get to all of it.
Where Will It End?
At present, we are used to digital music and video, but digital books are making a strong surge via the Amazon Kindle and other similar devices. What do you think is next in line? Digital storage is only going to get bigger, faster, and cheaper. Will travel become digital travel? Will physical processes become digital processes. Will physical neighborhoods become digital neighborhoods? Years ago, The Matrix showed us what a full digital world would look like…the funny thing is now it doesn’t look so far away or impossible after all. Will digital become the new physical?
Tell me what you think…leave a comment below.
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