Gotta have more cowbell
When the video ipod came out, I ignored it--at first. Why would someone want to see video on that small a screen?
But eventually I upgraded. Once I had one, of course, I needed to download some video and see how the thing worked. Surprisingly, it's not that bad. You can amuse yourself for quite a while in an airport watching the handheld device. The screen's small, but usable.
Music videos are a natural. You can also buy TV shows from itunes and I found out that it was very easy to convert DVDs into an mpeg file and watch them on the iPod.
So, first thought...the pricing is wrong. Music videos are $1.99. That's high, but I could almost justify that. Entire dvds like the "Best of" series from Saturday Night Live are $9.99. That's fine.
But, here's the rub...Saturday Night Live skits are $1.99 a piece. Yes, that's right. 45 second skits are 2 bucks. This pricing is way too high. In fact, I will virtually guarantee that this pricing will force consumers past that magic ethical twilight zone, where any lingering thoughts about "piracy" go out the window. It's easy to feel guilty about ripping off a vido for a buck, but $1.99 just seems greedy to me.
Having said that, I should add that the one exception to my argument is the Christopher Walken "Cowbell" sketch, which is, of course, priceless.
Posted on March 03, 2006
