Temptation

[ferretchucker]

For an awfully long time I resisted. I resisted many things, perhaps I'm just a nostalgic young fellow. But eventually there comes a day where one just thinks "well...I'll give it a try."

Next thing you know your walkman is an MP3 player, your VHSs are DVDs are Blu-Rays and then BOOM! No more buying DVDs, let's watch it on Netflix. What's that? The book costs £10 but the eBook costs £5? And the kindle screen IS as good as people say.

You deplorably convenient bastard!

I'd wager that all of us are proud of our presumably extensive movie collection, and many of you still retain your prized VHS tapes for their nostalgic value, but nonetheless...I was doing so well - for a young chap such as myself having 250+ DVDs to call my own was pretty good, I was fairly proud. But I've finally been ensnared by Netflix. Though I still but some, it's just too easy not to.

Likewise - partly because I'm a slow reader - I've always kept books that I read as a trophy of sorts. They sit on the shelf as a reminder of my commitment and ultimate success. But a Nook (fuck Amazon) was on sale for £20. Initially it was just going to be for my Uni reading - no more printing, save the planet etc. - but then the prices and the convenience ensnared me.

There is a lot to be said for these new e-storage/streaming/cloud based media - they're quick, cheap, easy and far more environmentally friendly. But the collector in me also mourns for the physical ones. No, nothing's STOPPING me from going to HMV and buying them (other than many of these DVD/CD/Book shops beginning to close BECAUSE of these developments) but still...I'M WEAK! :'(

Discuss.

[hammerfan]

I still belong to Netflix. Have for quite a few years now. I have both streaming and get DVDs. I like some of their shows (House of Cards), and I like that quite a few classic horror movies are available on streaming. There's still quite a few that I don't own.

As for books, I bought a Nook when I was working in CT so that I didn't have to lug a stack of books back and forth every time I went home. Since I've been home (2011) I haven't touched it. I still prefer reading an actual paper book.

[Sicknero]

I have everything digital these days ... I left my home country a few years ago, along with "real" my book/film/music collection, and have spent some time building it back up again in digital form.

I'm quite happy watching films/tv on my laptop ... reading books isn't the same of course but I'm getting used to it, and I'm not entirely settled so I really like having all my current books/films/music in a format that I can fit in a rucsack.

[Kandarian Demon]

For me it depends on what it is... there are certain things that the nerd in me will always prefer to own as a physical item. Also, so far I have never had a TV and PC that would work together, and it's just not as comfortable watching a movie here in front of my PC. Netflix doesn't have everything either...

But on the other hand, these days I just can't afford to buy a lot of DVDs, CDs or books... and without services such as Netflix, I wouldn't watch very many new movies ("new" as in movies I haven't watched before).

I absolutely love Spotify, the only thing it's missing to be perfect is The Beatles. But other than that, it gives me access to pretty much all the music I could ever want to listen to, and the freedom to explore new music as well. I only buy CDs from artists I REALLY love - but I actually don't own a stereo anymore, so I listen through my PC speakers anyway, and I tend to look up the music in Spotify, rather than playing the CD.

I really don't think there is a real alternative to the physical book, not for me anyway. I really don't want to read from a screen - BUT I absolutely love audio books. But digital/audio books aren't available in the same way as music and movies yet, though... you still have to pay for each one seperately, so nothing has changed for me when it comes to books. But I would LOVE to see a streaming service like Spotify for audio books.

I do worry about what this will do to the different artforms in the future, though. I know many people like to say that art should be made for the sake of art anyway and not for money, but they forget that the fact that an artist CAN make money from their work is what is financing their future projects, and the reason why they actually have the time to dedicate to creating their stuff for us. And what about live music, will we even have touring bands in a few years... Honestly, I can't help worrying that we are destroying what we love with this "we will steal it if we have to pay for it" attitude that is really the reason why all of these streaming services etc. exist. I hope I'm wrong!

[ChronoGrl]

The switch to digital hit me hard when it came to music... I prided myself on my esoteric indie music collection and treasured each CD... But the pragmatist won out there; after three moves I just couldn't justify carrying around the cases anymore...

I never really felt that way about movies; I was more irritated than anything else with the switch from VHS to DVD but luckily it came at a time where my tastes had changed and I didn't *need* to buy certain movies again... Considering how expensive most DVDs are and how little I replay them, digital suits me just fine.

Take THAT, Collectors. ;)