Television revolution redux

For many years I've been downloading films and TV series, partly because it's the only way to view the stuff I like and also because I'm not a great fan of TV. My life doesn't conveniently revolve around broadcast time slots and then there are the ads, which are such a waste of time those responsible should be criminalized for taking years off a person's life.

TV is like magic when it comes to live broadcasts (news, sports events) but essentially it's passive. In the old days you had to watch what you were told. Then there was satellite and cable. More choice - but more ads. Now there are settop boxes with Internet connections, TiVo, iTV and movie services. Which are better, but a bit clunky.

When I told Chinese colleagues some time ago that I didn't watch much TV and considered myself a downloader, they looked at me pityingly. And not because downloading much of the media on offer is illegal. "Why don't you stream?" they said. Why clog up the hard disc's arteries with media I will never watch again? They had a point and I became a streamer.