It is quite gratifying to see major pubs take your experiences/posts and turn them into a nice big piece. Wired has a nice piece on the increasing cost of subscription overload in the most recent issue. I wrote this piece, Digital LifeStyle is Not Cheap, way back in February. Wired estimates are lower than mine, but then what the hell – I live on the cutting edge.
I still wonder what the big deal is. There are plenty of people who spend $50 or more a week at bars, so why is spending $50/month on broadband notworthy. A 1-day pass to Dsineyworld is what $75? So what is the big deal on spending $75/month on cable tv? I think there are quite a few who spend more on Starbucks per month than they do on digital entertainment. For as much time as one spends online or watching TV, I think the costs are very reasonable.
They’re only paying $19.99 for DSL and $39.98 for mobile phone service? Must be nice.
On the other hand, they are REALLY overpaying for TV. I’m looking into the Dish Network Top 120 + DVR package, which is about $50. Of course, I don’t get any of the premium channels, because I have too much on my still-haven’t-watched-yet list as it is…
I agree – the real premium services can cost a lot more, but if you want, you can lower the prices down to about $150 a month. I would gladly pay for symmetric services – if they cost around $75 a month and gave me about 3 megabits up/down a month.