Apple And The Love Of Blockbuster

Steve Jobs will take the big blue and yellow signs along with the customer lists Blockbuster owns and turn them into an Apple digital video empire, in a scenario contemplated by pundit Robert X. Cringely. Picture this: it is 2007, and you want to rent a couple of movies to watch on your home theater. You take your new video iPod to the car and drive over to Blockbuster. Most of the rows of videotapes and DVDs have vanished, though some containing best-sellers and popular classics remain. A number of kiosks have been installed where the video iPod can be plugged in to download time-expiring copies of movies. A screen lights up when the iPod is connected to an iMac kiosk, and you decide that your wife would enjoy nothing more than a classic double feature of "Reservoir Dogs" and the Hong Kong movie that inspired Quentin Tarantino, "ticket to divorce movie selections and paying for them electronically, you wander the aisles looking at some of the new Apple hardware available for purchase before deciding to pick up some popcorn and sodas on the way out the door. At home, you play the movies in your home theater from the video iPod, and enjoy your snacks alone after your wife decides to go visit her mother. Cringely here.") Drag this to your Bookmarks. Add to document.write("Del.icio.us") | Yahoo! My Web David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.