Sooooo, E4 has decided to premiere the second season of Skins on MySpace, albeit in segments ahead of a full online screening on the E4 website, and then a traditional (digital) screening on E4 on 11th February.

Why should we care about this?

It’s definitely an interesting way of debuting a programme, especially one that has proven as popular as Skins amongst the teenage (and older) demographic and definitely tunes into the market they are aiming for.  During the first season run, E4 posted short extensions (pretty much deleted scenes) exclusively on their website and have done something similar in the run up to the second series, as a series of “lost episodes”.  They’ve even gone as far as advertising the online offerings on Channel 4 and E4 television channels.  It’s a convergence of media that, thanks to the things like YouTube and MySpace, has allowed people to share their interest in the programme, whereas previously they may have passively viewed the offering on the C4 website - MySpace and YouTube allow them to instantly appraise what they are seeing (for better or for worse.)  Instead of just being passive recipients of televisual content, they can actually interact as part of a growing community, sharing their interest and inviting others to join them.  The TV is no longer moving wallpaper, the Idiot’s lantern or the gogglebox and people don’t have to wait until work the next day to talk about a programme… instead, they can do it there and then, knowing that others watched it with them (but in a small window and maybe a bit jerky.)

It’s not all about the online debut of course… sticking it on the website first, in a lower quality, will probably cause more people to tune into the first episode on E4 to see it in its full higher-resolution glory.  It’ll be interesting to see if viewing figures for the online broadcast are available and how these compare to Season 1’s premiere and the Season 2 broadcast premiere.

But, then we hit another consideration… instead of being a viable alternate offering, could online video delivery be nothing more than another method of advertising a programme to garner higher ratings.  Hopefully not, hopefully we’ll all be given the opportunity to see more programmes as “first-run” online, in higher quality, sometime in the very, very near future.

Okay, okay, my stance has changed slightly over the past year and a bit what with the acquisition of a MacBook and, at work, an iMac to call my (almost own), so I must admit I was very, very nearly tempted to forget eating for a few months and buy myself a fancy Macbook… then I took a breath.

The morning after the Steve Jobs keynote, people came up to me asking if I had seen the Jobs keynote… for a moment, I did wonder if they were referring to jobs-as-in-careers, but they actually meant the keynote. Now, you see, I hadn’t watched it and I hadn’t been privy to endless phone calls from colleagues and friends updating me on the ground breaking announcements being made. You see, I don’t tend to sit around watching keynote speeches or waiting for big announcements to be made because I am, first and foremost, a consumer. I appreciate that some people do - for example, the wonderful fellows at the perennial source of all IT news that is ITPro (I’m not sucking up, honest…) are (hopefully) paid to keep on top of what’s happening in order that people like myself can keep track, in our own way, without the presence of large envelopes and gasps of awe.

Anyway, I digress (as always) and must now chip in about the Macbook Air.

I nearly ordered one from Apple. I was stunned by how thin it was, how light it was (I guess… it’s difficult to gauge from the pictures) and how new it looked. I was amazed by the functionality that they’ve managed to cram in there and felt confident that, having used a Toshiba Portege 3500 TPC for over 3 years ago, I wouldn’t miss the optical drive. I was relishing the option of dual booting Mac OS X or Windows Vista. I even liked the idea of being able to put more into my bag, thanks to something so slim it makes Posh Spice look portly. Then, I stopped…

Why? I hear you ask (don’t talk to the screen, you’ll look mad!) Was it the 3 week wait? Was it the £1200 price tag? Was it the fact that I am using a perfectly functional, if somewhat discoloured, first-gen Macbook?

No, No, Maybe. That, and it lacks Firewire and I have access to Firewire enabled camcorders and hard drives and don’t fancy replacing. It is awkward (or maybe impossible) to increase the RAM or replace the battery. I could get a Macbook Pro, which is still wonderfully slim and has many, many more features for a similar price. Hold on, fixed battery and good looks - it’s the iPod of laptops.

Yes, I know that the Air is aimed at a niche market - I guess the type who can drop more than a grand on something stylish - but I do use my Mac for a variety of features, including video editing and I’ve shoved more than 1 CD into the SuperDrive! The Air definitely has that Wow factor, but that won’t be my reason to purchase.

The clock radio, the windup torch radio, the game watch, and that little watch that I had in the 80s that turned into a little robot to cash in on the Transformers craze (first time round) - each has had it’s place in the technological history of our times.

However, let’s see, why didn’t anyone think of this before? - a taser with a built in music player.

Yes, launched at CES 2008, Taser International announced the device as an ideal tool for joggers and other people who are out and about to protect themselves, their technology and still listen to the latest choons, albeit with only 1gig of storage space.

What next? Perhaps if this isn’t successful, we could have a Magnum with built in video player. I can pretty much guarantee that nobody will try to rob you of that or complain about your choice of entertainment ever again!

For years we’ve been hearing how high street and destination retail is losing out to its online competitors. I guess the key exception to this would still be food shopping. It comes about, usually, this time of year or when a high street retailer suddenly hits difficulty. But is it all just doom-sayers saying doom for the sake of doom saying?

But, what draws people the high street?

For me, it’s still the destination for impulse buying as opposed to planned purchasing (invariably, all my pre-orders for DVDs, for example, tend to take place online) and just generally having a browse. It’s also nice to actually be able to talk to someone, as opposed to spend hours trawling websites for information. The internet is wonderful for research, if you’ve got the time and the inclination - but it’s still nice to actually talk. And, as much as I hate the hustle and bustle of the high street especially around sale time, it’s still nice to have a particular product there-and-then. I know some of the sales prices are just the same as online prices elsewhere but, if I’m being honest, it makes no difference to me whether I buy from HMV, Virgin/Zavvi or WH Smiths for a fiver, or online for a fiver… it’s still a fiver, I’m not being conned into paying more!

Even thinking about my online habits, I tend to buy from only a small number of online retailers. My reasoning for using Play.com, for example, isn’t to do with being the cheapest, but to do with excellent customer service. I know that I could find any particular DVD cheaper by trawling through one of a dozen other sites, but I prefer convenience (unless there’s an absolute killer of a saving to be made.)

I’ve recently been attracted to www.hotukdeals.com as a source of finding killer deals quickly, though obviously they can’t cover everything!

A number of retailers have started to bridge the gap between their online/high street realm with something that I’m sure will be christened (by me, mainly) clicks-and-mortar (if it hasn’t already.) It’s nice to be able to reserve something at an online price and pick it up instore, though obvious it still will never be as cheap as with online only presences. It is, however, a step in the right direction.

Whatever I do buy online or in stores, it tends to be physical. I went through a brief phase of buying digital music from a variety of online stores, but found it a bit disappointing. I guess there’s something to be said for actually having a physical product in front of me.

What are other people’s buying habits? Do you (or would you) buy everything online? Or do you mix the two? Is there anything you definitely wouldn’t buy online? Can you impulse buy online? And, do you really think the days of the high street are numbered?